CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

30, moved to Ottawa in 2013 and became a Redblacks fan by chance.

“I would walk my dog to the dog park behind Lansdowne,” she said. “One night, we were out and I could hear this cheering. I stood there with my dog and watched about five minutes of the homeopener in 2014. I thought, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’ “

She joined other fans on a road trip to watch the Redblacks play in Montreal that year.

“We sat together and cheered like mad,” she said. “That turned it into a community of people. It was a whole new world for me. I think I definitely drink the Kool-Aid, but the whole RNation, RFamily thing, I buy into that 100 per cent — that has been my actual experience.”

The Redblacks also turned a couple of wrongs into rights.

There’s attention paid to a francophone market that, for years, was ignored and with events like an annual Women’s Night, there is inclusion.

In three-plus years, characters have arisen on game nights, probably none more famous that The LumberJoes. Ken Lancastle and Jon Cheff wear their plaid outfits to the games.

“We had our season tickets, but we thought we should do something really fun for that inaugural game,” said Lancastle, 32. “It seemed like a pretty fitting costume, something we felt we could throw together pretty easily.”

Turns out, everyone wanted to say hello to The LumberJoes, shake their hands.

“We realized we had to keep doing it, it was too big to put those costumes away and never do it again,” said Lancastle. “Coming from out west (Edmonton) where CFL is king, I’ve always been a CFL fan. I was at the very last Rough Riders game and the very last Renegades game and I never wanted to see that failure again. Both times, it was weird walking away from Lansdowne Park thinking, ‘OK, that’s it, we’re never coming back in.’ Now when you walk out, you know it’s here to stay.”

Ottawa and Saskatchewan are the only two teams in the CFL that have seen attendance increase in each of the last three seasons.

There’s a buzz about the Redblacks in the nation’s capital. People want tickets, they want to see football. Plaid power is strong.

“This renaissance is so sweet,” said Prouse. “There was a little group of us who called ourselves Renegade Nation — we went to city council meetings and were involved in the fight right from the get go.

“Those years in between losing the Renegades and not being sure this day would come, that was tough.”

THE NAKED TRUTH

Maybe Eskimos receiver

Nate Behar can avoid running naked through the streets of Edmonton. Before Calgary faced Ottawa last Thursday, Behar tweeted: “If Tunde cribs one tonight I will Stampeders’ Tunde Adeleke scores a touchdown late in last week’s barnburner versus Ottawa. go streaking through the streets of Edmonton holding up a cutout of his head.” Behar was referring to his former Carleton Ravens teammate Tunde Adeleke, who, in fact, scored a 71-yard punt-return touchdown that night. The next day, Behar tweeted a video of him shopping online for a cutout of Adeleke’s head while shaking his own in disbelief. Behar told Postmedia’s Gerry Moddejonge: “Apparently, I didn’t put much thought into it when I tweeted it out. I was pretty much tweeting Tunde, ‘Good luck,’ and then … Here I was just thinking it was an innocent tweet. All of a sudden, the CFL and TSN tweeted it out and now it’s like, ‘Oh, goodness.’ (Adeleke) thought it was pretty funny. I’ve kind of got him backed into a corner, too, so after my first touchdown, he’s got to do a little something as well. We’ll keep that a secret for now.”

WHITE OUT

The Edmonton Eskimos have lost running back John White for the season with an ACL injury. Travon Van, who had 422 yards in nine games last season for the Redblacks, filled in on Friday night in a 23-19 win over Montreal, rushing for 50 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. There were rumblings of the Eskimos being interested in Shakir Bell, who was cut by the Redblacks following training camp.

O CANADA

Speaking to CFL.ca’s

Chris O’Leary, retired QB Henry Burris recalled his first trip to Canada: “I was at a burger joint when I first arrived and they said, ‘Do you want some poutine with that?’ I’m thinking, ‘What are you offering me right now?’ There are some words in the U.S. where it’s similar to poutine and it doesn’t mean food (he laughs).

“I heard that and asked what the heck they’re talking about and they said it’s curds and gravy over fries. I said, ‘Oh, no, I just like my fries crispy with ketchup.’ ”

COMING AND GOING

The Stampeders have added veteran DL Aston

Whiteside, who had seven sacks in five games in 2015 with Ottawa, to their practice roster. Passport issues delayed Whiteside’s arrival to Edmonton and the Eskimos cut him during training camp ... Looks like Calgary could get receiver DaVaris Daniels (shoulder) back much sooner than expected ... Former Most Outstanding Rookie

Derel Walker (now a Tampa Bay Buc) was on the Eskimos sideline watching his former team play on Friday.

GOING OLYMPIC

The Montreal Alouettes have signed a three-year partnership with Olympic Stadium, an agreement that will see the team play one game there each season. The Als will be able to use the artificial turf surface inside the park, plus have access to the outdoor field located between Olympic Stadium and Saputo Stadium.