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Published May 11, 2026 • Last updated 11 minutes ago • 4 minute read
Mark kilam
Head coach Mark Kilam speaks to the media at the Edmonton Elks first day of training camp on Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia
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The way things have been going, just mentioning Grey Cup and the Edmonton Elks in the same sentence might have people waiting for the punchline.
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After all, this is a team that’s failed to qualify as one of six teams to even make playoffs (in a nine-team league) for the past five years. What business do they think they have of mentioning a championship at this point?
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Well, hold off on clutching those pearls and let’s be real for a second. If they’re not getting into the starting blocks with their eyes focused on being first across the finish line this time around, then what are they even doing here in the first place?
So, with training camp opening at Clarke Park on Sunday, the question of the day was whether or not it’s too early to start talking Grey Cup?
“You can start talking it,” second-year head coach Mark Kilam was quick to reply. “In house, we know what our goal is. We know our plan to get there and we’re just going to attack every day.”
Got it.
When your franchise has taken as many punches over the years as the Elks have, Fight Club rules apply. And the first rule, of course, is you don’t talk about it. Not to outsiders, anyway. Let them think what they want, it makes no difference.
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There is, however, another train of thought when it comes to talking about the Grey Cup. And it’s the version Cody Fajardo prefers as the former Grey Cup MVP stepped onto the practice field for Day 1 as the hands-down starter in the quarterbacks stable.
Edmonton elks training camp
Austin Mack make a catch on Chelen Garnes at the Edmonton Elks first day of training camp on Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia
“Actually, I think it’s a little bit different. I think you talk about Grey Cup Day 1, and then you stop talking about it,” said Fajardo, who was brought in by the Elks ahead of last season with the express purpose of backing up anointed starter Tre Ford, which lasted all of five games. “Because then you want your focus to be right in front of you.
“But you have to let the guys know what the end goal is, and the end goal’s the Grey Cup. This isn’t a team that, ‘We just want to make the playoffs.’ ‘Oh, we just want to make a run.’ It’s, ‘We want to win a Grey Cup,’ and this roster is good enough to win a Grey Cup.”
Not a couple seasons from now. Not a year from now. He’s talking right now, and damned with whatever recent history says.
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“And for me, you know you only have so many years left,” Fajardo said. “So, I’m in the business of winning games and I’m in the business of winning Grey Cups.
“So, you talk about it Day 1, and then after that you focus on how do we get better to get to that end goal?”
OK, so at least we know they’re not afraid to say why they’re here, even if the ambitions might look a bit lofty, to say the least, given the more recent results.
There is no beating around the bush. This team is no longer interested in climbing back up to the ranks of respectability. Fajardo came in partway through last season and hauled them right back into playoff contention, no matter how out of reach it might have looked, until the final week of the regular season.
And now, Round 2, for him, begins on Day 1 of training camp. And from here on out, talk is cheap, and if they want to compete for the Grey Cup, they better focus on the process.
By the way, that’s what actual leadership sounds like to any sports fans in Edmonton who might not be used to having the captain of their team take the reins with his words. Just sayin’ …
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Then there’s the third way to approach the question of the day. And we’ll leave that one up to Austin Mack, the tour-de-force offensive free-agent signing who caught passes from Fajardo when the two won it all in Montreal three years ago.
A rookie in that 2023 Canadian Football League season, Mack hasn’t known anything but Edmonton missing the playoffs.
Never mind asking him about the Grey Cup on Day 1, you can’t ask him about his new surroundings without having him talking titles.
“I’m loving it. Man, it’s a beautiful stadium, great locker-room,” said the 28-year-old Ohio State product. “Just trying to get acclimated, just trying to find my role and help us win a championship.”
Which would be a long way to go compared to where this team has ended up.
“For sure, but you know what’s crazy? I’m not a big CFL guy, but every team I’ve been on I try to understand the culture and the tradition of what’s come before,” Mack said. “And if you look at the years we’ve won a Grey Cup, it’s like every 10 years. And the last one was 2015, so we’re due for one and I think the tides are turning.”
Safe to say, for Mack, it’s never too early to start talking Grey Cup. Day 1 and every day after that.
“No, you’ve got to start,” he said. “The mentality has to be Grey Cup. I’ve been to two in three years, so that’s all I know.”
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On X: @StarkRavinMod
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