The leaders of the Montreal Alouettes are open to the possibility that the National Football League (NFL) in the United States presents games at Olympic Stadium.
“For two years, we have felt a craze for our sport in the middle of February with the presence of Quebec players at the Super Bowl, they commented in a written statement sent to The Canadian Press on Thursday. If an NFL game in Montreal makes our fans happy to see more football, then we can only rejoice. “
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday that Canada had been targeted for league games there as part of its lengthening of its regular schedule from 16 to 17 games. Beginning in 2022, every NFL team will play a game outside of the United States at least once every eight years. We will first discuss parties in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Europe and South America.
On Wednesday, managers at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal said they wanted to host NFL games. It must be said that most of the best crowds in the history of the Canadian Football League (CFL) have been recorded at Olympic Stadium. In 1977, the Montreal Alouettes played a game in front of 69,093 spectators, the CFL record.
If an NFL game in Montreal makes our fans happy to see more football, then we can only rejoice.
As for the Alouettes, who play their home games at Percival-Molson Stadium, which can accommodate just over 20,000 spectators, any activity that highlights football is welcome. “As the only professional football team in Quebec, we welcome the holding of major football activities that would take place in the province,” said the leaders of the Montreal club in their statement.
In 2019, offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who is from Mont-Saint-Hilaire, helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Notre-Dame-des-Pins tight end Antony Auclair was part of the regular lineup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Vince-Lombardi Trophy last February.
Over the years, the NFL has presented several games from its preseason schedule to Canada, including two at Olympic Stadium. On August 18, 1988, in front of 39,112 spectators, the New York Jets defeated the Cleveland Browns 11-7. And on August 9, 1990, the Pittsburgh Steelers had outscored the New England Patriots 30-14 in front of 26,869 fans.
However, the Buffalo Bills are the only team in the NFL to have played regular season games north of the Canada-US border. Between 2008 and 2013, they held a game every year at the Rogers Center in Toronto.
