Not all players can boast of being part of a dynasty. Even less to be the instigators. Almost 23 years after the first Rouge et Or triumph at the Vanier Cup, the victory of the “no-names” from the University of Laval is “remembered”.
On November 27, 1999, the Rouge et Or’s fledgling program defied all predictions and was crowned at the SkyDome in Toronto. That 14-10 win over the mighty Saint Mary’s University Huskies set the stage for a dynasty that would come to dominate Canadian college football for years to come.
Photo Didier Debusschere
The elders took a group photo.
Since then, nine other Vanier Cups have followed the path of Université Laval’s PEPS.
“We feel old. You feel very old,” Francesco Pepe Esposito first laughed when asked to go back in time.
The ex-defensive end along with 25 of his former teammates were introduced to the crowd before the game in a retro ’90s style game.
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Neither Pepe nor his teammates had any idea of the impact this championship would have on an entire football programme.
“We didn’t even think about it. Back then we were, I apologize for the term, no-names,” he says humbly.
“If we compare our talent to those we played against, we were less talented. But I think we had a body, a synergy and that made the difference in those years. But if we compare ourselves to today’s players, most of us wouldn’t be on the pitch. »
These comments were also echoed by former passport recipient Sébastien Robillard.
“The scale it could have been… The Nordiques were gone, the Quebec people took over the football club. First French-speaking team that was also in the circuit. There was madness beyond what we could have hoped for,” he recalls.
“A kind of frivolity”
Francesco Pepe Esposito does not hesitate for a moment when asked if the memories of this Vanier Cup are still fresh in his mind.
“I remember everything. Pre-match, coaching, training the week before. Getting involved in that game without really knowing what we were going to achieve. We were, yes, nervous but I think our lack of consideration for the situation gave us a kind of lightness,” adds the defender par excellence
this day.
Since then, the underrated young team has become a role model across Canada. As the 13,000+ spectators cheered on these favourites, Stéphane Robillard watched how far they had come.
“Seeing the program today, everything that has been done is extraordinary,” he exclaims.
Etched in memory
Mathieu Bertrand, special teams coordinator and centre-back coach, also enjoyed reconnecting with his former team-mates.
“I think it’s fantastic. These are the guys who started the program and believed in it from the start. The fact that they’re being brought back and that they can now see how it’s done is extraordinary to me. »
“They’re friends you win championships with and there’s no one who can take that away from you. These are memories that are burned into our heads forever. »