Just hours before Ottawa Redblacks players board a plane to Edmonton, one player took time out to help his Mum get geared-up for the big game.
“It’s going to be a little shorter trip for them next Sunday,” Redblacks Defensive Linemen Mike Klassen told CTV News.
Klassen, who’s from Calgary, spent some time Tuesday morning shopping with his mother Theresa at the TD Place Team Shop, loading her up with Redblacks gear. Even though Ottawa will take on the Calgary Stampeders in the 2018 Grey Cup, there’s no doubt who the Klassen’s will be cheering for.
“I’ve got friends, family, all our kids – Mike has four siblings – so they’re all going to be going to the Grey Cup,” says Theresa with her arms filled with Redblacks hats, scarves and blankets.
Klassen played with the Calgary Stampeders in 2017, but didn’t get the chance to suit-up for the Grey Cup game in Ottawa against the Toronto Argonauts. He says this time he will be playing, and he can’t wait, “it’s a different feeling when you actually get to strap-up on game day, I’m excited to contribute this Grey Cup.”
Klassen’s parents flew to Ottawa for the Eastern Conference final, “I was so nervous the whole game,” says Theresa, “just praying we were going to have a win.”
They’ll be back in Edmonton on Sunday, and this game, they say, will be a family affair. Mike’s brother Adam is part of the Calgary Stampede Showband, and will be playing at Saturday’s Grey Cup Parade in Edmonton. “I’ve very proud,” Theresa says of her two boys.
Theresa though will have to pay for her ticket to the big game. She says Mike decided to give his “two favourite girls” his girlfriend and two-year old God daughter his freebies, “I’ve been bumped down to number three,” she jokes.
This will be Ottawa’s third Grey Cup run in just five years. The team won the Championship in 2016. The 2018 Grey Cup airs on TSN Sunday November 25 at 6pmEST.
