by Dave, AllHabs.net

TORONTO, ON — For many people, the official start of the Christmas season is the last Thursday in November, a.k.a. American Thanksgiving. For me, it’s three days later. My Christmas season begin on the final Sunday of November, known in this country as Grey Cup Day. For past few years, I’ve been attending Canada’s Biggest Party. Aside from going to the game itself, one of the added bonuses of the trip is that I usually get to cheer for our very own Montreal Alouettes as the representatives of the Eastern Division.

While I own some Als gear, what I really wanted this year was a toque to combat the -10C degree weather that had been forecast for Edmonton. Naturally by the time I went to buy one, almost every sports store in Toronto was sold out. And not just of Als wear; of all CFL merchandise. Fortunately, I found the next best thing: a Vintage collection Habs toque. The toque, along with an Als sweatshirt and my trusty Jean Beliveau sweater, would be my round about way of showing my allegiance to Les Alouettes.

Once I arrived, the toque did exactly what I intended. Well, almost exactly what I intended. Straight off the plane, I met a group from Saskatchewan. While they were huge Riders fans and wished nothing but bad luck to the Als, many of them were Franco-Saskatchewanians and huge Habs fans. They hated that I was cheering for the Als, but couldn’t help but admire (or at the very least respect) the Canadiens.

As the weekend continued, I saw that more and more people were dressing like me; using a CH in the place of a Big A. While Edmonton was largely Rider Green, I was able to find many people sporting Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. And when I saw one, there was instant connection. Whether it was talking about if Calvillo was going to lead the team to another Championship or the reaction the of Bell Centre crowd to Lars Eller’s first goal with the team or even a quick “Go Habs Go” chant, the Montreal minority was finding each other and making its presence known.

But much like the first group I encountered, there were plenty of fans of other CFL team who responded to my hat. More than I once, fans wearing Bombers, Stampeders and even Riders apparel mentioned to me their support of the Canadiens. While they couldn’t wear Habs colours for fear of being branded an Als supporter, they could still complement me on the success of our shared hockey team.

In one instance a colleague entered the room I was sharing, decked out in Rider Green. Her father had played for the team and she desperately wanted Saskatchewan to avenge the heart breaking defeat that was suffered the year before. In the midst of her rant, she wanted confirmation that we were supporting the Riders when she saw a Canadiens hat.

“Which one of you is cheering for Montreal?!” she screamed. I promptly raised hand and confirmed my support.

By game day, I knew what to expect. Neutral fans (especially Rider haters from Edmonton and Calgary) looked to me to lead the cheers for the Alouettes. If I began an Ole chant, everyone cheering against the Riders would chime in. And at the bitter end, when Darren Durant tossed that game ended interception, I led the section in a rousing rendition of The Goodbye Song to the leaving Rider fans.

While the flag of Montreal is officially the heraldic cross with the symbols of the four founding peoples, the unofficial and better known one is the interlocking CH. Across the country, there are few things that say Montreal like the crest of the Canadiens.