The Ottawa Redblacks are looking for their first win of the season Sunday night, as a historically long losing streak tests the loyalty of even the team’s most devoted fans. Bill Latulippe grew up just blocks from Lansdowne Park and has supported professional football in Ottawa since he was seven years old. Now living in British Columbia, the former season ticket holder still plans trips back to Ottawa around the Redblacks’ schedule. A business trip brought him home in time to attend Sunday’s game against the BC Lions. “I’m a diehard fan, so next summer, if they have back-to-back weekends, I’ll probably buy my three-game pack again,” Latulippe said. The Redblacks have lost their first 10 games of the season and 16 consecutive games dating back to September 2025, the modern CFL record. The streak ties the Hamilton Wildcats’ 16-game skid in 1948-49. Ottawa has not won since defeating the Lions 34-33 on Sept. 5, 2025. Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) president and CEO Mark Goudie described the season as “excruciating.” “We thought this was going to be the year that we made a turnaround,” Goudie said. “We did a really good job, I thought, in free agency and brought Coach Dinwiddie in this year and thought this was going to be the year. It didn’t turn out that way for a bunch of reasons.” The struggles have already brought significant changes to the organization. Redblacks president Adrian Sciarra stepped down before vice-president of football operations Shawn Burke was fired nearly a week later. Veteran CFL executive Jim Popp has since joined the organization as a senior football advisor. He is working with Goudie as OSEG determines the permanent leadership structure for the Redblacks’ football operations. Goudie said the formal search for new leadership has not started because the organization must first determine what positions it needs to fill. He hopes to have the new structure in place by the end of the season. “I think fans want to first of all understand that the organization gives a crap as much as they give a crap, and we do,” Goudie said. “But there’s only so many times you can say that. You need to show that, and you need to have success.” The losing streak is also unfamiliar territory for Redblacks receiver Ayden Eberhardt. Eberhardt spent the previous two seasons with the Lions before joining Ottawa. His mother, Desi Eberhardt, said this is the first time her son has played for a team enduring a prolonged losing streak. “I think it’s a learning process,” she said. “I think it builds character, and I think it also creates a form of leadership where it takes a special someone to keep the team focused and know that everything’s going to be okay.” Despite the losses, Latulippe believes Sunday could finally be Ottawa’s night. “I have a gut feeling today might be the day,” he said. “I know the Lions have been playing well. Maybe they don’t take them lightly. I know the Redblacks have some injuries, but when you least expect it, that’s usually when it happens.” The Redblacks and the Lions kick off at 7 p.m. at TD Place.
