Ottawa REDBLACKS Grey Cup Parade November 29, 2016 PHOTO: Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography
A few years ago, a broken-hearted Ottawa football community sat alone, licking its wounds at the end of a second failed marriage.
It wondered if it could ever love again. Was there still a soulmate out there or was indefinite bachelor life on the horizon for a city that had once been so madly in love.
It was a tough breakup, to be sure. They always are. But after an appropriate time spent single and dabbling in other teams in other cities, a new connection was made.
It was tentative, at first. Two sides that were pretty sure they wanted to be together, but the fans had been hurt before. Would it work? Could the football community trust again? Most were pretty confident it was the right move, other than a few who were determined to stand in the way of true love.
But love, as it so often does, found a way. First dates turned into second dates as the relationship blossomed – a coming together of savvy business people and lovelorn football fans.
It soon became official. This was a new and exciting relationship, with plenty of fresh optimism and nervous excitement. Things were starting to get serious, though, and talk soon turned to moving into together. It was a big step but it had to happen. Serious relationships have to move forward.
What this relationship really needed was not just a house, but a new home. The football community already had a place, but it needed some work. If true love really was going to bloom here, this home needed more than simply a new coat of paint.
Once again, there were some who wanted to stand in the way of this beautiful, blossoming romance, but that reluctance was no match for the passion of this couple.
The home was renovated and more than 24,000 people came to that first housewarming party back on July 18, 2014.
Like any couple just learning to live together, that first season had some ups and downs. But it was clear from the start that his love was strong, perhaps stronger than any other this city had felt for its football teams.
After a year of living together, it was once again time to take the next step. And while many thought taking a run at a championship so early in a relationship was a risky proposition, it was full steam ahead. The wedding happened in front of another packed house of 24,000-plus guests at TD Place, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats also attending the celebration. For a moment, it looked like the REDBLACKS may get cold feet with time running out, but Greg Ellingson stepped up to help Henry Burris officiate what turned out to be a beautiful union.
While the honeymoon in Winnipeg came up just short of expectations, it paved the way to a beautiful first-year of marriage, one that would end with the birth of the couple’s first child, Grey, at Toronto’s BMO field the following year.
It was, and continues to be, a match made in heaven for an amazing couple … one with several more kids on the way.
