The Grey Cup (in ) is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals. In 2009 the 97th Grey Cup competition between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Allouettes drew the largest TV audience in Grey Cup history with 6.4 million viewers. The 98th Grey Cup, played November 29th, 2010, is second in Grey Cup history with 6.25 million viewers.
The award was founded and the trophy commissioned by Governor General of Canada the Earl Grey. Like the Stanley Cup (also formed by a former governor general and used in the National Hockey League), the Grey Cup is reused every year. This varies from other professional sports leagues, which make a new but identical trophy every season for the new champion. Similarly, the Grey Cup also has the name of the winning players, coaches, and management staff (President and General Manager) engraved on its chalice.
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