The appearance of an American team in the Grey Cup united Canadian fans for the first time behind the Lions as representatives of Canada.

[2] Kent Austin started at quarterback for the Lions, which was somewhat of a surprise given that his backup, Danny McManus, engineered a last-second victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the West Final.

Austin was playing with a tender left shoulder, but it didn't prevent him from moving the Lions downfield to set up Lui Passaglia's 47-yard field goal for the initial points of the game.

Setting up for a 34-yard field goal, holder Darren Flutie took the ball, jumped to his feet and ran to his right to the 10-yard line, giving the Lions a first down.

Passaglia received another opportunity for the winning kick with no time remaining, and he made good on a 38-yard attempt to keep the Grey Cup in Canada.

However, it was later learned that the actual winner of the MVP vote was Baltimore's Karl Anthony, who was the first player to be awarded with such an honour in a losing cause.

Furthermore, Philpot and Millington gained those yards against an impressive Baltimore defence that was exempt from following the CFL's import rule and was made up solely of American players.

The Lions' defensive front of Andrew Stewart, Angelo Snipes, Doug Petersen and Henry Newby had one sack, each.