The Montreal Alouettes will have the privilege of already chasing away the gridiron when they take to the field at BMO Field in Toronto on Thursday to face the Argonauts.
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The crowd favorites will compete in their first duel of the 2022 season.
The Ontario team used a week off to get the season started while the Sparrows had a chance to take on the Calgary Stampeders before whom they lost 30-27.
The “Argos” head coach does not fear this match because of the opponent, but because his men have not yet contested a regular season duel.
“It’s never a good game in the first week,” he said, his comments being picked up by the Toronto Sun. We just have to find a way to win, apply the basics right, watch the ball and do well on our special teams. We should get out of here.”
In 2022, the Argonauts will look to build on their success from last season after finishing the shortened season first in the Eastern Conference. To get there, they added several household names to their roster, including running back Andrew Harris and wide receiver Brandon Banks.
Stern apologizes
The rivalry between the Argonauts and the Alouettes is said to be dead, but the owner of the Belle Province team added fuel to the fire on Tuesday by saying his team was “killing Toronto.”
Stern apologized for his choice of words on his Twitter account on Wednesday. “Kill was the wrong word,” the tweet said. Two great teams, it’s going to be a good game but I have to believe that the Alouettes will win.”
In 2021, the two teams exchanged honors in a series of two duels in the regular season. The Argonauts triumphed 30-27 at BMO Field before the Alouettes won 37-16 later in the season at Percival-Molson Stadium.
Thursday’s clash is the first of three between the two teams, which will conclude the season with a home-away series in October.