Media coverage,Canadian team

[john tv]

Auch Argh ,yap it all came and went,up and down stuff. We want this to become our daily stable ,a constant stream of soccer information and Canadian in particular.You know what was said before, that crazy anti soccer attitude in all the Canadian media departments.We want to make sure that we don't have to fight and fight for recognition and respect. We want to make sure as I do that this stuff I am talking about will become old hat stuff. Hey what am I going to be doing with all that free time. Yes we have come a considerable distance and that only really started with the arrival of TFC.All that other stuff was strictly directed towards all those that cared about foreign soccer. Now things are changing and we now want our stuff,our kids and we should not have to wait for that English newspaper. We all know how much the audiences were during the WC and Euro Cup as well as the C.L etc.Huge figures and that does not even include the traditional bar crowd which is much larger than any other sport.Argh I would love to go into retirement and so would be a hole slew of some of our own guys, but only after that effen media finally will put on that Canadian soccer shirt and come to the stadium and watch what sports are really all about.

Let us hope that we will become one of them in sport acceptance and that we become a very big part of the Canadian culture.

Anyway thanks so very much to Paul and the boys who are writing Canadian sports history big time.

Hey if I had to wait for another 25 years I will be ,forget it.Can't wait any longer,time is ticking.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

So basically you want soccer coverage in Canada to be about the same as it is in, say, England?

Today, just for fun, why don't you jump in your car and take a drive east to, say, Belleville. Stand in downtown and ask the first 100 people you see whether they like to watch soccer. When 90 say no...you'll blame the media, so you probably won't get the point of the exercise. But the point is you're over stating the sports popularity amongst the general population--especially outside of Toronto.

An antidote--I happened to be in Calgary on the first way of the WC. The night before I started to call local bars to find out where I could go to watch the game. It was a 9 a.m. local start so I figured not every bar would open, but that there would be quite a few in the city. It was the World Cup for God's sake...

I flip open the phone book and start calling places that are British Pup themed.

First call..."umm, what? No. We don't open until eleven."

Second call..."Why would we open for that?"

Third call..."I doubt it."

Finally on the fourth call, I asked "Can you think of anywhere that might be open?" The girl put me on hold and about five minutes later came back and told me to try a pub (I forget the name now). She said it was "the soccer bar."

Sure enough it was open. For kicks I called about 10 other pubs to see if any would be open...none.

The next morning I made my way down where I was joined by...about 75-100 people. A good crowd, but no where near what I would expect in Toronto. There was no buzz about the World Cup in the city at all. Later in the day you could see the games on TVs in the bars, but only a handful of people paid any attention.

The point of this antidote is that there is evidence that the popularity of the sport is growing, especially in Toronto. But...as a spectator sport it's still, outside of a couple pockets, a niche sport in Canada, especially in the hinterland.

The sport is covered (In Toronto it's covered daily, outside when there is reason to). You don't think that it is covered enough. Can you provide hard evidence as to why it should be getting more? Think beyond the borders of the GTA.

[john tv]

Maybe we just should do that and go out and ask people their impressions of soccer etc.I have recommended this to Inside soccer for umpteen years. Toronto is a hotbed,obviously but than when I speak to some of my suppliers outside that bastion and I mean the little towns and cities, their kids are all playing soccer, or they even coach soccer.I suppose that if you get hold of the OSA and or other provincial yearly reports, I am sure they will list the registrations by area and or town.

I guess knowing how wealthy these guys are in Calgary they all had their giant satellite and were watching it at home.

We all know that the registration numbers are immense across Canada.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by MediaGuy

So basically you want soccer coverage in Canada to be about the same as it is in, say, England?

Today, just for fun, why don't you jump in your car and take a drive east to, say, Belleville. Stand in downtown and ask the first 100 people you see whether they like to watch soccer. When 90 say no...you'll blame the media, so you probably won't get the point of the exercise. But the point is you're over stating the sports popularity amongst the general population--especially outside of Toronto.

