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News August 25, 2013

Winning ways

MontrealAlouettes.com

MONTREAL – The Alouettes have been finding ways to win (and win a lot) for almost two decades now, and Week 9’s come-from-behind triumph over B.C. was the latest example of the trend, putting a fitting exclamation point on a winning tradition that’s been among the best in pro sports over that span.

Thursday’s win wasn’t just the team’s most spectacular since the 2009 Grey Cup, it was also its 200th since rejoining the CFL in 1996, the reborn Alouettes reaching the milestone in just 314 games played.

How dominant has Montreal been? The B.C. Lions by comparison, second-best in the CFL over that same period still trail Montreal by what equates to over a full season of wins with just 180.

It’s no wonder then, that with a 63.69% winning percentage, the Alouettes are the only team in the CFL to have made the playoffs every year since their inaugural 1996 season.

But to really put their winning ways into perspective, here’s a look at how the Alouettes stack up to other perennial winners from across the North American sports scene.

TEAM NUMBER OF WINS
SINCE ’96		 WINNING %
SINCE ’96		 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES
SINCE ’96		 CHAMPIONSHIPS
SINCE ’96

189 69.49% 13 3

200 63.69% 17 3

878 61.52% 16 5

1,652 59.99% 16 5

745 58.08% 16 4

 
When quarterback Troy Smith told the media that he chose to sign with Montreal earlier this season because he heard the Alouettes were like Canada’s New England Patriots, the former Heisman-winner from Ohio State was probably onto something.

Beyond the similar colour schemes, three-pronged logos, and former owner, the Alouettes and Patriots have also shared nearly identical success stories on the field, each team winning three championships since 1996 while posting 63.69% and 69.49% winning percentages respectively.

But like the Patriots, the current iteration of the Alouettes could not have reached their level of gridiron greatness without being backed by some of the best fans in the league.

Case in point: the throngs of fans who stuck through Thursday’s early 12-0 deficit and subsequent downpour to cheer their team back to the milestone moment.

But don’t take our word for it.

Here’s what the Alouettes had to say post-win #200.