Fans of red and blue cheer loud and proud at Crowchild Classic

By Tommy Osborne, February 3 2017 —

The University of Calgary Dinos and Mount Royal University Cougars squared off on Feb. 2 in the fifth annual Crowchild Classic. The rival universities split the night with one win each. The Cougars women took the first game 3–1 and the Dinos men won the second 5–4 in a thrilling double overtime finish.

While Cougars fans were loud and proud for the duration of the women’s game, empty seats on the Dinos side were a stark contrast to the support the Cougars fans gave their team.

Despite only a roughly 5,000-person turnout for the women’s game, some dedicated fans still showed up to support the Dinos. Sarah and Nicole Grenon, sisters to fifth-year defenceman and team captain Megan Grenon, showed up in red body paint, Dinos cheerleadings outfits and eccentric red, black and white wigs.

“Every year we do full body paint, make big signs, go crazy and wear our wigs,” Sarah said.

While the Grenon sisters cheered on the Dinos as best they could, Sarah conceded that the Dinos crowd for the women’s game was lacklustre.

“It would be nice if the girls’ game got more fans, but the men’s game will be really wild so it’s exciting,” she said. “It’s a good event for all the athletes to come out to.”

Cougars fans were also eager to show off their team support with flashy outfits. MRU student Sarah Morley wore blue face paint and blue bunny ears to complement her blue and white outfit.

“Last year my friends and I wore butterfly wings. We just do really random stuff for our outfits,” she said.

MRU student George Potter wore a large blue and white wig. Potter claimed MRU is the superior university due to their mascot.

“[MRU is better] because it’s a cougar. Cougars are still alive, dinosaurs are dead,” he said.

Both sides got creative with their signs. Dinos fans donned signs with phrases that included, “MRU hates puppies” and “MRU claps when the plane lands”, while Cougars fans showed up with a large “#cougnation” sign.

Dinos fan Miriam Deitz wore a large inflatable dinosaur outfit. She said the rivalry was good-natured.

“It’s great. I mean I can’t sit because this thing is too big, but it’s fun to walk around because people take pictures and give you high fives — even Cougars fans,” she said.

Justin Quaintance

Despite not matching the CIS record-breaking attendance from last year, all fans agreed on one thing — the Crowchild Classic is a fantastic night of hockey.

“I’ve been at the Crowchild Classic for a couple of years and it’s been great every time,” Dinos fan Lauren Siarkowski said.