3 Halfway True Things About the BC Lions
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The BC Lions started playing in 1954 and are the oldest pro sports team in the city and the province. They have competed in the Grey cup 10 times winning six times for a winning percentage of 60 percent. That’s a pretty good percentage. Hey, I’ve got a pretty good percentage, too. I’ve got a pretty high losing percentage in my attempts at getting a driver’s license. I failed the test 8 times in a row. Finally, they just stamped it “Approved!” and said, “Good luck.”
The BC Lions take their name from a pair of mountain peaks overlooking Vancouver called “The Lions.” Inspired by this, the Saskatchewan Roughriders considered renaming their team after mountain peaks but could not find any in the entire province. The highest peak they found was a large pile of empty beer cans on a Saturday morning in the front yard of a student house near the University of Regina.
In 1977, the Lions gained the nickname “Cardiac Kids” due to their habit of winning in the final minutes of several games. Later, they changed it their nickname to the “Heart Attack Harry’s” partly as a tie-in to a local fast food chain of the same name. The restaurant’s most popular dish is french fries dipped in gasoline and covered with molten lava.
