MONTREAL - Twenty-seven years of bumps and bruises, heartache and pain, sweat and hard work all come down to this moment.
Henry Burris must seize it.
If the 33-year-old Calgary Stampeders starting quarterback wants to cement his legacy among the CFL's elite and, as he says, be remembered forever, he needs to play his best game today in the 96th Grey Cup.
The Montreal Alouettes may be standing in his way, but the biggest hurdle is Burris himself.
Throughout an up and down career he has shown flashes of brilliance and moments of stupidity, but always he has remained driven to succeed.
It's been 10 years since he was the third-stringer with 'potential' on the Stampeders 1998 Grey Cup winner.
This is his time to shine.
"I'm ready," Burris said yesterday. "I'm ready to get at it."
During his first full Grey Cup week, Burris has handled the pressure of being the media darling well, but even surprised some but expressing his frustration at not winning the CFL's most outstanding player award Thursday.
The competitive nature was shining through the 100-watt smile.
Burris deserved recognition for the season he's had in which he was the best player on the league's top team.
In eliminating the boneheaded errors that have plagued his career, Burris put up career highs in touchdown passes and yardage, but he never let little mistakes become big problems.
The turning point could have been in Montreal July 10, when after a great run to get inside the red zone, Burris left the ball on the turf after not being touched.
Without hesitation, Smilin' Hank shook it off, coming back to lead his team to victory by not making any other errors.
To overcome the hurdle of losing three straight playoff games with the Stamps, Burris did the exact same thing.
In the West final against the B.C. Lions, a receiver stumbled on a route and Burris threw an interception that was brought back to the Stamps' one-yard line.
It didn't phase him. The Stamps eventually won.
For those who have watched Burris for a long time, it's a sign he has really grown. He's doing now what he long said he would do.
"It used to be when Henry threw a pick in the past, it would bother him for a while," said Alouettes defensive co-ordinator Tim Burke, who spent three seasons with the Stamps on the defensive side.
"Then something else would go wrong. In the last game against B.C., he throws the pick, then comes back and just plays great. He's really matured in that area.
"With my experience watching Henry, this is the best he's ever played. He's playing lights-out football.
"He's doing things exactly they way the coaches want him to, but still has his creativity. He knows just how much to use his speed. He doesn't take chances with the ball the ball the way he used to.
"That's why they are such a great team now."
The Stamps went 13-5 this season, in part because Burris didn't get hurt and have to miss a start.
A year ago, a dislocated shoulder kept him out for three week and the Stamps folded.
His play was improved at that point, but it was hard to tell if the injury set him back.
This season was different. Of the Stamps five losses, only one was by more than four points and that was when Burris had to leave at before halftime on Labour Day with a toe injury.
So he's treating Grey Cup week like any other, and making it all about the Xs and Os, not about the legacy.
"Despite if it's the Super Bowl, the Oklahoma State championship or the Big East championship, it's all football," said Burris. "Each and every game you play with pride because you don't want to lose. There's no difference with this game.
"It's for all the marbles and for this or that. But at the end of the day, it's just football.
"You have to use your god-given abilities that got you here."
