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October 11, 2016

The Streak

The year was 1996. Independence Day, starring a 28-year old Will Smith, was the highest-grossing movie. “The Macarena” by Los Del Rio ended the year as the Billboard number one single, causing men and women of all ages to make fools of themselves at weddings and nightclubs everywhere. Bill Clinton was just finishing his first term as US President, 20 years before wife Hillary possibly makes history in the White House. Donovan Bailey made Canadians go crazy with his double record-setting Gold medal performance at the Atlanta Olympics. You get the picture: it was a long time ago. 1996 was also the last time your BC Lions failed to qualify for the CFL playoffs.

Playoffs_Clinched_Social

 

Following losses by Toronto and Montreal last week, the Leos are into the dance for a 20th consecutive season. It is the longest active playoff streak in the league and second best of all-time to the Edmonton Eskimos who made it for 34 straight years from 1972 to 2005.

After hearing the trivial facts about 1996, Ryan Phillips was oozing with nostalgia. “Really? The Macarena.. Me being a guy who loves to dance, I was definitely doing the Macarena all through school for sure.”

Although Phillips initially declined a request to perform his skills on camera, the twelve-year veteran and longest-serving player on the Lions roster could not have been more proud of the 20-year milestone. The safety has yet to miss the playoffs in his illustrious career up north.

“Tradition goes a long way. It shows a lot about the organization and the direction they have been in the last 20 years,” Phillips said. “20 years is just the beginning for us. We want to make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders going into the playoffs and make sure we are getting the results we’re looking for.”

21 Phillips Ryan walking

Phillips arrived in 2005, a time where the club was building itself as the class of the CFL. From 2004 to 2007 there was four consecutive first place finishes in the West. The club won 52 regular season games and the 2006 Grey Cup over that span and it didn’t take long for the Eastern Washington product to realize he was joining something special.

“For me, it felt like I was kinda spoiled,” Phillips said. “My first four or five years we were getting 12-13 wins and hosting playoff games. If we won 11, it felt like a down year. We went through a bit of a dry spell a couple years after that and now we are trying to get back to those glory days and hit the playoffs on a positive note.”

On the other side of the coin, starting QB Jonathon Jennings was four years old the last time the Lions failed to qualify. The second-year pivot remains focussed on delivering a Grey Cup championship to this province.

“It’s huge. It says a lot about the ownership of the club and the coaches that have come through here,” Jennings said of the streak. “It’s exciting for us to be a part of that and we’re excited for the opportunity to go out there and do it again. It ( the organization) is a class act.”

Speaking of those “down” years: The streak very nearly came to an end in both 2009 and 2010. In ’09, the Lions were blown out at home by Edmonton in the final week, and then backed into a crossover spot when Winnipeg laid an egg against Hamilton two days later. In the next year’s regular season finale, they had to defeat the Tiger-Cats at old Ivor Wynn Stadium and then head to a nearby restaurant and watch Edmonton lose to Saskatchewan. They wound up finishing two points ahead of the green and gold for third in the West.

Although Wally Buono admits the streak is impressive, the CFL’s all-time wins leader is adamant they won’t take a page out of the Toronto Blue Jays and rest of Major League Baseball’s book and pop champagne before winning the big prize.

“I’m proud of what our players have accomplished so far, but the next step is still in front of us and that is to host a home playoff game for our fans,” Buono said. “We have an opportunity, now we must take advantage of the opportunity.” That quest continues Friday against an equally hungry Winnipeg Blue Bombers squad. The last playoff game to be played at BC Place was the 2012 Western Final, a 34-29 loss to the Calgary Stampeders that dashed hopes for a first ever Lions Grey Cup repeat.

“It would be huge,” Phillips said of the chance to play at BC Place in November. “Just being at home and being able to sleep in your own bed, that’s a relaxing feeling. I am pretty sure we will get a ton of fans in there and give them something to be optimistic about. But it’s all about how you end a playoff run.”

As for pop culture moments of 1996, Phillips says he could watch the original Independence Day on an endless loop. “Definitely a classic. You’re talking about Will Smith and Vivica A. Fox. I understand they made a sequel but I didn’t go see it because it didn’t have Will Smith in it. It’s all about him and what he brought to the table back then.”

We will remain persistent in our efforts to get the Macarena on film.

 

Lions 20-Year Playoff Streak By The Numbers

3– the number of Grey Cup titles won during this stretch; 2000, 2006 and 2011.

10– the total number of playoff games won, including the three Grey Cup victories.

2011-GC-POSTGAME-NOV-284837.jpg4– the number of times the club has qualified for the playoffs after finishing fourth in the West; 1997, 2003, 2009 and 2014. The CFL’s “crossover rule”, first implemented in 1996, allows fourth place teams to make the playoffs if they have more points than the third place team in the other division. The ’09 squad won the Eastern Semi-Final in Hamilton before bowing out the next week against Montreal. If the playoffs started this week, Edmonton would crossover and travel to Hamilton for the Eastern Semi-Final.

7– the number of first place finishes and Western Division finals hosted during the streak. The Lions have a record of 3-4 in these contests.

0– the number of second place finishes during the streak. In their 63-year history, the club has only finished second in the division twice: 1977 and 1986.

12 – the second-longest active streak in the league, held by the Calgary Stampeders. They have not missed since 2004.

19– consecutive playoff appearances by the Montreal Alouettes from 1996-2014.

Matt Baker:mbaker@bclions.com