Grey Cup Win Caps off Nissan’s Titan Rally

I may be an automotive scribe, but can write competently on many things.

The exception being pro sports.

This requires a level of dedication, love for trivia, and savant-like retention of player and team minutia that I never could muster.

So, when Nissan invited me to a Grey Cup-inspired event, bringing together CFL fans with their full-size Titan pickups, I wasn’t sure how to cover it.

The Rally of the Titans began on November 12 – a cross-Canada convoy of 10 CFL-branded pickups, their teams squaring off in a series of local challenges from a polar bear dip to Habitat for Humanity build.

Participants were divided into East versus West, two squads of “brand ambassadors” captained by TSN sports personalities, simultaneously leaving Vancouver and St. John’s, Newfoundland. They passed through more than 88 communities, converging in Toronto for the 104^th Grey Cup.

Which is where we joined them and a handful of CFL players for a football skills challenge.

What’s the connection between Nissan trucks and football?

According to marketing director Steve Rhind, CFL fans buy a lot of pickups. League support tends to skew west – a strong truck market – and with Grey Cup being in the top three sporting events in Canada, this Ottawa Redblacks overtime victory ensured plenty of eyes on the Titan.

Around 5 million pairs, if the 2015 viewership stats have held steady.

Nissan has been the CFL’s official vehicle provider for 10 years, but also supports football at the high school level. The Kickoff Project has helped fund and equip school programs to the tune of $435,000 over the past three years, and in 2016 will benefit nearly 1,200 students from 26 schools in 24 cities coast-to-coast.

Indeed, the connection is solid, but up until Sunday’s nailbiter, Canadian football hasn’t been on my radar.

Yet the idea of tossing around the pigskin with some of this sport’s finest was intriguing.

My day began in the cold November drizzle, on the back-campus fields near University of Toronto’s Hart House. A handful of players were on hand, with Argonaut kicker Lirim Hajrullahu my team mate for the challenge.

We began with a 40-yard dash – metric not welcome in this sport – followed by an agility exercise, and then punting. I fared well in the first two, but wasn’t going to stand in the way of Lirim exercising his craft.

He then coached me in running an effective play, positioning us well to win the competition.

His first throw was long, but I went for it anyway. The combination of my backwards summersault on the wet field, followed by a perfectly-caught second pass all but ensured our victory.

The event wrapped up with some good-natured ribbing, and a realization, at least among the players, that their jobs were safe. For now.

My takeaway is that Nissan has hitched its wagon not only to a sports organization that is uniquely Canadian, but one that is approachable. And if you believe the fans, more exciting than the American competition.

Not a bad message to send when you’re up against the domestic brands, who have been building trucks – and loyalty – for decades longer.