SoccerMissing fans must back Canadian Championship

Beginning of Story Content

FC Edmonton fans were passionate, if not overly numerous, for their club's Canadian Championship match against Toronto FC at Commonwealth Stadium. (Ian Jackson/Canadian Press)

Supply and demand. It is the first and most fundamental rule of economics.

A third of the world's population watched the royal wedding. Imagine if the big day had been sponsored. Every multinational on the planet would have been lining up for a piece of the action.

Kate's dress, the Queen's hat, the trees in Westminster Abbey, the palace catering - the list of commercial partnership opportunities would have been virtually endless.

The first UFC event in Toronto sold out in minutes. Fifty-five thousand tickets were snapped up in no time as fight-starved fans stampeded their way to an event previously banned by provincial bureaucrats.

Two historic moments separated by continents and culture, but with a common element. Both were must-see events where demand vastly outstripped the supply. So what were they thinking in Edmonton?

Foote would've fit the bill

The Nutrilite Canadian Championship is on the rise. In just three years the competition has firmly established itself in the hearts and minds of fans across the country. They have embraced it and made it relevant. I am sure it is no different in the City of Champions.

Like the royal nuptials and UFC 129, it could have been a sell out. FC Edmonton's home at the University of Alberta's Foote Field can accommodate around 4,000 spectators. Its first home game was an attractive, crowd-pulling encounter against Toronto FC, and advance sales were encouraging.

The decision to stage the game at Commonwealth Stadium was taken early. Perhaps too early. There was never an expectation to fill the place, but selling the lower bowl was thought to be an achievable goal.

It wasn't, and it was a mistake. Edmontonians have an appetite for soccer, but shifting 25,000 tickets for a midweek game was never realistic. The announced attendance of fewer than 6,000 looked lost in the cavernous Commonwealth bowl.

The game, a 3-0 win for Toronto, lacked atmosphere and the TV pictures were hard to watch. Despite the best efforts of those promoting the game, the spectacle was spoiled by thousands of empty seats. The lasting impression was that Edmonton doesn't care.

It didn't have to be that way. The first rule of marketing is creating a demand. I would rather have seen the game played at a packed Foote Field, football lines and all, where the crowd was on top of the players and latecomers were turned away.

It would have ensured a genuine soccer atmosphere. Like a good old-fashioned FA Cup tie back in the old country where the visitors are made to feel more than a little uncomfortable. Edmonton needed all the support it could get, but it chose to ignore the value of intimacy.

It lost the game, and with it some much-needed credibility. I know from personal experience, Edmonton makes time for soccer. In time it will get behind its newest franchise, but FCE must first take seed in its own backyard. It must grow into the community and learn to walk before it can run.

Discouraging recipe

There were also plenty of empty seats in Montreal. The Impact was an unfortunate victim of hockey's stranglehold. Game 7 of what turned out to be an enthralling NHL playoff series sucked up Montreal sports fans like a giant vacuum cleaner. The Impact was hit hard at the gate and Vancouver took full advantage.

As expected, the senior teams prevailed. Toronto FC's semifinal is over as a contest, and the Whitecaps are hot favourites to complete the job with home advantage to come. Nothing is ever certain before a ball is kicked, but I cannot see farther than a TFC versus Vancouver series for the Voyageurs Cup.

I fear, though, the fans will be missing again. Toronto's dreadful performance in Seattle, combined with their commanding lead over FC Edmonton, is hardly a recipe to tempt the fans out for the decider. Aron Winter will surely employ squad rotation, which will further dilute the occasion.

The Whitecaps will be forced to field their strongest side to ensure safe passage against Montreal. Vancouver fans, who haven't seen their team win on home soil since opening day, will come out in greater numbers to back their team against their long-standing rivals.
 
I am an ardent fan of this competition. It has a uniquely Canadian flavour and gives the winner a chance to represent the country across the continent. It cannot be allowed to become an endangered species because of absent fans.

Let's allow time and tradition to do its thing, so the next generation grows up to value and support Canadian soccer, its rivalry and its appeal.

End of Story Content

Back to accessibility links