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August 4, 2016

‘Operation Orange’ takes over Montreal

“We may not have fans all over the world, but they are among the best in the world.”- Lions President and CEO Dennis Skulsky

The BC Lions set a franchise record hours before Thursday’s game in Montreal even started, as 50 orange-clad supporters joined the club for the latest ‘Operation Orange’ excursion. It is the highest ever attended fan trip since the campaign officially started in 2012.

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The annual event gives those fans in attendance the opportunity to fly on the team’s charter, meet new friends, enjoy a pre-game “pep talk” from Wally Buono and watch the action from some premium seats behind the Lions’ bench. In this case, it also allows the fans to do some sightseeing in perhaps the prettiest CFL city, outside of Vancouver.

Bill Troughton of Surrey is attending his fifth Operation Orange. After travelling to Hamilton, Ottawa, Calgary and Saskatchewan, he says Montreal takes the cake. “The best part is just seeing the city,” said Troughton as fans boarded a bus from walkthrough at Molson Stadium. “I got to try some of that smoked meat at Dunn’s today and with some of the players last night. It’s great to get see some different culture than what we see in Vancouver.”

Game day activities for Troughton and company included a “hop on, hop off” bus tour. With the Montreal heat wave taking a break, it’s certainly an excellent activity in La Belle Province.

Lorene MacGregor of Castlegar, BC drives nine hours to every Lions home game and is now IMG_1768getting her first taste of CFL road life. “The best part has been meeting other fans like myself who attend games, but I never get a chance to meet them there so it’s really cool to hang out with other fans.”

IMG_1746Her commitment is unmatched after catching an early morning flight on Tuesday before meeting the rest of the crew and team for the five-hour jaunt to Montreal.

“We’ve been treated like royalty,” MacGregor added. ” The team has been great that way and it’s nice to get up and close to the players and meet them face-to-face.”

“This is great for our fans to have this opportunity to experience this,” said Lions quarterback Travis Lulay. “It’s always great to be in enemy territory and have a sliver of orange cheering you on. I remember the first one of these trips to Saskatchewan it was hard for them to blend in with all the green, but this is the best one yet.”

The trip is also a nice family affair for Ray and David Shun. The father-son duo hail from West Vancouver and will be cheering loudly come 4:00PM Pacific on Thursday. Should the Lions come out with a victory, you can bet the postgame flight home will be rather cheerful for everyone in attendance.

Pre Game Experience

Part of the charm of Operation Orange is getting to live the game day experience through the eyes of the players themselves. Before embarking on a pre-game buffet in La Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, fans received some pre game motivation from Buono himself. The CFL all-time winningest coach had some pretty excellent motivation for the diehard fans ahead of Thursday’s match up at Percival Molson Stadium.

“Football is a smart person’s game. Like in life, in football you have to make choices, and sometimes they are the wrong choices – life goes on and you can’t panic, but you learn and move on. You need to prepare, you plan and strategize and expect your players and coaches to do their jobs. Plan for today and plan for tomorrow.”

Words to live by, no doubt. Everyone in attendance was awe struck and perhaps ready to strap on some pads and helmets themselves.

Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com