The University of Montreal Carabins’ 16-9 Vanier Cup win over the UBC Thunderbirds last Saturday at Queen’s allowed marauder Édouard Doyon to discover a photo from 2000 of himself at 9 months old during a game family celebration sits in the precious trophy.
His father Alain and his godfather Benoît have been enthusiastic supporters of the Laval University Rouge et Or since their debut in 1996. They were there in Toronto in 1999 when their favorites won the Vanier Cup for the first time.
Benoît, owner of the Imaginaire boutique and sponsor of the Rouge et Or, was able to enjoy the three trophies (Vanier Cup, Dunsmore and Churchill) for a day, like the other partners of the team.
At that moment, young Édouard, born on November 3rd, just weeks before the Rouge et Or won its first title, experienced his first contact with the Vanier Cup.
“My mother told me about this photo, but I had never seen it before,” says the Blues Marauder. I imagine she was waiting for the big moment to release it. I told the story to my friends when I was younger. It was possible that I would win it one day.”
Richard Boutin
A dream come true
Doyon can’t believe he’s a national champion. “It’s almost unreal. I don’t notice it yet, except when I see photos. It’s a dream come true. I’ve watched Rouge et Or my whole life and wanted to reach this level.”
Richard Boutin
Although he has been wearing blue for three years, his father is an avid supporter of the Rouge et Or. “We were football fans and that’s still the case. With my brother we were present at the victory of the Rouge et Or in Toronto in 1999. The three of us had 80 season tickets during the first season of Rouge et Or.
“There was a lot of action in Section 3, now 103,” continues Alain, who coached the collegiate Bol d’ in the early 1990s with the Petit Séminaire de Québec under the leadership of Mike Labadie, the first coach of the Rouge and Gold. or the initiator of the football project in Laval won. By 8 a.m. we were at all the tailgates. One time there was no space left when we arrived and I had to park for the following game on Saturday evening.
“At my first game wearing blue in Montreal, I felt out of my element,” the father added. For Louis-Félix’s first game [son fils plus jeune] At Concordia in Laval I stood up to applaud a good game by the Rouge et Or. After 23 years, I was still a supporter of Rouge et Or in my mind. Now things are back to normal, even if there are sometimes strange situations.”
His brother’s support
At the final meeting in Kingston, Doyon was able to count on a good group of supporters. His parents and his godfather, of course, about ten friends and also his brother Louis-Félix, a receiver for the Concordia Stingers.
“My brother was really happy and told me that I was his role model,” said the eldest in the family. He’s been wearing blue for the last three weeks. Everyone had a jersey with the number 28. During our university career we experienced difficult times. This year I earned a starting place and Louis-Félix returned from his injury.
The Doyon family has six season tickets in Laval, four in Montreal and four in Concordia.