Ticats fan goes the distance… literally
Jason Offiong at reception.
Jason Offiong flew all the way from Amsterdam for the Grey Cup, brought three colleagues with him to experience the ultimate in Canadiana, and his favourite team took notice of his loyalty.
Offiong, a lifelong Ticats fan and a season ticket holder for the past 13 years despite living 6000 kilometres away, was the team’s special guest at a Ticats’ Grey Cup luncheon in downtown Winnipeg Saturday afternoon. Among the other attendees was former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a big supporter of the CFL, and the Calgary Stampeders.
“I’ve been a Ticats fan my whole life,” said Offiong, who’s an analyst with NATO and has lived in Europe for over 20 years. “I just love being part of the games. The team treats me well and to be invited to an event like this is a great privilege.”
Offiong grew up on the West Mountain but went to Westdale in the French Immersion program. He got a degree in physics from McMaster—“physics is the study of interactions in the universe. If I throw a football with this much force and at this angle, where is it going to land?”—then went to Saskatchewan to complete a master’s degree. A few years later it was off to Europe, where he’s been for 20 years.
He gets to two or three games per season and builds his family’s summer holidays around the Ticats schedule to maximize the number of Cats’ games he can attend. He donates his unused tickets to charity.
“Basically my fandom is part of who I am,” he says.
Saturday was a pretty big day for the Ticats and Prime Ministers. That evening Mark Carney spent a half-hour meeting and greeting fans at the Eastern Social Hall, attracting a crowd on the floor as Hamilton band Born in The Eighties performed their signature repertoire on stage.
A taste of the future
Executive Sous-Chef Ash Abdelatty of Hamilton Stadium
Grey Cup fans got a preview of next season’s Ticats game menu during the “Taste of the CFL” event Friday night. Chefs from various restaurants and stadia represented the nine league cities—plus the Atlantic Schooners, who don’t have a team yet — and each brought a dish for sampling. Fans then voted on their favourite recipe. Ash Abdelatty, Executive Sous Chef at Hamilton Stadium, was among the top vote-getters for his Korean slow-braised short ribs with pickles, and onions, on a milk bread bao bun. The ultimate winner was the lobster roll from the Atlantic Schooners.
“We’re all proud of each other,” Abdelatty said of the other chefs. “I heard people waiting to taste our food say that it was between us and the Schooners. People were in line for our ribs for over half an hour. The line was literally out the door, and from 5:30 to 9 p.m. it was literally non-stop.”
Ticats executives were on hand to sample the dish and Abdelatty says it will likely be a featured item when the stadium menus for the 2026 season are finalized during the off-season.
The ultimate tailgate: Grey Cup to visit Hamilton parking lot
Fan of year Sheri Hodges, husband Kevin Hodges, unidentified CFl fan one of many who asked for pictures with them.
Even those CFL fanatics dressed in other innovative Grey Cup costumes wanted their picture taken with them.
Hamilton native Sheri Hodges was voted the Baffin CFL Fan of the Year and she and her husband Kevin were at this Grey Cup—their fifth — in full regalia, riding their blow-up Tigers at the Festival party rooms.
Sheri submitted a video to the contest and was surprised that she was the one chosen to represent Hamilton. From there all submissions were put to a public vote and she was the overall winner. She receives 2026 season tickets, $1500 in Baffin footwear products, $500 in CFL merchandise and the right to have the Grey Cup brought to her group’s tailgate party—called Tiger-Cat Tailgaters in Lot E—prior to a game next year.
Sheri grew up in the city and has been a Ticat fan for 40 years. Because they worked shift work—she was a nurse then started her own business; he was a firefighter, and is now retired—Sheri and Kevin bought tickets on a per-game basis until 20 years ago when they became season-ticket holders.
They “love the people at the Grey Cup, it’s like family,” she says and, of course, she’s devoted to the Ticats.
“If you live in Hamilton you have to love the Tiger-Cats,” she says. “The Ticats are just Steeltown-tough.”
Alumni always give back
Former Ticats Sandy Beveridge was at the Grey Cup Festival on behalf of the Ticats Alumni Association and CFL Alumni. The alumni had their Legends Luncheon on Friday, with 1000 attendees, the most in the history of the event.
“We raise money to support our fund to help former players in need for medical or other reasons,” said Beveridge, the Ticats Alumni president. “When they fall on hard times we’re there to help them out.
“It’s important to support the Grey Cup, and another part of being here is just giving back to the community. We’re part of the alumni ambassador program this week, where we get to meet fans, do autograph sessions, and just give back to the CFL fan base.”