Soccer on the rise in the Great White North

It has been 23 long years since we last made the World Cup, and due to our failure of a qualifying campaign, our inclusion in the most profound world-wide tournament will have to wait for another 4 years. I was not even alive the last (and only) time Canada qualified for the World Cup back in 1986. From many stories I have been told over the years, the hype was nowhere to be found. Canadian sports were at its apex with Canadian teams winning the last five Stanley Cups, and even the Toronto Blue Jays coming off its first division title. Obviously all the nation’s attention was residing in both hockey, and because of the Blue Jays success, baseball. Respective nations flags were hung off balconies, tied to posts and tied onto cars. Brazilian, Italian, Argentinian and German flags were seen throughout the country, and once in a while would you run into someone sporting the red and white.

I ask why most of these fans wearing the colours of their ancestors, refused to cheer for the nation of their birth, the nation that they have started a family and a nation that has provided them with all their livelihood. It’s clear, Canada was not expected to win, as they did not even win a single game or score a single goal; but overall our nation ignored our participation in such a renowned tournament. There was no hype, no proper knowledge of the team, and no interest at all.

Since 1986, soccer in Canada has been making great strides, and is becoming more popular as the years pass both nationally and domestically. The MLS has been brought to Canada with the likes of Toronto FC and Vancouver which will be introduced in 2011. Toronto FC is quickly gaining a bigger fan base and is becoming “Canada’s Team”. Being to a couple games myself, the atmosphere is rampant, the fans are passionate and the games are entertaining. More games are being shown on national television, and many Canadian stars (Jim Brennan, Dwayne De Rosario) are slowly appearing on more and more jerseys throughout the nation. It’s amazing how this one team based in Toronto, can slowly but surely alter the sports interest around the nation.

Our participation in the 2010 qualifying campaign sparked alot more interest than I thought. Though we all know the outcome of our qualification, I was fairly interested in the hype that was generated for our qualification matches. Games against St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Honduras were drawing more and more attention as the games came by. BMO field in Toronto was covered in red, and Canadian flags were waving proudly. Sure, these were not games against superpower teams, but the interest was quickly growing, and our fans decided to cheer every game like it was our last. Our qualification campaign was slowly making its way into national news shows, sections in the newspapers and discussed on TSN and Sportsnet. Stores were dedicating a whole section to Canada and Toronto FC merchandise. Soccer is quickly on the rise, even competing against the CFL and NBA. Our failure at qualification did not kill our soccer spirit, as we quickly fell back on Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact. It is only a matter of time before Montreal joins the other 2 in the MLS, and maybe even further expansion in Canada in the near future.

There is renowned hype for soccer in Canada. We are happy with our domestic teams, as Toronto FC is currently in 2nd place, and the recent news of Vancouver joining the MLS will only strengthen and develop more interest. More and more kids are signing up to play in their local leagues, with many quickly filling up, with more leagues needing to be formed. Our nation is on the soccer bandwagon, and even with the dominance of hockey and baseball, I do not see us falling off this bandwagon anytime soon. The 2009 Gold Cup will be a test for not only our team, but for us as fans, to prove to the world that is quickly becoming a soccer nation, and as the years pass, the hype will continue to grow as well as the fan base. World Cup qualification in the near future? That is hopefully a possibility, and that’s when our real passion and dedication to the sport will shock the soccer world.