An antidote--I happened to be in Calgary on the first way of the WC. The night before I started to call local bars to find out where I could go to watch the game. It was a 9 a.m. local start so I figured not every bar would open, but that there would be quite a few in the city. It was the World Cup for God's sake...

I flip open the phone book and start calling places that are British Pup themed.

First call..."umm, what? No. We don't open until eleven."

Second call..."Why would we open for that?"

Third call..."I doubt it."

Finally on the fourth call, I asked "Can you think of anywhere that might be open?" The girl put me on hold and about five minutes later came back and told me to try a pub (I forget the name now). She said it was "the soccer bar."

Sure enough it was open. For kicks I called about 10 other pubs to see if any would be open...none.

The next morning I made my way down where I was joined by...about 75-100 people. A good crowd, but no where near what I would expect in Toronto. There was no buzz about the World Cup in the city at all. Later in the day you could see the games on TVs in the bars, but only a handful of people paid any attention.

The point of this antidote is that there is evidence that the popularity of the sport is growing, especially in Toronto. But...as a spectator sport it's still, outside of a couple pockets, a niche sport in Canada, especially in the hinterland.

The sport is covered (In Toronto it's covered daily, outside when there is reason to). You don't think that it is covered enough. Can you provide hard evidence as to why it should be getting more? Think beyond the borders of the GTA.

Personally, I would never want to be exposed daily to the level coverage that you see in England and in many parts around the world. Coverage of the game and events is one thing, but overkill and tabloid style garbage is another. I would rather things stay the way that they are now rather than get to that level. Even in Italy, I haven't checked out La Gazzetta Dello Sport in a long time, but last I recalled, 80-90% of you typical day's coverage was soccer related. Thats just too much.

Regarding Canada, I mentioned it before, if you dig in a little and look at some stats you will realize that there is a big divide in this country when it comes to soccer that makes it unique amongst the other sports. And that is that there is a divide between the three largest urban centres and the rest of Canada. This is refected in the make up of the nationals teams. With that, I am not surprised by your experience in trying to watch a WC game in Calgary. But, I assure you that does not happen in TO. I also spend considerable time in Montreal and its the same.

[shaku_bert]

I work in a large office and I know that there is not a single person who cares about the Gold Cup, the Canadian MNT, or soccer in general. I had a heated debate on Wednesday with a guy who thought I was nuts to follow the Cdn MNT or to have an interest in TFC. He said, "Look at the level of play. It's crap. If I have to watch soccer its gona be WC or premiership level not some backward central american team or a bunch of has been/ never beens in TO." I, of course, said that his argument was stupid and that if you only watched/supported the top team there would be a dozen or so clubs in the world. But I have been successful in getting him to watch a bit of the gold cup and he has been flabbergasted by the lack of media coverage in Winnipeg. There has not been a SINGLE word written about the gold cup in the WFP. When Canada won the gold cup there was not a single word written about it. When I e-mailed the sports editor he replied (and I guess I have to credit him with replying) that there were only a few junior guys working that night and they didn't pick the story up off of the news services. There is nothing that has changed in those years despite nearly every kid in the city playing soccer.

For this year's Gold cup, it is inexcusable that they haven't covered it all. When we lost to Guadeloupe and there was no coverage I wasn't too mad because it was a bad news story on a slow Saturday when a lot of people weren't working, but when we beat Haiti, we won our division and everyone should have been working. And there was no coverage.

As to my question of why there is limited coverage, I have kind of answered myself by saying that, by and large, the general public doesn't care about soccer. Yet the Free Press has carried stories about Canadian rugby, local university volley ball, and even freaking bandy.

I wouldn't say that there is some devious plot against soccer in the media. But there is obviously a real deep seated disdain for the game in the powers that be in sports media in Canada. One has to just be patient and wait for them to be put out to pasture so that the younger ones can come in and give the agme the coverage it deserves.

