With last week's news that Halifax has dropped out of contention to host games at the 2015 Women's World Cup, due to lack of funding for a stadium, Moncton, N.B. has become even more of a slam dunk to be a part of the big show.
Clearly, the CSA saw enough promise in the market and its stadium to award it hosting duties for the women's national team's Olympic send-off match against China on May 30. With tickets now on sale for that match, the CSA is posing an unspoken question, a question that falls to every soccer fan in Moncton, in New Brunswick and in all of the Atlantic provinces:
Do you want more high-profile games in the future?
Oh, and there's also the unspoken self-answer: If you do, prove it.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Now, sure, Moncton has hosting duties at the 2015 Women's World Cup pretty much sewn up. But with the field at that tournament expanding to 24 teams, there is plenty of potential for some... how do I put this diplomatically... garbage matchups. A good turnout (as in, an engaged sell-out crowd) on May 30 could help make the difference, when the time comes for such decisions to be made, between Moncton getting a stinker of a group, or getting to see some marquee teams and stars.
In essence, the Halifax news confirms that any chance Atlantic Canadians have of seeing one of our national teams play, in their own backyard, for the foreseeable future rests on the chances of games being awarded to Moncton, thanks to the new stadium. Now, that's no slight against fans or facilities anywhere else on the east coast; St. John's hosted the women's national team on several occasions last decade -- and, of course, was the site of the men's national team's most glorious day:
A raucous crowd can make itself known even without coordinated chanting and displays. One of the knocks on Moncton as a host city has been that, without an established pro team, and established supporters groups, the crowd simply couldn't match what could be done in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto or Montreal. It's an odd argument, for a number of reasons; consider that, back in 1994, these folks at Commonwealth seemed to know which team to cheer for, even without song sheets:
That, of course, brings us to the elephant in the room. For whatever advances the women's game has made in the past 10 years, and despite the world-class action we saw at last year's Women's World Cup, some fans -- across the country, and across the world -- simply aren't willing to give the game the time of day. (Their excuses sometimes sound quite a bit like the excuses given by non-soccer fans for why they won't give the sport a chance at all, but that's another issue for another day.)
So me saying that the May 30 game represents a chance to see top-level soccer at a very reasonable price, or celebrate a squad of young athletes who'll be representing Canada at the Olympic Games, or to witness one of the greatest international players of all-time, Christine Sinclair, still in her prime... those arguments may not sway some people. Let me try this one instead, then.
If you ever want to see the men's national team playing a meaningful game out in Moncton, this game on May 30 has to be sold out. It needs to be an event.
Now, lest I enrage anyone, let me clarify: I am not treating a women's game as a mere stepping stone towards a men's game. But the unfortunate reality is, many people view the sport through this lens. Such attitudes can't be overcome simply by ignoring them, or the people who hold them. Rather, people not already amenable to the women's game be encouraged to attend games whenever possible, in an attempt to change their minds, don't you think?
Whatever anyone's motivation may be for attending a Canadian national-team game, if someone buys a ticket, shows up and supports the Canadian side -- in whatever way they feel most comfortable -- that behaviour must be encouraged, by all of us.
So whatever your motivation, get down to Moncton Stadium on May 30 if you can. Because wherever they may be, Big Red deserves a sea of red in the stands.
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