(Photo credit: CanadaSoccer.com/Mexsport)
It's a rare treat for Canadian soccer supporters to witness a national team player indulging in a moment of sheer triumph at the expense of an opponent and its fans. Two years ago, that defining moment came when a shirtless Tomasz Radzinski leaned against the corner flag to taunt traveling Mexican fans in Edmonton. The glory of that moment was tempered, however, by the fact that the World Cup qualifier in which it took place was, for Les Rouges, meaningless.
This year we were treated yet again, in a moment of unreserved triumph: upon scoring the goal to put Big Red ahead in the Gold Cup semifinal, captain Christine Sinclair turned to a riled-up Mexican crowd, put her finger to her lips and shushed them. A Canadian player shushed the Mexican fans, in Mexico.
So when I had a chance to speak to Sinclair on Thursday morning, on the occasion of her sixth consecutive coronation as Canadian female player of the year, I just had to ask about that moment.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
"You see it in Europe all the time," she started, after a hearty laugh at the fact that anyone would bother to bring it up.
"(It was) a very hostile crowd ... obviously they're hostile towards us, and to be able to beat them on their home soil... I don't know what was going through my mind. ... I've been talking about this confidence that our team has, this belief in ourselves and belief in our team and in our coaching staff... it just came out. We're a really good team."
I really like that answer, for a very simple reason. It wasn't a pre-planned bit of choreography, it wasn't something meant to specifically mock or deride the opponent, and it certainly wasn't something that you'd normally expect from Sinclair, or any other player suiting up in the red and white.
It was a spontaneous explosion of pride and, as she said, confidence.
It was a "shut up" not just to those rowdy, crude fans in attendance on that night. It was a "shut up" to those who would doubt the team, and the sport, in this country. A "shut up" to the talking heads and blowhards who recycle the same arguments about soccer not mattering, or women's sports not mattering, or both.
It was the defining moment of 2010 in Canadian soccer because it established a new tenor, a new mood amongst those of us who follow and love the game. The time when we shirk away from our pride in our teams, and our sport, is over. The time when we're apologetic for investing time and energy into our national teams in a still-developing sport is over.
Those who feel the need to demean or diminish the sport or our teams can, in Sinclair's words -- or rather, gestures -- shut the hell up.
Now, sure, I'm imbuing Sinclair's unplanned gesture (and her explanation for it) with all sorts of subtext that she probably didn't intend. But what can't be denied is the surging wave of confidence being felt within our national program -- specifically the senior women's team under Carolina Morace.
Asked about Canada's chances at next year's Women's World Cup, our captain said: "We can beat any team in the world if we play well."
No dithering. No equivocating. No "ah, shucks, well, we'll give it 110% and see what happens." That statement -- as much as the shush -- is a clear sign that Big Red has arrived.
So, sure, the shush down in Mexico was nice. Next spring in Germany, we may see an even nicer one, courtesy of our still-reigning player of the year.