Like most Montreal Alouettes players, defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy was pretty emotional after his team shocked CFL fans everywhere by winning the Grey Cup on Sunday.
At the tail end of a week filled with criticisms of a lack of Quebec representation at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton — and plenty of doubt surrounding Montreal’s place in the Final — the Alouettes scored the winning touchdown with just 13 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a 28-24 score.
After the epic upset was completed, Dequoy was interviewed by RDS, and the Montreal native did not hold back, calling out the English-speaking media in the process.
“They never believed in us, man. You checked everywhere; it was written in English. You checked TSN; it was written ‘Toronto vs. Winnipeg,'” he said into the microphone of TSN’s French-speaking affiliate.
“You know what, man? Keep your English because we’re taking the Cup,” the 29-year-old added. “We’re going to bring it back to Montreal, back to Quebec! And we’re going to lift [it] at home because we’re the f***ing champions.”
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While the passionate speech went viral shortly after the broadcast aired, Dequoy was also interviewed by TSN, where he once again got his point across but with a slightly different tone.
“I think everything came full circle. How coach [Jason] Maas put the emphasis on learning French, on embracing the French culture,” he said in English. “And look at us now.”
Dequoy also mentioned the CFL’s preseason power rankings with the Alouettes ranked dead last in the league.
“We started, and we were the last on the ranking. Nobody thought we’ll make it,” he explained before crediting the team’s deep provincial ties that include “an owner that’s from Quebec, a GM that’s from Quebec,” and “a team that’s full of Quebecers.”
“Nobody can say anything — we’re the champions.”
Marc-Antoine Dequoy discusses winning as a French Canadian, and how the Alouettes team embraced the french culture. #GreyCup pic.twitter.com/tcfWlEzhet
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 20, 2023
Despite not being from Quebec, or even Canada for that matter, that sentiment was relayed by quarterback Cody Fajardo, who also mentioned a lack of respect from experts.
“Nobody really expected us to be in the game. And nobody expected us to win the game, except for the 1% in that locker room, and so that’s what bonded us this entire year,” the California native explained in a post-game press conference. “So I got to thank the media for that for placing us ninth to start the year because that bonded this team very, very close together.”
No one knows what next season holds for the Alouettes, but one thing is sure: nobody will want to be the first to count them out.
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