88th Grey Cup

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The 88th Grey Cup was the Canadian Football League championship game of 2000. It took place on November 26, 2000 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The BC Lions defeated the Montreal Alouettes 28–26, becoming the first team ever to win the Grey Cup with a losing regular-season record (8–10).

Key facts
- Winner: BC Lions
- Runner-up: Montreal Alouettes
- Final score: 28–26
- Date and place: November 26, 2000, McMahon Stadium, Calgary
- Attendance: 43,822
- Most Valuable Player: Robert Drummond (BC Lions)
- Most Valuable Canadian: Sean Millington (BC Lions)
- Halftime show: The Guess Who
- Notable: This was Lui Passaglia’s final Grey Cup; he retired after the 2000 CFL season, after 25 years as a professional kicker.

Game summary
The Lions started slowly, with Lui Passaglia missing a field goal that produced a single point and Damon Allen scoring on a 1-yard run to put BC up 8–0. Montreal answered with a Terry Baker field goal to make it 8–3. In the second quarter, Passaglia missed another field goal that yielded a single, and BC led 12–3 at halftime after a 23-yard field goal by Passaglia.

In the third quarter, Montreal’s Jock Climie caught a 1-yard TD pass from Anthony Calvillo, cutting BC’s lead to 12–10. Early in the fourth, BC’s Robert Drummond sprinted 44 yards for a TD to make it 19–10. Baker kicked a field goal to bring Montreal within 6, 19–13. Damon Allen added a second BC TD on a short run, making it 25–13 with 11:01 left.

Montreal stormed back: Mike Pringle scored from 5 yards out to make it 25–20 with 3:42 remaining. Passaglia kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:25 left to restore an eight-point cushion, 28–20. Anthony Calvillo connected with Ben Cahoon for a 59-yard TD with 44 seconds left, bringing Montreal within two, but the two-point conversion failed. An onside kick by Montreal was recovered by BC’s Alfred Jackson, allowing the Lions to run out the clock.

Aftermath
- BC Lions’ victory marked the team’s fourth Grey Cup win (their earlier titles were in 1964, 1985, and 1994).
- Robert Drummond earned MVP honors for his 122 rushing yards on 10 carries. Sean Millington was named the game’s Most Valuable Canadian.
- The game ended the era for Lui Passaglia, a 25-year CFL/NFL kicker, who retired after this season.
- Montreal Alouettes had rejoined the league earlier in 1996 and made their first Grey Cup appearance since 1979.

2000 CFL Playoffs (brief overview)
- West Division: BC Lions defeated Edmonton Eskimos 34–32 in the semifinal; BC Lions then beat Calgary Stampeders 37–23 in the final.
- East Division: Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated Hamilton Tiger-Cats 22–20 in the semifinal; Montreal Alouettes defeated Winnipeg 35–24 in the final.

Trivia
- The 2000 Grey Cup is remembered for the Lions’ overtime-era upset-proof performance by a team with a losing regular-season record, and for being the swan song of Lui Passaglia’s remarkable career.