After Quebec a year ago, it is now Montreal’s turn to win championships this past spring. Some will say that the victories of the Rouge et Or, the Remparts, the Alouettes and the Carabins don’t have the appeal of winning the Rose Bowl or the Stanley Cup, but that doesn’t take anything away from their creators. On the contrary: These successes show that we have players and coaches who are capable of great achievements.
This is particularly notable in football, a sport that was rarely played in French-speaking Quebec in the past. In the 1960s, Pierre Desjardins and Pierre Dumont played a few seasons with the Alouettes. Gabriel Grégoire followed in the 1970s.
Gaby was proud of his heritage and wore the Fleur-de-Lys flag logo on his helmet.
Had to do it in time!
The young man from Sainte-Martine was afraid of nothing and no one. He was one of the first Quebec athletes to show his nationalism.
Grégoire is now 69 years old (he turns 70 on December 22nd) and still has football in his skin. After staying away from the media world for several years, he continues to follow sports news.
The conquests of the Gray Cup by the Alouettes and the Vanier Cup by the Carabins of the University of Montreal brought him great joy.
“The Alouettes’ victory is that of Glen Constantin and Danny Maciocia! he announces with his usual panache.
“It’s a victory for Quebec football.”
Quality trainer
During his time, Laval University and the University of Montreal did not have football programs. The same applies to the University of Sherbrooke.
To play in Quebec’s university ranks, French-speaking players had to contact the McGill Redmen, the Concordia Stingers, the Bishop’s Gaiters, or even a university institution outside of Quebec.
Several players from the CEGEPs fell back on the Verdun Maple Leafs, who were part of the so-called Ontario Football Conference. This is what Grégoire did after playing for the Collège Grasset team.
In 1976 he made his debut with the Alouettes, led by the renowned Marv Levy, who was still in this world at the ripe old age of 98. Levy was more than a coach. He was a unifier who also taught his players about life.
Grégoire has unforgettable memories of it.
“The difference between football in Quebec today and that of my time is the quality of the coach,” he said.
“I had speed, strong legs and certain playing skills. But to show my lack of preparation, I had never lifted weights before my first camp with the Alouettes.”
Grégoire wore the colors of the Montreal team from 1976 to 1980 and won the Gray Cup at the expense of the Edmonton Eskimos during the famous Ice Bowl, played in freezing weather in front of 68,318 spectators at the Olympic Stadium. He also took part in the 1978 and 1979 games against the same team.
No money to revive the carbines
In 1981 he became head coach of the Cégep Édouard-Montpetit team. The following year, he set out to revive a soccer program at the University of Montreal, which had had a team in the 1960s. He created a budget before knocking on the doors of several companies.
The reaction was the same everywhere.
“We have no money to invest in a project that does not attract public interest,” he was told.
Grégoire emerged from the experience depressed. He believes his political positions played a big role.
“It hurt me a lot,” he said.
“I didn’t have an owner like Mr. Péladeau to support me!” he adds with a laugh.
Even the management of the University of Montreal was not receptive to the idea. The people he met told him that they preferred recreational sports to competitive sports.
Dequoy was only telling the truth
The former defensive winger sees himself again in Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
“I looked a bit like him when I played,” he continues.
“I wore the Quebec flag logo on my helmet. I was a nationalist and I didn’t shy away from saying that I loved Mr. Lévesque [le premier ministre].”
For him, the speech Dequoy gave after the Alouettes’ victory showed that French was still not respected in the other Canadian provinces.
“To say that the TSN network claimed in its schedule that the Gray Cup game would pit the Toronto Argonauts against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is a lack of respect and a sign of arrogance towards Francophones,” regrets he.
No matter, the Gray Cup and the Vanier Cup take place in Quebec.
“Canada never recognized that Quebec had become a soccer power in the country,” Grégoire continues.
“And Canada has lost that strength. This is where it is located. »
Congratulations also to Mario Cecchini!
Although he is no longer employed by the Alouettes, Mario Cecchini received a congratulatory message from Gabriel Grégoire on the team’s victory in the Gray Cup game.
“Danny Maciocia and Mario went through hell and humiliation under Gary Stern’s reign,” Grégoire said of the organization’s former co-owner.
“Then Pierre Karl Péladeau came along and aimed for the Gray Cup in his first year. He must die of laughter!
“Mr. Péladeau has done well. His involvement with the Alouettes is proof that a businessman who identifies as an independentist can work hand in hand with English-speaking partners in the league and the owners of other teams.
From doubt to certainty
Grégoire also remembers that the composition of the team’s coaching staff was not unanimous at the beginning.
“Some people thought it looked too much like the University of Montreal with Anthony Calvillo, Noel Thorpe and Byron Archambault,” he says.
“Archambault was said to have too many responsibilities for a young coach. He was criticized, but look what he did.”
Grégoire also praises head coach Jason Maas.
“In the third training session before the semi-final against Hamilton he got his players back in order,” he says.
“He told them that they had won nothing and that they still had a lot of work to do.
“That’s coaching!”
Finally, Grégoire enjoyed the presence of Mark Weightman, Maciocia and Maas at the Vanier Cup game.
“You’ve just won the Gray Cup, jump in your tank and visit the Carabins at the Vanier Cup game to support your university team (and spy on players). I think that’s great!” Gregoire is finished.
Carabins coach Marco Iadeluca, his assistants and his players also deserve praise.
