Any sports franchise would be over the moon to make the championship game seven times in one decade.

But for the Montreal Alouettes, the bar is now set at stratospheric levels. And coming back home from Calgary next Monday without the Grey Cup -- being denied for the sixth time out of those seven attempts -- would be a tough pill to swallow.

"You want to be that team everybody's after, and trying to beat, or hear them say, 'That's the type of franchise we need to be.' That's respect that's built," Alouettes vice-president, general manager, and director of football operations and player personnel Jim Popp said Monday. "What we want, and we have every chance, starting today, leading into this weekend, is to start building the tradition of winning Grey Cups.

"That's our goal every year. But we have another chance. And that's all we shoot for every year, is to get that chance."

For all we know, Popp might say this every year, but he says he has a special feeling about this year's squad.

"I've had all the confidence in the world with every team we've ever had go to a Grey Cup, that we were going to win -- or could win," Popp said.

"This team is very unique. A bunch of guys that get along unbelievably well in the locker room. All the teams I've been with, all my years in this league, this is a very, very special group."

Only four players (quarterback Anthony Calvillo, slotback Ben Cahoon, centre Brian Chiu and guard Scott Flory), remember what it felt like to win that one Grey Cup, back in 2002.

But with the turnover the last two years, with the coaching staff as well as on the field, there aren't many who experienced those losses in 2000, '03, '05, '06 and '08.

"The guys who were on the team a year ago know about that loss (22-14 to the Calgary Stampeders at Olympic Stadium). A bitter taste was left in their mouth about it," Popp said. "The rest of them, they don't know anything about the other Grey Cups, other than reading the history books.

"The other guys are resilient to it. A lot of them (only) know about this year -- the 16-3 record and the wins we've had," he said.

If anyone ever perfected the prototype of the ideal team, the championship blend of youth and experience, grace under pressure, and tactical genius at crunch time, they'd write their own ticket.

There is no such thing.

But Popp likes the way those left over from the 2002 championship -- the guys who have "been through the battles, the war," as he put it -- have subtly put the pressure on the newcomers to help keep the standard high.

"The veterans on this team instil that into the new players, that this is what's expected of you. Obviously the fans and media remind them of that," Popp said. "We talk about winning. We tell our fans we're going to win. And we believe we're going to win. And even through our ups and downs, we've found ways to win, and to get ourselves back to the level we need to be to compete for Grey Cups."

Popp said that bad luck, more than anything, has kept them from hoisting the trophy more often.

"Sometimes, it's just lucky bounces in a game. The game we won, or the ones we've lost, we've lost them in crazy ways sometimes. But that's part of it," he said.

"And that's the unique thing about football: you don't get a second chance. It's a one-game deal, and you've got to do your best on that day to be your best."