(Montreal) The Alouettes parade has just started in downtown Montreal.
Led by the cheerleaders, the procession set off from the corner of Boulevard de Maisonneuve and Rue Crescent. Head coach Jason Maas and his family followed in a convertible, ahead of four double-decker buses carrying players and members of the organization.
All these beautiful people took the road towards the east. The parade will end at Place des Festivals, at the corner of de Maisonneuve and Clark. Already, around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, several dozen people were gathered there.
Thousands of people were crowded on the sidewalks along Boulevard de Maisonneuve.
The Alouettes won the eighth Gray Cup in their history on Sunday by beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 on their last push of the game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
This is their first coronation since 2010, in their first final since this previous victory recorded on the pitch at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
“Every day, the emotions are better,” Maas told RDS. Seeing the fans here is incredible. We said it all season that we were doing it for someone other than ourselves. It is particularly for our supporters that we did it.
” This is exceptional. From the moment this team came together for a first meeting, that has been our goal. We did it for Montreal, Quebec and 425 Squadron,” he added.
Squadron 425 of Bagotville is a tactical support squadron formed in 1942 and made up exclusively of French speakers. The Alouettes take their name from this squadron.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo gave a motivational speech that struck a chord with his teammates the day before the grand final. This speech, where he uses colorful language, was found on social networks on Tuesday.
Fajardo played possibly his career best game on Sunday, completing 21 of 26 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns, compared to just one interception. His 13-yard run on the Alouettes’ final offensive push, when the team was on a second down with 18 yards to go, allowed the club to stay alive.
Two precise passes later, on 31 yards to Cole Spieker and 19 to Tyson Philpot, the Alouettes took the lead for the first time in the game.