2000s Montreal Alouettes: The Dynasty that Could Have Been Greater

I didn't do a lot of justice to the Canadian Football League in the book, but as mentioned in the Calgary Stampeders' "The Dynasty that Never Was" chapter, it's goofy to list a CFL team considering if one Canadian club didn't win the Grey Cup, another one would do so.

However, one could make the argument that the 2000s Montreal Alouettes were comparable to the 1990s Stampeders teams in terms of having a lot of regular-season success but not winning as many Grey Cups as they should have.

During the 2000s, the Alouettes appeared in the Grey Cup eight times, winning three championships (2002, 2009, and 2010) but losing the big game in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008.

My book came out in 2009, so I could very easily have dedicated a chapter to the 2000s Alouettes, as, at the time, the team was 1-for-6 in the Grey Cup before capturing its 2009 and 2010 championships.

In fact, the Alouettes' 2009 Grey Cup victory almost didn't happen, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders, their opponent in the championship game, held a 27-11 lead in the fourth quarter. However, Montreal rallied to cut the deficit to 27-25 late in the game. With the game on the line, Alouettes kicker Damon Duval attempted a 43-yard field goal but missed, seemingly clinching the game for Saskatchewan. However, the Roughriders were called for a too-many-men 10-yard penalty, nullifying the miss. Given new life, the Alouettes went on to win it when Duval's second attempt was good, giving Montreal the 28-27 victory.

In 2010, the Alouettes again defeated the Roughriders in the Grey Cup, rallying from an 11-8 half-time deficit to win 21-18.

While the Alouettes might have atoned for their failures in their Grey Cup appearances earlier in the decade with the victories in 2009 and 2010, the woes continued for the Roughriders. The 2010 season was Saskatchewan's 100-year anniversary as a football club, but despite the long history, the Roughriders have won only three Grey Cups in 18 finals appearances. Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup in 1966, 1989, and 2007, but lost the championship game in 1923, 1928-1932, 1934, 1951, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1997, and 2009-2010.

Let's relive the epic ending of the 2009 Grey Cup between the Alouettes and the Roughriders, courtesy this YouTube video uploaded by CharlieBoi001: