(Hamilton) Kristian Matte is the last of the Mohicans. He is the only player in a Montreal Alouettes uniform to have won the 2010 Gray Cup, against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Even though it has been 13 years, the memories are still fresh in his mind.
“Immediately after the victory against Toronto, I said to myself that it had been a long time,” the 38-year-old athlete said on Tuesday. But after a few minutes, maybe five or 10, I thought back to the match and said to myself that it seemed like it was yesterday. It goes by very quickly. This week will also go by very quickly. I tell the guys not to take it for granted, you never know when you’re going to come back. To have fun and get work done when it’s time to work. If we do that, we’ll have good chances this weekend. »
For the Alouettes, who will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo and offensive line coach Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Matte’s good friend, are the only ones who can remember this crazy week.
“The memories are there. Today, I perhaps feel more like I’m experiencing it adequately, noted Brodeur-Jourdain, who would like to be alongside Matte for this ultimate match. When you’re young, in your first years in the CFL, you’re a bit like a whirlwind, it’s like a storm around you. You try to stay focused on the task, like when you’re a coach, but you do it with a little more lightness. »
Both Matte and Brodeur-Jourdain would never have believed that the Alouettes would take 13 years to return to the grand final of the Ambrosie circuit.
“Did I think it would be this long?” I hoped not, admitted Brodeur-Jourdain. I don’t think that during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, we couldn’t aspire to participate. There was the heartbreaking defeat at the Olympic Stadium against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in overtime and the defeat against Toronto where we led at halftime. I still think we had the best team in the league that year. From 2013 onwards, it was more difficult.
“We can say that since 2019, even if a lot of things have happened in the organization, we see that on the ground, things have gone better. We ate crumbs for a couple of years; It feels good to finally smell the buffet! »
Matte will enjoy every moment this week and will even serve as a mentor to his younger teammates who may be looking for advice.
“It’s clear that when we get older, younger people ask us questions. We have a lot of recruits on the team. Going to the Gray Cup your first year is special. If you had asked me that year when I was going to go back, I would have said every year. We are so confident. We are even older: we want to win every year.
“But we are at the end of the season. We are no longer recruits; in the playoffs, we are all veterans. We have good heads on our shoulders and the coaches are also there to support us. »
What memories do they keep of the 2010 conquest?
“Smoking a cigar with Luc Brodeur-Jourdain,” said Matte. A Partagas No 2. That was really special! I want to relive that moment with many of the guys from this year. »
” Parade ! When I talk about this experience, the two championships that I won for Montreal and the province of Quebec, the day of the parade is something that stays with you for the rest of your life,” he noted “ LBJ.”
“It’s a moment where time stands still. You don’t really understand what’s going on. You don’t understand the magnitude and scope of what you have just accomplished and the impact it has in terms of pride among the people in your community. I wish the players [des Alouettes] can see how much they are loved by the population. »