Video: Sean Whyte’s 22-yard field goal attempt foiled by wind makes waves south of the border

Last Sunday's East semifinal between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montreal Alouettes was notable for the incredible wind in Guelph, which made it extremely difficult for whichever team was driving into the gusts. Punters Burke Dales (Montreal) and Josh Bartel (Hamilton) put up long punts of 65 and 55 yards respectively with the wind, but had several others go for barely 20 yards into it. However, the most notable wind effect of all may have come in the kicking game, and it's one that's gained plenty of attention south of the border. In the second quarter with his team up 2-0, Montreal kicker Sean Whyte attempted a 22-yard field goal into the wind. The result was remarkable enough to lead off Friday's edition of the Yahoo! Sports Minute:

It's quite remarkable to see wind affect such a short field goal so dramatically, and that's why this story's gained plenty of traction across the media landscape. This one had a major impact on the game, too. Normally, a missed field goal that wasn't returned out of the end zone would have been a rouge (a single point), but after significant deliberation from the officials, it was ruled that Montreal had knocked it in, rendering the point invalid. As the game wound up going to overtime, three points or even just a single point here could have given the Alouettes a regulation-time win if the rest of the game had played out similarly. Instead, they were foiled by the wind, and that led to them coming up short in overtime. The CFL's always fun when the elements play a role, and this might be one of the most notable weather-affected games in a while. Poor Whyte will have to spend his offseason cursing the wind now...