Football fans in Regina visit Grey Cup on game day

The CFL brought the Grey Cup to Regina on Saturday afternoon outside of Sport Clips in Harbour Landing.

Fans got a chance to take a picture with the cup in exchange for a Food Bank donation.

“We’ve got a great storybook of this great city and great country,” said Jeff McWhinney, Keeper of the Grey Cup.

A family member of his fits right into the story of the country’s football history.

His dad, Glenn McKinney, was ironically nicknamed “the keeper” and won the Grey Cup in 1954 with the Edmonton Eskimos.

“It’s pretty exciting to be part of something that my dad was the founding father (of),” he said.

Takin’ on sports reporting today! If you come down to @SportClips in #yqr today & donate non-perishable food items to @ReginaFoodBank you’ll get a picture with the #CFL Grey Cup! It’s here until 3📸🏈 #RiderNation 🍉 pic.twitter.com/T7OOgJSsUu

— Jayda Noyes (@jaynoyesSK) July 28, 2018

Fans lined up to take pictures with the cup while having conversations of Saturday night’s game between the Riders and the undefeated Calgary Stampeders.

Fans were from all over the country including Yellowknife, North Battleford, Calgary and rural areas outside of Regina like Southey.

“You got green and white, red and black–doesn’t matter,” said McWhinney, explaining how the CFL is about the country coming together.

He helped a young Gavin Craig hold the Grey Cup for a photo, as Craig was about to experience his very first football game.

“I play hockey, so last year we drove by the new Mosaic (Stadium) almost every day to get to the arena. To be able to go in it, that’s pretty cool,” said Craig.

It was also an important day for the Regina Food Bank, who relies a lot on events like this in the summer.

Community Engagement Coordinator Shelley Armbruster said donations drop about 60 per cent in the summer with people going on holidays. Forty-seven per cent of those in need are children.

“(The CFL) actually started it and contacted us, so it was their idea,” she said.

Both Jeff McWhinney and Doug Kosloski, owner of Sport Clips, said community engagement and getting onto the streets is important in their partnership.