August 7, 1982 - Edmonton Eskimos at Toronto Argonauts

[Will]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKFn7nUOj1M

Most important regular season win in team history?

[Scooter McCray]

In modern era - quite possibly. Given team performance in immediate years prior, the class of their opponent, and who those Eskimos are in league history (maybe the best team to ever play). It was a defining statement game that they had arrived and would contend for a championship. And as the Eskimos had been doing for the last 5 seasons, the Argos were reinventing football with the run and shoot offence. They were not just a better team, they were changing the game. And they still mattered to the city in a big way. What they did was noticed and cared about and talked about.

[Will]

The run & shoot offense was revolutionary at the time, but I'd say that Warren Moon (Edmonton) and Dieter Brock (Winnipeg) were a year or two ahead of the 1982 Argos in shifting to a pass first offense.

[ARGO57]

The run & shoot offense was revolutionary at the time, but I'd say that Warren Moon (Edmonton) and Dieter Brock (Winnipeg) were a year or two ahead of the 1982 Argos in shifting to a pass first offense.

Yes it was, a great atmosphere at Exhibition Stadium that night.
As you said the Argos had a revolutionary O with Mouse Davis at the helm and a new HC in Bob O’Billovich.
The stadium was rocking watching the Argonauts beat the perennial champion Edmonton Eskimos.
Fans were elated pounding the seats and flooding onto the field after the game, what a time to be an Argonaut fan!!!

[Will]

The Argos front four was effective against Warren Moon that night as well. In fact, Moon's #1 jersey got torn and he had to wear #14 for a portion of the game.

Were night games at CNE as dark as they appear on the broadcast? I heard Empire Stadium was worse.

[Scooter McCray]

The run & shoot offense was revolutionary at the time, but I'd say that Warren Moon (Edmonton) and Dieter Brock (Winnipeg) were a year or two ahead of the 1982 Argos in shifting to a pass first offense.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say. The Eskimos were revolutionary during the previous 5 years moving to pass heavy offence. The Argos took that to the next level with run and shoot. It really was a very creative time in football. I posted on another thread here an interview with Doug Flutie by Julian Edelman where he discusses the offence he ran in Toronto in 1996 and 1997. That Chip Kelly came up here to study it and bring it to the NCAA.
It is a real shame that we have so little interest by our own media in Canada to tell these stories and help Canadians feel pride about their brand of football.

[argolio]

Were night games at CNE as dark as they appear on the broadcast?

We never got home games on TV in the GTA market back then. I don't recall any issues going to games, but then again my vision was much better 40 years ago.