Alouettes championship banner reveal was a galvanizing moment of joy for fans

As a red curtain rolled up to reveal the Alouettes 2023 championship banner, 13 years of waiting came to an end for longtime Alouettes fan David Szczerbickyi.  

"Woah, the Als are the best football team in Canada and now we proved it and it's there," he said, pointing to the east end of Percival Molson stadium where the Alouettes' eight championship banners hang. 

"I'm a lifetime follower, and it just meant the world to see these guys work so hard and win the Grey Cup."

For Pierre Karl Péladeau the banner reveal moment capped a dream start to his tenure as owner.

He purchased the team only 15 months ago, in March 2023. Since then he's seen the Alouettes win a Grey Cup, host a parade through downtown Montreal and now raise a championship banner. 

He said the feeling Thursday evening brought him back to being a young man in the 1970s — Montreal won three championships that decade. 

"Today is rejuvenating,"  said Péladeau. "I'm 62, it's like coming back to 20."

He admitted that, despite the team's success in 2023, they still operated at a loss. He's not bullish on turning a profit anytime soon.

"I said this at the beginning, I'm not coming in this for the money. There is no money to be made in football now. Could this change in the future? We will find out," Péladeau said.

The Alouettes owner is hoping that this newfound triumph brings fans back. The team's popularity dropped off after more than a decade with little success on the field.

Percival Molson Stadium was filled with more than 20,000 fans Thursday night for the first home game this season as the Alouettes took on their rivals, the Ottawa RedBlacks.

Sam Boudreau, who was born in 2005, was among the 20,000 fans. He remembers the Alouettes' last win in 2010, but