The Alouettes return to the nest

BET À DAY

I'm damn proud and happy. The Larks return to the nest. They will once again become a Quebec team, Quebec-owned and for the first time since Léo Dandurand, the team will have a French-speaking owner.

The younger ones only experienced a watered-down version of the Alouettes. But there are still several of us who have collected photos of Maurice Richard… and Sam Etcheverry. The “Rifle” was the Alouettes' great quarterback and wore number 92. Along with Red O'Quinn, Hal Patterson and Pat Abbruzzi, they terrified the defenses of the Big Four, the name at the time of the East Division of the Canadian League.

When life allowed me to interview Etcheverry, I was as moved as during my first interview with Rocket Richard. 

And yesterday morning, when I reached Pierre Karl Péladeau while he was on his way to his press conference, I was more excited than conscientious. You'll forgive me, it happens twice a year. The other is when I propose to Lady Ju. 

I loved Sam Etcheverry, I covered Sonny Wade and Joe Barnes with Junior Ah You in an Olympic Stadium packed with 67,000 fans. I was a season ticket holder with the Alouettes with Tracy Ham, Anthony Calvillo, Mike Pringle and Ben Cahoon. During these first ten seasons of the new century (2000 to 2010), the Alouettes played more than 100 sold-out games at Molson Stadium. It was the best party in town and there are Gray Cup parades that drew over a quarter of a million fans to the streets of downtown. 

It's not Greta Thunberg, but it's still big.

Then things got even worse and Pierre Karl Péladeau appeared yesterday as the savior of the Alouettes' third life.  

•  Listen Mario Dumont's interview with Annie Larouche, vice-president of operations for the Montreal Alliance basketball team and former manager of the Montreal Alouettes cheerleading team for 25 years on < strong>QUB radio: