MONTREAL -- The Montreal Alouettes are growing playoff beards and have new T-shirts designed by defensive tackle Keron Williams with the team slogan for 2009 -- Win The Day.
Whether that will help them get past their nemesis, the B.C. Lions, in the East Division final on Sunday (TSN, 1 p.m.) at Olympic Stadium remains to be seen.
"We had time on our hands and were dreaming up things and decided to not shave -- that's all it is," guard Scott Flory said yesterday of the bushy growth he and most of his teammates sprouted during the bye they enjoyed last week for finishing atop the East Division with a 15-3 record.
It also allowed Williams, who studied graphic design at the University of Massachusetts, to bring out shirts with a logo-like depiction of the slogan coach Marc Trestman has preached since the start of training camp, one they may especially need to follow against the dangerous Lions.
"We're going to need it going against a team like the B.C. Lions, who have a great quarterback (Casey Printers) who is coming off a great win," Williams said. "However we can get the motivation to get through practice and get something out of it, that'll be key.
"I consider myself a leader on this team, so however I can get my guys going, that's what I'll take on."
The Lions (8-10), who crossed over from the West because they had a better record than third-place finisher Winnipeg (7-11) in the East, recorded a thrilling 34-27 overtime win over Hamilton in the conference semifinal. Now they will face Montreal before more than 45,000 at Olympic Stadium.
Montreal spent its time off piling up accolades, which continued yesterday when nine players were named to the league's all-star team, including Damon Duval who was named both kicker and punter.
It already had been announced that Alouettes were finalists for five of the league's six major awards.
But while they won seven more games than B.C. during the season, respect for their opponents was evident in the Montreal locker room. Records go out the window once they take the field, particularly against the Lions.
