When was the last time you went to a Grey Cup party? It used to be a big thing in the 70s and early 80s. Without thinking, we were just doing something or celebrating something that was so, I dunno, Canadian. Without it being commissioned by someone.

I guess it was the rise in popularity...er I mean HYPE...of the American football game and the NFL that killed the pure 3-down national excitement for this game. Again, I dunno.

But sometimes I can't help myself with this kind of Canadian thing. I watch TV and I bitch piss moan and complain about Canadian Tire ads and Tim Hortons ads. Man oh man could that glib smug frickin' annoying pig dump of a Canadian Tire man be more glib smug frickin' annoying? And if I see that blinkin' Clint Eastwood "FOCACCIA" guy or that blippin' girly girl "It's really pink!" blippin' Tim Hortons couple again, I'm gonna go and do something really really drastic! Like not shop at Canadian Tire or Tim Hortons!

But I can't help myself. Tim Hortons coffee is just such a darn good commuting coffee! The cars are lined up around the parking lot to get it to go. And yes, it would be faster to just go inside and get the damn coffee...but oh man it's tastier through the drive-thru too!

And though I don't sit in the Canadian Tire parking lot on a Saturday morning, poppin' the hood or droppin' the tranny, I'm there. I don't need a new windshield wiper but I'm buying one. I have no use for a laser level but it's in my shopping cart.

Last weekend I went to a modest Grey Cup party. The food was great, the company great. The Black Eyed Peas, not Canadian, but then again neither is Tim Hortons anymore! And the game was exciting and it felt like 1978 again. Which isn't as bad as it sounds. The game was sponsored by Tims and Tire so we had to watch those frickin' ads all night. But like good Canadians, we grumbled and grunted yet carried on.

Thanks and good luck.