Photo Courtesy Of The Edmonton Elks
It's the dawn of the 76th Edmonton Elks season, the latest edition of the Double E still months away from hitting the football field yet all the exciting news coming in December and now, a brisk January to kick off 2025. It feels like every week fans of the Green and Gold are being treated to exciting news or events, whether it be a new signing, a re-signing or a meet-and-greet hosted at Commonwealth Stadium.
It's no coincidence that the team is rolling steady in the offseason as the Double E has hemorraged fan support for the last 4 years under different regimes. This year, however, is critical for the organization that once saw 50,000 fans in attendance for regular season games, and even then, 40,000 fans would show up 10 years ago for the Battle Of Alberta.
Speaking of 2015, which was a big year for Edmonton football, the finale in Winnipeg would yield the franchise's 14th Grey Cup to end a 10 year drought, a point we are at once again this season. Things were alot different back in 2015, but what's old is new again for the Elks; Ed Hervey is back at General Manager for this season, a role he held 10 years previous. Ed is already hard at work too, in re-signing Tre Ford, hiring Head Coach Mark Kilam and finding players and personnel that will fit this season's scheme.
THE ED HERVEY EFFECT
Some may wonder, "Why is Ed so important to the EE?" First of all, we're talking about a man that hasn't left the city since his last tenure as GM, a man that fully embodies the "EE Way" even after being ousted in controversial fashion. We're also talking about a former player at wide reciever, a Grey Cup Champion of different job titles with the Double E. His knowledge as a former player translates well to the current players he's signing and interacting with, respect earned in the process. Many fans saw Hervey as a top candidate, if not #1 after the dismissal of Head Coach and General Manager Chris Jones in the middle of the 2024 Season, and while suspicions that Hervey may not want to even join the team existed after being dismissed in 2016, Larry Thompson's vision combined with Chris Morris' passion convinced Hervey that the team really is returning to the EE Way, or at least making a noticeable effort, and that he is a critical cog to this motion.
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK
Fans, rejoice! The Edmonton Elks have debuted a new look for the 2025 season, the modern Double E logo at front and center of the light rebrand. A new wordmark has been released as well, the traditional Gold and White stripes returning after a 9 year hiatus. Larry Thompson also hinted that a new jersey is coming as well, a return to gold numbers being top priority for the club trying to bring back tradition. It's no coincidence that the new wordmark has the jersey stripes included, so expect the "new" look to resemble modern throwback aesthetics, a move that may even see the most frustrated fans return to Commonwealth Stadium for merchandise alone.
LINKING THE PAST TO THE PRESENT
We say this often at The Elks Herd: The Edmonton Elks need to tie the current name to its successful past. So far, Larry Thompson's quest to return the team to Green and Gold Glory is mostly successful within the span of his ownership regime. While fans didn't know what to expect from private ownership, starting the 2024 season 0-7 meant a near-impossible task in making the playoffs, and while the team made it into the conversation the Winnipeg Blue Bombers ultimately found a way to end all hopes in achieving back-to-back wins against the Double E. The Elks finished the season with a 7-11 record but had players break records and win awards for their efforts, giving fans hope for what's to come this year. 2025 brings playoff expectations for the first time since 2021, a season that came off the heels of a COVID-cancelled year and a 2019 that saw Trevor Harris lead the EE to the playoffs.
Improvement over last year is a must for most, but with hopes riding high and the Elks committing to Tre Ford as the starting quarterback, fans have never been more hungry to see the team return to the playoffs. Sure, a Grey Cup would be nice, but the Green and Gold faithful have mostly wanted to see this team improve year over year, and 2025 shows great promise of seeing exactly that. A step backwards could severely hurt the organization's steady progress over the last couple months, but so far the Elks have walked the talk on multiple fronts, efforts that offer promise and high hopes for the City of Edmonton. With Free Agency looming just weeks away, one can only hope the next step is yet another in the right direction.