'It's crunch time': Grey Cup champ, former Bomber gives insight into the pressures of the big game

Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders fans are painting faces and preparing snacks for the high stakes 105th Grey Cup game in Ottawa Sunday.

But when a championship is on the line, what is it like for the players?

"It's crunch time. They practice all week and it's time to get down to business," said former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Willard Reaves.

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Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame athleteReaves was a star running back with the Bombers and during his five seasons with the club, and he was chosen rookie of the year in 1983.

He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1984, leading the Bombers to victory in the Grey Cup ending a more than two decade drought for the team.

"I went at it as if it was a regular game,not really grasping the significance of a championship of this magnitude here in Canada," Reaves said on CBC Radio's Weekend Morning Show.

"But it slowly set in afterwards that this is really big."

While Reaves is in Ottawa, the pressure he's feeling is rooted in fun watching the big game. But that's not the case for Argos and Stamps players, he added, they are likely feeling stress and trying not to let it get to them.

"They want to make sure they are sharp. They want to make sure they are afforded every opportunity to do something for the team,not just for an individual player but for the team itself," he said.

The coaches are likely going over plays and watching tape of old games, he added, just like they've been doing all season.

But when that whistle blows, the crowd disappears and the players are focused on one thing the cup, Reaves said.

In 1984, he was nervous right until the first hit, Reaves said. Once he had that under his belt, he settled down "because this is what we worked hard for."

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The Stamps have a lot on the line in their quest for redemption, and Reaves added there is a lot of pressure to keepthe cup in the west, but Toronto has battled hard all season.

Whoever walks away with the Grey Cup title, Reaves said it will be a moment players and coaches will never forget.

"I think what has stuck with me about it is the way that Canadians have embraced their football. Canada, we are 105 Grey Cups right now but it's much deeper than that," he said.

"Having that Grey Cup and hoisting it up in front of the fans is something I'll never forget."