The trip of the Catudal sisters, at the time living in Bromont at the family home, had been talked about in The Voice of the East. “Behind the Expos until the end!” was the title of the article signed by the author of these lines.
“Is mourning over after all these years? I think we get used to it, but we will never forget and we will always miss all these little magical moments,” explains Fabienne, who now lives in Granby with her two children.
And these little magical moments from the past are numerous.
“Our father worked in Magog, he was burned when he came home and we were like: ‘Dad, dad, we’re going to see the Expos this evening! Come on, say yes!’, says Fabienne. Then, once at the stadium, there was the camaraderie with the other regulars, the smell of hot dogs, the contact with the players before the game, this conviviality unique to baseball, etc. We will never forget, that’s for sure.”
The Catudal sisters did not have season tickets, but they went to the Olympic Stadium dozens of times a year. The Expos are their childhood, their adolescence.
“I remember one time when we watched the opening game of the Expos, played on the road, at the Champs bar on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal,” says Béatrice. My dad didn’t know we were there, but he jumped in when he saw us on TV! My sister was an adult but I was 15!”
In New York, they cried when the great Expos adventure officially ended. Infielder Tony Batista told them they would meet again the following spring at Olympic Stadium.
“There was a lawsuit by the team’s former shareholders against major baseball, but it didn’t work,” continues Béatrice. That was the end for real. But me and my sister didn’t miss anything. The last match in Montreal, the last matches in New York, we didn’t miss anything.”
Always baseball fans
Fabienne and Béatrice Catudal have remained baseball fans. In recent years, they have attended games in Boston, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Toronto and even San Francisco. Yes, we envy them!
“I follow the Blue Jays like everyone else, but I like the Baltimore Orioles more and more,” emphasizes Fabienne. I have a family, I don’t watch baseball every night, but it’s still my sport.”
With a friend at PNC Park in Pittsburgh a few years ago. (Provided)
Béatrice, who now lives in Sherbrooke, has “a little” dropped out of major baseball. But she doesn’t miss an Expos game… in Sherbrooke, in the Quebec Major Baseball League.
“It’s good baseball and I find a bit, on a smaller scale, the atmosphere that I loved at the Olympic Stadium,” she confides. I have my little gang at the Stade Amédée-Roy, I spend very nice summer evenings there.
Do they believe that one day, perhaps, the Expos will be reborn in Montreal? The Catudal sisters are not of the same opinion on the subject.
“I have doubts,” says Fabienne. And I wonder if there is enough interest in Montreal and Quebec for a major baseball team.
“I would love so, so much to leave with my daughter and my son and go to baseball in Montreal on a beautiful Sunday afternoon like we did so often with my father… But I don’t have any ideas. »
— Fabienne Catudal
“I still dream about it and I think that if we built a beautiful stadium, people would get on board,” replies Béatrice. You have to believe it!”
Fabienne and Béatrice had their Expos caps firmly on their heads during the interview. Just like 20 years ago. Because the Expos are still in their heads… and especially in their hearts.
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