Five reasons the Lions have to beat U of T

On October 10, the York Lions football team takes on their cross-town rivals, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, in the 44th installment of the Red & Blue Bowl, a clash-of-the-Titans showdown that has seen some intense competition between the two schools every year for decades.
Both teams have been anything but great in the past 10 or 20 years, but this year is different. The Lions have already won two games, matching their total from all of last season, while the Blues are fighting along with the Lions to grab the coveted sixth spot in the Ontario University Athletics playoffs.
This is an exciting game, and we’ve been taught since our very first weeks here that we can’t let U of T beat us. So in the spirit of friendly competition, here are five reasons why the Lions should be fired up, confident, and eager to dismantle the Blues in this year’s Red and Blue Bowl:
1. U of T’s team name: York doesn’t feel it is necessary to include the gentle reminder of “varsity” in their team name the way the U of T Varsity Blues do. Unlike U of T, York is confident our players can remember they are participating in varsity sports. York should capitalize on this apparent lack of intelligence.
2. U of T’s fragile emotional state: For whatever reason, being sad is important enough to U of T that they’ve made it their school nickname. Being sad, never getting out of bed, and eating your feelings isn’t productive for a football team, and York will take advantage as U of T tries to get it together. I realize this relates to number one, but their silly nickname deserves to account for 40 per cent of this list.
3. U of T’s trophy case: Historically, York’s football program hasn’t been quite as successful as U of T’s, but nothing fires a team up quite like being the underdog. Not only has U of T been more successful in the Red and Blue Bowl, but they’ve also won four Grey Cups and two Vanier Cups — not bad for a team that struggles to get their cups on straight before each game. With a little teamwork, they’ve proven that anything’s possible!
4. U of T is not a football school anymore: Although once a national powerhouse, as of late, U of T has been more successful in sports like cross country, so unless football suddenly becomes a sport where people have to run for more than five seconds at a time, York should be okay.
5. U of T is a school full of ninnies: Someone had to say it.
Go Lions Go!
Dylan Godfrey
Contributor