Le Rouge et Or de Laval

I’ve touched on this more than a few times over the course of the last year, but I’ll say it again anyway: things are different here in Quebec. My latest example comes on the heels of this past weekend’s Vanier Cup which showcased two of the most consistently dominant football teams in recent CIS history, the Rouge et Or de Laval and the Huskies from the University of Saskatchewan. Laval dispatched the Huskies 13-8 in a hard-fought game played in deathly cold on the Huskies home field to take home their third Vanier Cup in 4 years. Not too shabby, huh?

At most schools, there would probably be some sort of rally in the student union building or possibly on the football field. I remember being one of many to crowd the UCC atrium the last time my alma mater managed to win the Vanier, though truth be told, I was more interested in scoping out the cheerleaders than hearing a bunch of victory speeches, but I digress. The city of Quebec, by contrast, held a victory parade up the Grande Allée for their conquering heroes, followed by a visit to city hall to visit the mayor and then the National Assembly. Naturally, there were speeches by party leaders, each of whom received their own Laval jerseys from the team. The whole thing reminded me of the annual visits to the White House accorded winners of major professional sports.

Obviously they made a bigger deal out of it because Laval is located in Quebec City, but I believe they would have made similar gestures had ANY of the Quebec-based schools won the national title. Politicians, especially in Quebec, never miss an opportunity to get face-time with the media. I just find it remarkable that they would go to so much effort to acknowledge a university football team. I just can’t imagine the Powers-that-Be in Ontario (I won’t speak for any of the other provinces) doing anything remotely similar. I think Ontario could learn a little something in that respect. Student athletes work very hard to excel both in the classroom and on the playing field and we should take pride in their accomplishments. But that’s just my 2 cents. Til next time…