For the second time this season, the Alouettes will play a home game on Sunday night — this time, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7 p.m., TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 99.5 FM).
Sunday night CFL football in Montreal, especially during the summer, appears to have its challenges.
When the , , a season-low crowd of 17,138 was announced at Molson Stadium, a venue with a capacity of 23,035. That capacity was reached only once last season — for the Als’ final regular-season home game against the Redblacks. Even the East Division semifinal against Winnipeg failed to attract 20,000 spectators.
The Als in particular, and the CFL in general, have a problem. And if doesn’t realize this, he needs to remove his blinders.
The Als attracted 18,046 for their last home game on July 11 against Calgary. It was an exciting 37-30 Montreal victory. The weather was perfect, if slightly humid.
Montreal (5-1) has taken control of the division through one-third of the schedule. Should quarterback Davis Alexander remain healthy, there’s no reason to believe this team won’t finish first, host the division final on Nov. 7 and be one victory away from reaching its third Grey Cup in four seasons.
And yet, fans in this city appear oblivious. Through three home games, the Als are averaging 18,763. The 2025 average was 21,132.
Owner Pierre Karl Péladeau, with a net worth of US3.7 billion, according to Forbes, can afford whatever losses might be mounting. And when he — it was a private acquisition rather than through Quebecor Inc. — he talked about his longtime love of the CFL.
When Péladeau was told by The Gazette of the concern over attendance after the last home game, he quickly brushed it off, stating it was a hot Saturday night.
But he’s not alone.
Heading into this week’s games, only Winnipeg (32,273 average) and Saskatchewan (26,893 average) can boast decent attendance figures. Those two also are the only franchises that turn a profit. Throughout the rest of the CFL, the numbers are staggeringly low — from Hamilton (20,108 average) to Ottawa (14,711 average). The Redblacks are winless in six games.
But Edmonton, which improved to 6-1 after Thursday’s win at Saskatchewan, is averaging only 16,860 through three games at cavernous Commonwealth Stadium.
There were plenty of empty seats when the Elks hosted the BC Lions at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on July 17. David Bloom / Postmedia
The CFL is in the midst of during the next two seasons, including shortening the field to 100 yards in 2027. The changes have been met with criticism from fans who have followed the league for years. And attracting a younger base remains the root of the CFL’s problem.
Johnston must find a solution before he becomes the next former commissioner. The CFL’s new six-year, approximately $500-million broadcast agreement with Bell Media, DAZN and YouTube that takes effect next season will at least stop the immediate bleeding.
If that was his only mandate, he’ll survive.
Alexander the Great: Through seven weeks of the regular season, Alexander is the CFL’s leading quarterback. He has passed for 2,181 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing 71.3 per cent of his throws.
At Calgary last Saturday in the Als’ 38-32 win, Alexander established another league mark. With his 324th consecutive pass attempt without an interception, he surpassed Saskatchewan’s Darian Durant, who accomplished his feat between 2014 and ’16. Durant completed his career with the Als in 2017 and was less than stellar, throwing more interceptions (16) than touchdowns (15) while playing for a bad team that went 3-15.
“I definitely took a moment to be pretty happy (about the record),” Alexander, who sits at 336 consecutive attempts, told The Gazette. “I’m proud of myself for sure, but I have a long way to go. And there’s a lot more we, as a team, want to accomplish.”
Alexander has passed for more than 300 yards in each game this season, including 402 last week. The last Montreal quarterback to rival that was Sam Etcheverry, with nine consecutive games in 1956.
Alexander is on pace for 6,543 passing yards. Doug Flutie established the CFL single-season record of 6,619 yards in 1994.
Now we know: We were surprised when Als head coach Jason Maas elected to gamble on third down from the Montreal 15 late in the fourth quarter against Calgary. While there was one yard at most to gain, tailback was held short, although replays appeared to indicate his second effort was enough for the first down.
The Als challenged the play, to no avail. It also appeared Stampeders defensive-tackle Miles Brown was offside on the play. That, too, was overlooked. Calgary scored a touchdown, tying the score, 32-32.
“That’s just how we roll here,” Maas said afetr practice this week at Stade Hébert. “Getting the first down and keeping the drive extended, continuing to drive, score and make it a two-score game would have been better. The expectation always is to make it. If it was a long one (yard) that’s a different story. That wasn’t the case.
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“There was a reason we threw the challenge flag. … Calls go your way, and sometimes they don’t. It’s how you respond. Calls get evened out. You can’t change what’s called on the field. I think when you review it, there’s no question … it looked like someone jumped early. I can tell you I think he was offside. It’s a hard judgment from the sideline (official). The play didn’t go our way. We needed to go out there and keep playing. We did that. We won the game because we were strong enough mentally to overcome something like that.”
Guess it was his fault: The Als have struggled at times on special teams and were guilty of two late-game muffs on punts against Calgary. On the last one, there was miscommunication between Mario Alford and rookie Liam Talbot.
Alford, who played four games this season after being repatriated by Montreal, was released this week. Veteran returner DeVonte Dedmon, signed as a free agent from Ottawa last winter, is scheduled to make his season debut against the Ticats. He has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, but has practised all week.
“This (Dedmon) was our plan all along,” Maas said. “We wanted a veteran (Alford) there in place of him. I know what transpired our last game. Was that Mario’s best game ever? No.
“Our guys can make better decisions back there. When you play in a windy game, the ball can do strange things up there. Obviously, playing the ball is the most important part. The ball’s up in the air between two guys. It’s communication that has to happen.”
Short yardage: We’re sure it’s only a coincidence Toronto’s Lirim Hajrullahu, who missed a convert and the game-winning field goal against Hamilton last weekend, is missing this week’s game at B.C. for a non-injury-related reason. He’ll be replaced by Canadian rookie Brady Lidster. Hajrullahu has made only 12 of 18 field goals while missing two of 20 converts. … Why is Al Bradbury, never competent during his days as a CFL referee, now the manager of the league’s officiating and replay departments?
