Hundreds of Rouge et Or fans and alumni gathered Saturday afternoon at La Cage – Brasserie sportif de Sainte-Foy to push with their favorite team in the hope of seeing the Quebec representatives win another Vanier Cup.
“We have a good feeling, today it’s experience that will speak,” says former ball carrier Émile Malenfant, who won the prestigious cup in 2022 with the Reds.
His teammate, linebacker Samuel Gagné, even changed his wallpaper to his “lucky” wallpaper, a photo of the team during the 2022 finals.
Former players Mathieu Forget, Émile Malenfant and Alexandre Knox were there.
Photo Marcel Tremblay / Agence QMI
From the first moments of the match, the fans showed up, seeing their favorites quickly take a 3-0 lead.
“Yessir!”, “It looks good”, could be heard at the different tables.
However, everyone agrees that the match is far from won and that victory could only be decided at the very end.
Samuel Langlois and Marie-Ève have been supporters of the Rouge et Or for several years and want to see their favorite team win.
Photo Marcel Tremblay / Agence QMI
The craze
Even though many, including players’ families, took advantage of a final in Ontario to travel and experience the 59th Vanier Cup final on site, the loyal fans responded.
“We are expecting between 100 and 200 people today,” says event organizer Jonathan Ayotte.
The latter decided on Wednesday to organize the event. He contacted the Rouge et Or marketing team to plan the festive afternoon.
Former Rouge et Or players Samuel Gagné, Émile Malenfant, Alexandre Knox and their friends, Mathieu Forget and Thomas Dussault, also former football players, are confident.
Photo Marcel Tremblay / Agence QMI
Golden supporters
Some of the fans in attendance have been Rouge et Or fans for years and continue to cheer on the team every game.
This is the case of the group of friends of Yves Bourgeault, Mario Bernatchez, Nancy Dumas and Yves and Anthony Sanctuaire, who made predictions on the outcome of the match.
“He gets up at night to watch the Rouge et Or,” laughs Yves Sanctuaire, pointing to Mario Bernatchez.
Mario Bernatchez, Nany Dumas, Yves Sanctuaire and Anthony Sanctuaire try to guess what the outcome of the match will be.
Photo Marcel Tremblay / Agence QMI
“We’ve been following the Rouge et Or for a long time, it’s our city’s team and what’s more, the guys play voluntarily, but they have a great career in sight,” exclaims Samuel Langlois.
This one came with a large group of fans who all have their season passes. “We never miss a game!” exclaims Annie Marcotte, who has had season passes for around twenty years.
