Students at Langley Christian High School arrived at school on Jan. 5 to a very pleasant surprise.
The Grey Cup had made an unexpected visit, thanks to Chuck McMann, the special teams coordinator and running backs coach for the BC Lions, and his wife, Margarette, who teaches at the school.
Students poured into the gym during their lunch break for a chance to pose with the cup.
“We were pretty excited and in disbelief. I thought it was going to be fake,” said Grade 11 student John Evans.
Langley Christian was one of many places McMann brought the century-old Cup during the short time he had possession of it. He took it to firehalls and banks, and he also shipped it up to Fort Nelson for a community event.
“The policy of the league as well as the team is to share the cup with the community as much as possible,” McMann said. “We just want as many people as possible to be able to touch the cup and get a feel for it.”
One of his most memorable moments with it was in Fort Nelson, when he ran into a lady whose father had played for the 1945 Grey Cup.
She had never seen it before and was able to find his name engraved on it.
“It’s great to see the people’s reactions, and see that they understand that it is the original one. There is no replica,” he said.
His wife, too, was overjoyed to bring the Cup to her students.
She had just found out that morning that a change in schedule would allow them to take the Cup to Langley Christian.
“I just think it’s fun to see the excitement of people enjoying our victory because the victory is so special,” she said. “It is so much fun, and it is always nice to let the excitement keep going.”
Delta native Davis Sanchez has possession of the Cup next.