As stages go, this was the equivalent of Carnegie Hall for a pop singer, La Scala for a baritone or London’s Old Vic for a serious actor.

Eighty-thousand seats at Sun Life Stadium occupied. An American TV audience of 26.4 million (a 17.5 Nielsen Ratings share) at home, watching. The dulcet tones of Brent Musberger on the mic for ESPN.

And the bookies had been busy: A reported $2 billion in wagering.

The 2013 BCS NCAA National Championship Game, pitting unbeaten, No. 1-ranked Notre Dame against 12-1 Alabama. Two of U.S. college football’s heavyweight programs, mano-a-mano, for the title.

A name-above-the-marquee moment for anyone, surely.

“I do remember it was hot,” recalls DaVaris Daniels, standing, Madame Tussaud-still in somewhat less exotic conditions at McMahon Stadium on Wednesday. “And humid. Miami, right?

“Being from Chicago, I found it too hot. Definitely a different experience.

“Didn’t like it too much.”

The weather. Or the game, actually.

Daniels and Notre Dame were silenced 42-14 by the Crimson Tide. But one of the bright spots for the Fighting Irish on a dark afternoon in brilliant sunshine was the young wideout, snaring six passes for 115 yards.

“It was exciting, man,’’ recalls Daniels. “It’s every kid’s dream growing up to play in a national championship. Just to make it, feel the crowd, see all the cameras …

“I mean, there are so many distractions. But you can’t think about anybody but the dudes on your sideline and yourself.

“You can’t wonder or be scared about what anybody’s going to say about you, or the team, before or after the game. You go and do what you do, what you’ve done your whole life. You play.

“That’s the main thing I take from back then into any big game now.”

Which segues nicely into Sunday.

The scope of the West Division final may be scaled down slightly from Miami 2013 (even if the conditions – cloudy, and a projected plus-4 Celsius – are projected to be more to the liking of a guy incubated in the biting wind off Lake Michigan) but the importance level is also staggeringly high.

A trip to the Grey Cup Game awaits the victor.

“You know, I never won a championship,’’ says his dad, Phillip Daniels, on the phone from Philadelphia. “I played 15 years and never won a Super Bowl. So for him to be in position to make that, a championship, a Grey Cup, happen … it’s great. He’s been through a lot but he’s doing now exactly what I believed he was capable of. I just knew once he got his opportunity, he would shine.

“He felt he should be playing (in the NFL) but we had a conversation and I told him go to Canada, make a name for yourself there.

“Luckily, he went to a great situation. He loves it there. He’s treated well. Loves his coaches, loves his teammates.

“I always tell him – the man above, He will send you where you need to be.

“Right now, DaVaris is where he needs to be.”

If the Calgary Stampeders are to tame the savage beast of BC, Wally Buono’s last-ditch/on-a-roll Lions, the division’s representative for Most Outstanding Rookie figures to be one of the main protagonists.

In the 11 games after being conscripted into the starting lineup, Daniels has latched onto 51 passes for 885 yards (17.4-yard average) and nine touchdowns.

Ever since, he’s assumed the role of Tape Measure Threat, their Go-Yard Guy.

“For me, heading into big games like this, the main thing is to not let the game get the best of you,’’ says Daniels of Sunday.

“It’s going to be exciting, a lot of emotion. But you know how you can play, what you bring to the table for your team.

“Just lock in on what your job is. Do what you’ve been doing for 22 weeks now.”

Being nurtured in a football environment, he admits, helps sort our priorities.

Phillip Daniels played 15 seasons as a defensive end for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins and is currently the defensive quality control/assistant defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.

“He grew up watching me play, go through all the injuries, the highs and lows,’’ says his dad. “I had highlight films of our games around the house. I  didn’t realize how much he was watching those films until I went out and watched him play games in Little League.

“He’d say: ‘Dad, you know where I learned that from, right?’ and I’d be like: ‘No, I have no clue, but I like it.’ And he’d tell me it was from watching those highlight films.

“He was always in tune to football.”

Small wonder.

“My parents had me at a young age so I’ve seen every bit of his career,’’ says DaVaris. “The main thing I learned from him is that your preparation takes care of everything you do on game day.

