(Montreal) Let’s write it one last time: the Montreal Alouettes won the Gray Cup in 2023. Now, Jason Maas and all the members of the 2024 edition, and especially those who savored this triumph, say that he We must turn the page on this glorious moment.
The writing of a new chapter in the history of the Montreal team will begin Thursday, in the stronghold of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
This is the same team that the Alouettes upset by a score of 28-24 in the final game of the 2023 Canadian Football League season, on November 19 in Hamilton.
In this context, it could be more difficult to turn this famous page, some will say. Maas, who is starting a second campaign at the helm of the Alouettes, does not see things that way.
“It’s the first game of the season and to be honest it doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We love to play and be competitive. This is how I reacted when I saw it was Winnipeg. You [the CFL] make the schedule and we’re going to play,” said Maas, after a training session held under a hot sun on the synthetic surface of Hébert stadium in Saint-Léonard on Tuesday.
“The thing we always look at is the number of days we have to prepare,” Maas continued. We had the whole offseason plus training camp, we had a six-day week of practice leading up to this game and we accomplished all that. Now we are ready to play. »
Before the Blue Bombers posted back-to-back triumphs in 2019 and 2021 – the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season – the Alouettes were the last CFL team to win the Gray Cup two years in a row.
It was in 2009 and 2010, at the time of quarterback Anthony Calvillo and offensive lineman Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, now members of the team’s coaching staff.
Marc Trestman was the head coach of the Alouettes and both Calvillo and Brodeur-Jourdain remember the central point of the message he gave to his team before starting the defense of the 2009 championship.
“He told us from the beginning that we would not talk about the possibility of repeating [our triumph],” Calvillo recalled.
“Every year it’s a different team. At the time, it was Trestman’s message to say that whatever was accomplished in 2009, it had absolutely nothing to do with the 2010 edition,” added Brodeur-Jourdain. .
Calvillo, who also won the Gray Cup in 2002, made it his mission to demonstrate consistency year after year, week after week.
“I wanted to prepare the same way, show the same dedication and keep the same mindset, because it doesn’t matter if you won a championship the year before or played a good game the day before, you have to move on and move forward. But you have to remain disciplined and do whatever is necessary to be successful on the field. »
It is this daily rigor that Maas hopes to see during the 2024 season.
“Is it hard to forget last year’s highlight? No. In all honesty, the next year started on November 20 when [general manager] Danny [Maciocia] and I, while driving, started talking about this year. I’ve been thinking about this year for six months,” Maas remarked.
“So I’ve turned the page [on 2023] and I think that’s the case for everyone here. We all have the feeling of being in the present moment. What we control is showing up in our neighborhoods every day with the choice to work hard, to be competitive, to be in unison and do what we need to do. We know what we want to achieve in the end, but you can’t achieve success in the end if you don’t accomplish something now. And I think our guys understand that. »
The list of contributors to the 2023 triumph includes offensive lineman Philippe Gagnon, who is expected to start at right guard in Winnipeg.
“It’s always exciting, a new season, a new team, new chemistry. There are always new players added, others leaving. Even though we have a big core of returning players, it’s still a different team. Like every year, the goal is to win everything,” declared the athlete from Ancienne-Lorette, who signed a one-season agreement on January 31.
According to Brodeur-Jourdain, the coach responsible for the Alouettes’ offensive line, Gagnon had an excellent training camp.
“He worked extremely hard throughout camp, took reps at every position. We asked a lot of him,” admitted Brodeur-Jourdain.
Aged 31 and a first-round pick of the Alouettes in 2016, Gagnon did not always have luck on his side, recalled Brodeur-Jourdain.
“Unfortunately, since the start of his career he has had major injuries that took him off the field. Ultimately, he is a talented player, a powerful player who is in the period of his life where he is perhaps at the peak of his athletic qualities. To see him evolve throughout training camp, it was perceptible, palpable. »
