A record was broken at the Edmonton Elks Home Opener for 2023. Unfortunately, it was the Home Losing Streak.
32,233 CFL fans, the Elks' best Home Opening attendance in 10 years, piled in to Commonwealth Stadium for what would be another Home loss for an organization that worked extremely hard in the off-season to change the narrative. In our latest edition of The Turnover, we are going to give you our fansided perspective of Opening Weekend.
FAN DAY
The 2023 edition of Edmonton Elks Fan Day was a vast improvement over last year. Katherine's young men like to keep busy and this year's Fan Day did exactly that. A passport system ensured you walked around the whole track inside the stadium which had multiple booths set up for giveaways and activities along the way. You would get a stamp at the booth and sponsors such as Cooper Rentals had equipment for the boys to climb on. Big win. While all of this is happening the players are practicing in the field. After practice the autograph session would ensue followed by some family time on the field. This event was a great way to get the players and fans excited for the game the next day.
GAME DAY VIBES
We woke up and drank coffee from EE mugs. We celebrated the day as a continuation of our experience the previous day. We texted our friends and tried to rally more last-minute fans and from there we packed the truck for the Tailgate Party and went down to Commonwealth. There was quite a bit of hype throughout the family for Game Day.
PRE-GAME
We went to our new Tailgate Spot at #44 and unloaded our gear. At the end of unpacking I realized that I had completely forgotten the table. Luckily, our Tailgate neighbour Colin hooked us up with a spot on his table so Shout Out to Colin! After we set up, we had multiple fans, Edmonton Elks players and Victor Cui along with his family all participate in our photo booth called SpEEker's Corner. It was a blast getting to see everyone again and to recieve such positive reception on our Game Day festivities. For Fans From Fans!
GAME TIME
We walked in with our Herd 15 minutes before kickoff. We walked in to the Christian Saulsberry tribute with his family on the field. It was great to watch such a touching tribute to a former player. We then grabbed our favorite snacks and settled in for the Armed Forces Flyover. And then there was football. Oh, there was football. The Edmonton Elks opened up the game with multiple penalties in the first few drives. That pretty much set the tone for the game with the Elks struggling to gain any footing in the game. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were limited in their game but still managed to do just enough to advance the football down the field. In the second quarter, Taylor Cornelius would throw a 102-yard touchdown ball to Eugene Lewis on a 50/50 catch. After that, however, the offense struggled to make another significant impact. Trevor Harris of the Roughriders looked steady and sure-handed in his appearance at quarterback, as opposed to Cornelius who looked like he was always in a scrambling state. Over throws, under throws, and the odd bad decision. Cornelius would later own up to his game to the media and vows to be better but the offensive line didn't make his job easy either. The real shocker of the night, however, wasn't Cornelius but rather the now infamous 3 attempts at the 1 yard line. The Elks made it to the 1 yard line off of a defensive pass interference and the sequence of events that followed would result in a turnover, Saskatchewan football. Social media has already torn the team and staff apart over the decision making in that drive so we won't go there. The Edmonton Elks would proceed to lose the game by a score of 17-13. The defense did their job and two out of three phases looked great on the field. The unsuspecting phase, the offense did not. That is what's frustrating about last Sunday's loss.
IT'S IN THE AIR
The atmosphere at Commonwealth Stadium was fantastic on Sunday night. Both of the boys didn't complain all weekend which means Victor Cui and company have figured it out for families, at long last. There is still work to do for the organization but the weekend-long celebration of football was a great way to have fun as a family on a budget, and an even better way to build memories. The boys were asked to hold the decibel meter for In-Game Host Ryder of Play 107 and because of that one moment, they'll be Edmonton Elks fans for life. The fans were excited and buzzing about the Edmonton Elks and the Tailgate was a huge success to start 2023. The only downside was the result of the game, the monkey still clinging on to the back of the EE franchise.
ON TAP: @BC LIONS JULY 17 2023
The Edmonton Elks will be taking on the BC Lions at BC Place on Saturday, July 17th 2023 in front of a mostly packed house. LL Cool J will be performing the Pregame Show so the Elks will be fighting the noise all night. Tune in to our socials on Saturday for our Game Day tweets and content! Go Elks!