The Grey Cup in Southern Ontario

Toronto and Hamilton fans could be in for some great news with regards to hosting the Grey Cup.

It is expected that the CFL will announce today that Toronto will host the 100th Grey Cup in 2012 at the Rogers Centre SkyDome. Toronto has hosted the Grey Cup more than any other city, and the game used to be synonymous with the Big Smoke. Toronto last hosted the Grey Cup in 2007, when Saskatchewan defeated Winnipeg.

In even bigger news (for us Ti-Cat fans), it is possible that, should the city and team finally come to an agreement on a new stadium, Hamilton will host the 101st Grey Cup the following year. The last time the city of Hamilton hosted the Grey Cup festivities was 1996, and Hamiltonians were forced to watch the Doug Flutie-led Argonauts defeat the Edmonton Eskimos. Could there be any worse site than seeing the Argonauts celebrate their Grey Cup Championship on the turf at Ivor Wynne Stadium? I can't think of any. Hopefully the Cats can return the favour in 2012, with an eye for a hometown title defense in 2013.

The news itself is fantastic for me on a personal level. With the game in Toronto and Hamilton in back-to-back years, I will more than likely be attending both. Considering I have never had the chance to attend the Grey Cup in my 28 years, this is a great development for me.

It is also good for the league itself. Toronto and Hamilton are the two least financially successful teams in the CFL. Hopefully with better teams (as the Cats have now and the Argos will have in the next year or two) and hosting the Grey Cup, the Cats and Argos can return to their previous levels of success. No disrespect to any of the other six teams, but a strong Toronto and Hamilton make for a stronger CFL.