“He was kinda quiet on game day. Didn’t really talk too much. My dad took pride in being a professional. So he locked in on what his job was. What he did, he wanted to do well.

“Know your assignment, know your responsibility, know your responsibility to your team. And then go out take care of it.”

The moments, all of them – good and bad; both heart-leaping and heartbreaking – stick with the son.

The good?

“A game they had to win to get in the playoffs,’’ he reminisces, “when he was with the Redskins. And my dad, he came in when they were losing. On the final drive, all the other team had to do was hold onto the ball, but he got a sack and stripped the ball from the quarterback. (Safety) Sean Taylor scooped it up and scored to seal the deal. They had to win six games straight to get in, and that was the last one.

“And he made THE play.

“I was a pretty pumped, proud guy that day.”

The bad?

“Well, he was playing for the Bears and they were up against … I want to say the Eagles, or maybe Tampa Bay, in the playoffs. Anyway, they lost. I was, like, nine years old. The game was in Chicago, the whole family was there. And I was furious. Super-mad.

“Crying and everything.

“‘Cause I hate losing.

“Absolutely hate it.”

Phillip Daniels laughs at that.

“We really didn’t have a very good team in Chicago then,’’ he muses, “so he did a lot of crying. But that just showed how competitive he was.”

That sort of all-in mentality must be music to Stamps boss Dave Dickenson’s ears. In a game loaded with top-end receiving threats – Daniels, Marquay McDaniel, Manny Arceneaux, Bryan Burnham, etc., etc. – any of their number could be the guy to turn the outcome one way or t’other.

DaVaris Daniels with his parents after the Stamps game in Hamilton on Oct. 1, 2016

Daniels’ parents flew in to watch him in red and white at Hamilton on Oct. 1 (a five-catch, 123-yard, two-TD performance) – and his mom Leslie attended subsequent games in both Toronto and Montreal.

Unfortunately, Phillip Daniels has pressing obligations this coming Sunday in Seattle, where the 5-4 Eagles face the Seahawks. Kickoff at is scheduled for 2:25 Calgary time, more or less the same time the Western Final gets under way.

So maybe he’ll be able to get a peek at a TV or find a score somewhere during the afternoon. Or not.

“I’ve thought about that, not getting to see him play,’’ says Phillip Daniels. “We watch all their games on the computer or on TV. But this time, I’ll be in the press box and I don’t think we’re allowed to have iPads or anything like that up there.

“I’ll probably get to halftime and rush to my locker and get the score. It’s gonna be tough for me because I need to be getting my guys where they need to be, but I’ll have that be in the back of my mind.

“I’m gonna be goin’ crazy, I’m sure.”

Different country, different league, different rules, different field size. But a championship … that’s the ultimate. Anywhere. Any time. Any way.

“I live through him now. I post everything he does,’’ says the elder Daniels. “I get a Google alert so every time you guys write something, I post it.

“His nickname is Toot. We’ve got a little group we call Team Toot. So every time I put the hashtag #TeamToot, we’re all there.”

DaVaris Daniels and his mom before a game in Toronto on Oct. 10, 2016

“My mom is actually sad that she can’t make it, either,’’ reports DaVaris. “She’s going to Seattle with my dad.

“I’d play my heart out anyway but there’s a little extra incentive for me because if we do win they WILL be at the Grey Cup.”

No missing that, says Phillip Daniels. Under any circumstances.

“It works out good. I’d fly to Toronto, hopefully on the Saturday, see the Grey Cup Game Sunday and then fly back the next morning because we have a Monday Night game here against Green Bay. We’d all be there.

“His mom and me and the rest of the family, we’re his biggest fans right now. We just want to see him finish strong and win a Grey Cup. Shoot, I’d love to see him be MVP of a Grey Cup Game. That’s not too farfetched.”

No stranger to a big stage, another awaits DaVaris Daniels come Sunday.

“We all watch our dads, right?’’ Daniels reminds you. “Your dad’s the one you model yourself after. Well, my dad, as I said, he never let the moment get too big for him.

“You can’t think about what’s at stake. Just go out there, trust in yourself and that everything’s going to take care of itself.

“Sure it might just be you who’s called upon to make the difference; make that big play.

“Who knows?

“What matters is that if that does happen to be you, you’d better be ready.”