Quebec Premier François Legault’s recent comments about the Olympic Stadium caught my attention. Therefore, he mentions the challenge of moving from a negative symbol to a positive symbol.
In my case, without wanting to be sloppy, I would like to point out that the Olympic Stadium has long been a great positive symbol for me. That’s why I carefully keep a championship ring at home engraved with the magnificent Montreal Stadium and its famous leaning tower. It is a special gem that only a few Quebecers own, including Randy Chevrier, Miguel Robédé, Jonathan Lapointe and me.
In fact, I won the Gray Cup in 2008 at Olympic Stadium with my Calgary Stampeders teammates. I won’t dwell on the subject as we beat the Alouettes 22-14 in the finals that year. And you have every right to hate me for it.
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Against this background, I would particularly like to remind you that there were more than 66,000 spectators on site for this football match. It was sick!
Major projects
Obviously, and Mr. Legault himself has admitted it, the renovation of the Olympic Stadium will cost a lot of money. However, people should not underestimate the impact that a large, functional stadium can have on a city like Montreal. The Olympic Stadium is a flagship of Quebec.
Football is also one of the sports that could benefit from a new roof in the Olympic Stadium. We could dream of hosting the Gray Cup in Montreal again, because right now that’s not a viable scenario at Percival Molson Stadium.
The Alouettes could also host certain home playoff games there. Imagine more than 45,000 people in attendance to watch a game like the Eastern semifinals scheduled for Nov. 4. The organization would use this one session to ensure it stays afloat in its annual budget. And why not maybe present an NFL game there? The new playing area is already an enrichment for the Olympic Stadium.
The message of the Tiger Cats
You have to allow yourself to dream! Until then, we meet on Saturday at Percival Molson Stadium, where the Alouettes will finish their regular season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a team they will face the following week in the semifinals at the same location East. Even though there is no real stakes this weekend, it is clear to me that the Ti-Cats want to use this game to send a message for the next game.
As for the Alouettes, they can repeat the words of my former head coach John Hufnagel, engraved on the 2008 ring: “We got them exactly where we wanted.” Hufnagel said those words at halftime, when we were down 13-10 behind… For the 2023 Alouettes, they have the Tiger-Cats right where they wanted them by facing them at home.
–Comments collected by Benoit Rioux