The Grey Cup Visits A Toronto Vodka Distillery And Leaves Sober!
Family round cup. L to Rt: Juede, Divahd, Lievi, Susanna Noel and Don Morelan |
It Happened Monday Night In Toronto
By Stephen Weir - as seen in the Caribbean Camera newspaper ... The Grey Cup came
to a Mas Camp event at Nickel 9 Distillery in Toronto’s Junction district. For
three hours the famed Canadian Football League sat on a round bar table in the
middle of a room filled with barrels and vats of vodka in the making.
The Toronto
Argonauts won the 105th annual Grey Cup game last November. Argo wide receiver
and special teams player, Llevi Noel got
to borrow the cup for a day (as does each member of the winning team).
“ I wanted to
share the cup for a little while with my family and friends,” explained 26
year-old Toronto Argonaut Llevi Noel. “I
took it down to U of T this afternoon, and finished off my day here with the Cup
at the distillery.”
Llevi and his
family trace their roots to Grenada, but
is a Torontonian through and through. He
attended high school at Toronto’s Western Tech followed by university at U of
T. He was discovered by the Argonauts
when they scouted him playing university football.
“You know it was a
remarkable year for the Argos and for me. No one expected us to win it all. I
have been with the team for two seasons and I just contracted for another two
years with the team!
The 6-2, 220-pound
receiver has led the Argos in special team tackles in both of his professional
seasons.. His five special team tackles against the Calgary Stampeders in the
105th Grey Cup Game set a new franchise record.
Joining Llevi to toast
the Cup with freshly bottled Northern Temple Vodka were his brother Juede,
sister Divahd, mother Susanna Noel and
stepfather Don Moreland. His older sister Ivell noel was unable to attend!
The Grenadian
Canadian Noel family are football fans first, and carnival lovers second. Lievi remembers playing Mas many summers in
the Caribana Kiddies Carnival.
Members of the Tru Dynasty Carnival Mas Band came
out to show their admiration for the Argo player and to gawk at the slightly
battered Grey Cup.
Nickel 9
Distillery is both a new evens destination and a vodka distillery – the owners threw
open their doors to show off their new space and provided a suitable showcase for the Grey
Cup.
The trophy
has been part of football in this country since 1909. It was donated by
Governor General Earl Grey for the Canadian football championship.
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