With the spotlight of a marquee CFL event shining bright, the B.C. Lions snapped their five-game losing skid in an impressive fashion Saturday night, blitzing the Ottawa Redblacks 38-12 at the CFL's first-ever game in Victoria, B.C.
B.C. was dominant from the outset, with Victoria-born quarterback Nathan Rourke muscling a ball over the line for a touchdown less than five minutes into the opening quarter. The Lions (6-6) never relinquished the lead.
A crowd of 14,727 at Royal Athletic Park — home of the West Coast League baseball team the Victoria HarbourCats — showed their appreciation by chanting, cheering, drumming and singing for more than three straight hours.
The event, dubbed Touchdown Pacific by the league, was the furthest west a CFL game has ever been played.
It was the first game the B.C. Lions have played outside Vancouver's B.C. Place, Empire Stadium and Empire Field in the 70 years of franchise history.
Overall, the events leading up to and the game itself were big successes.
It wasn’t all perfect. Food and drink lines were long with another issue being the 10-12 deep crowd in the west end-zone or ‘party section’, that without risers, made it hard to view the game from the back.
There will be discussions on whether City of Victoria will host another game next year or in 2 years and whether it was a good idea to host a game on Labour day.