SoccerThe Canadian national team - an overlooked attraction

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It is the final weekend of the Canadian National Exhibition. It is Labour Day weekend - the last few hours of freedom before children return to school. One last chance to enjoy the retreating summer before the classroom demands their attention and stress levels skyrocket among adolescent students.
 
For one night only there was an extra show at the CNE. In the middle of a giant fairground on the Toronto lakeshore, Canada's finest came to play. The 'Ex' was packed with thousands in search of fun and thrills but, for most, the rare attraction of international soccer held little appeal.
 
Plenty of fans milled around the stadium's perimeter as kickoff time approached. Most were clad in red and white, the national colours of Canada. And Peru. Replica jerseys were the attire of choice and the vast majority proudly displayed their loyalty - to the South American visitors.
 
White shirts with the classic red diagonal stripe - Peru's calling card since the 1930s - were everywhere. It was Canada's first home game in Toronto for two years but, before I ever reached the media entrance, the home advantage already seemed lost.
 
According to the most recent census from Stats Canada, there are approximately 22,000 immigrants of Peruvian descent living in this country. Based on that number, getting on for 25 per cent of them thought it was worthwhile to pay to see their nation play soccer.
 
Peru is not a soccer superpower. It is not even a heavyweight in South America. It has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1982, four years earlier than Canada's sole expedition to Mexico. Peru finished 10th out of 10 nations in qualifying for South Africa winning only three games out of 18.
 
Yet despite this record of embarrassing underachievement, thousands of Peruvian fans turned up in Toronto to show their support in a friendly international where the result was academic. Canadians, it seems, couldn't care less.
 
For what it matters, I care. A lot of my friends care, too. Many of them are former national team players to whom this is nothing new. They performed their whole careers playing home games for Canada knowing the stadium would be at least half full of visiting fans.
 
Is it any wonder Canada has not been back to the World Cup since 1986? I have heard all the debate I want to hear regarding venues for Canadian games. It is part of Canadian soccer folklore that the team which qualified for Mexico did so in St. John's, Newfoundland.
 
There remains, among some, a belief that Canada should return to Newfoundland if it wants to get the most out of home advantage. Or play the World Cup qualifying games in Yellowknife, or Dawson, or just about anywhere opposing fans can't get to.
 
Problem is, neither can we! The sport requires the oxygen of publicity to grow its credibility and unless the Canadian Soccer Association is going to charter an aircraft to transport the media to the more remote parts of this country, the media will stay at home. Case closed.
 
I have also heard the complaints about marketing, or lack thereof. The CSA doesn't do a good enough job of selling its own product. Awareness is apparently a stumbling block to progress. If that is the case, how come five thousand Peru fans knew the game was on and showed up on time?
 
The question is simple: Do we, as Canadians, care about supporting Canada? Some do, and those who do make a huge effort. The Voyageurs fan club, and others of their ilk, were loud and proud in their support. These people are an example to all who claim to love soccer, Canadian or otherwise.
 
They made banners, they sang the nation anthem, and they cheered and chanted long after the game was over as a contest. They did their utmost to give their heroes an atmosphere in which to revel and parade their skills. There just aren't enough of them.
 
Another World Cup has come and gone without Canada. Honduras was in South Africa, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago in Germany and Jamaica in France. Getting Canada to Brazil in four years time starts now.
 
It starts on and off the pitch. Coach Stephen Hart must identify a squad of players, talented enough to compete in CONCACAF. The media must take notice and treat Canada's soccer team with respect, not as an afterthought. It's not the NHL or the Stanley Cup. It can be so much bigger than that.
 
The fans must be willing to invest both financially and emotionally. If you hate soccer because it's boring and there is simply not enough scoring, or you can't sit still for 45 minutes at a time, that's OK. To love soccer, you must be passionate. Indifference is the biggest crime.
 
Thousands of Canadian families wandered around the CNE indifferent to the spectacle at hand. They wanted entertainment on summer's final weekend. The entertainment was right in front of their eyes, but they couldn't see it. I wonder which team they'll be rooting for in 2014.

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