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MONTREAL -- That huge smile on Henry Burris' face may never go away.
But first, there will be crying time. It is the most and the least the championship quarterback can do.
"I'm going to cry tonight," said Burris. "I'm going to cry tomorrow. I'm holding it back right now. Just the thought of this, hearing this song We Are The Champions.
"I don't know what to think. I don't know what to feel. I just know this feels great. This is unreal. This is so unreal."
Except it's not.
After all these years, all those frustrations, all those doubts, there was Smilin' Hank last night, pumping the Grey Cup above his head, a championship game in which he made the difference.
He did it with his arm, his legs, his head, and he did it when it mattered most, a statement victory for just about the most genuine man in the CFL.
For Burris, there was a little shake, a little rattle, a little roll, and a whole lot of help from his defence, as the Calgary Stampeders defeated the hometown Alouettes 22-14 in front of the second-largest crowd -- 66,308 at Olympic Stadium -- in the 96-year history of the Grey
It was the lowest-scoring Grey Cup in 16 years and while Burris wouldn't have believed he could have won a championship with just one offensive touchdown, he wasn't about to give anything back.
"It's hard to explain what I'm feeling," said Burris, who hadn't started a Grey Cup before, hadn't been considered an elite quarterback prior to this year. "You've think of everywhere you've been. You think of everything you've done. You think of your parents. You think of your teammates. You think of all of that. It's pretty emotional."
Burris passed for 328 yards and a touchdown and maybe more importantly, ran for a game-high 79 yards as the Stampeders controlled the game and the clock, allowing just one point in the second half. It was his running, primarily in the second half, that changed the game in Calgary's favour.
"We played Montreal three times, beat them three times," said coach John Hufnagel, "Henry ran against them three times. That's what we wanted to do."
"If you look back," said Stamps head coach John Hufnagel. "We played Montreal three times and beat them three times. Henry ran against them three times. That's what we wanted to do."
It just took a while -- trailing after the first quarter, trailing after the half then leading 16-14 after three quarters, to get going. And the relief for the Stamps, who have lived through all the Burris years, was evident during the celebration.
"There was good Hank, bad Hank, can't win the big game Hank," said Sandro DeAngelis, who kicked five field goals, including a huge 50-yarder, to be named top Canadian player.
Burris was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
"I've been through a lot of B.S. with that guy, " said DeAngelis. "Nobody, I mean nobody, deserves this more than him ... I feel so good for him. This is an amazing feeling."
The win by the Stamps had a prize-fight element to it. There was the early feeling out period. There was winning the key rounds. And there was the eventual knockout punch which came in different forms.
It came from Burris. It came from the pass rush of Mike Labinjo and Charleston Hughes. It came in interceptions from Dwight Anderson and Shannon James. It came from the game planning of Hufnagel, who won his first Grey Cup as a head coach in his first Grey Cup as a head coach. It came from kicker DeAngelis, who didn't miss.
This was a team victory by the Stampeders punctuated by Burris, a championship quarterback of many dimensions. He was everything Anthony Calvillo wasn't last night.
This was Grey Cup six for Calvillo. He has just one win. Burris now has two Grey Cup wins, one as a starter, one as a clipboard carrier.
"This is for Henry," said DeAngelis. "This is for everything he's been through. This is for everything we've been through as a team. This is truly the most amazing day of my life."
Burris will say the same when he has stopped crying, planted his feet and digested everything that went down.
The smile was there, even in the tough times. Only now, he never has to explain it any more.