Oy, I just reread my post and have determined that it offers nothing to the discussion at hand and I even make arguements that oppose each other. But the issue has gotten me upset so I'm letting the post stand. Feh.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

I think with the general lack of soccer knowledge in the general public and lack of CONCACAF knowledge of many mainstream soccer fans, the loss to Guadeloupe might overshadow the win over Costa Rica and progressing to the quarters for a large percentage of the population. I think one of the prerequisites to getting increased coverage will be beating teams as good as Costa Rica on a regular basis and not losing to teams like Guadeloupe.

Yes. I would agree very much with that with that. We just dont have a leg to stand on unless the positive results become more consistent.

[Guest speedmonk42]

Today, just for fun, why don't you jump in your car and take a drive east to, say, Belleville. Stand in downtown and ask the first 100 people you see whether they like to watch soccer. When 90 say no...you'll blame the media, so you probably won't get the point of the exercise. But the point is you're over stating the sports popularity amongst the general population--especially outside of Toronto.

-------------------

The media is not in the business of covering what is popular.

They are in the business of defining what is popular.

And the make a lot of money doing it.

The problem in all these arguments is that people think the media/news provide some kind of responisble social service to the public. THEY DON"T.

Do you think Safeway puts Skippy Peanut Butter at eye level on the shelf because lots of people buy it and it's convenient? NO the company pays for that shelf space.

[Guest speedmonk42]

JohnTV's entire point is not that the media should be covering soccer because it is secretly popular, it would be popular if they covered it.

And that is %100 true.

They own the channels of communication and define what is popular.

[john tv]

Hey Shakey,you are so right it is a terrible disaster and it really comes down to as you said disdain,the whole range of words that all mean the same, a huge dislike and even hatred against our game.To be very honest this thing goes back many years when the media purposely wrote about soccer in a very negative way and turned of many Canadians.It is very obvious since those that play the game on the higher or ccompetitive levels all come from foreign parents.We have a huge repair job to do and that is why I have been since about 1973 promoting the game because of it's benefits.My list of athletes that have that soccer background and excel in other major sports is huge and very impressive as well.I don't want to go over it again, but i can assure you it worked and still is. Except those kids with that backdgound again come from foreign parents. i know it hurts but all kids should have the same opportunity. If it was a game that gave as much as soccer does in development i am all for it except this one is by far the best.Baseball being the high profile sport does not do a damn thing as far as fitness etc etc is concerned. Anyway you got me typing that same old same old.

I strongly still believe that this is the way to get the public initially interested.Sell the benefits of soccer and than work on the next step.

What I do know is that once a Canadian meaning third or so generation gets involved he or she sure wants to take charge and I sort of believe have that motivation to show they can do even better.

I really hope they can and they will,it is a natural, because i know the history of Canadian soccer and I know what Canadians can do it if they put their minds to it.

I really whish i could take you through that marvelous history and how Canadians were the pioneers in soccer way ahead of the Dutch,Germans ,Brazilians etc,etc etc.

That spirit that build this country was the same among the soccer guys.

What happened is another story but i know how well it will develop.The only ones that can stand in our way is that media who for years have been hurting our game in many and sometimes devious ways.

I realize that this hill is still very big but hey it is only a hill and that we can handle.

Will Canadians except the game as one of their own,I don't know, but again back to that history, we have done it before and we will do it again and this time it will stick.

That question what happened is a big one but i do believe that many young soccer players as well as teams joined to fight in Europe during the 1st W.W and many lost their lives and i believe that hurt soccer big time.

Than to think i have been living with this curse for about 35 years and think about it dailey,still i can smile about it and just keep plugging away.I truly believe that I have been very succesfull in selling the game and fighting that media yet those guys all know me and all respect me because they deep down know that i am doing the right thing except their peers would kill them if they would change their attitudes.

It was the media that initially started to echo my observations and I believe that because of that the soccer registrations took of big time.I have the articles here somewhere and some of you older guys will recognize it and probably say, yap I remember reading this. Anyway, now are working on the next steps and with the TFC now in our corner we have a very big ally and very difficult to ignore.

But it is a shame that our MNT gets this shafting it is horrible and so disguesting and so obvious"again".

OVER TO YOU BERT.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42

JohnTV's entire point is not that the media should be covering soccer because it is secretly popular, it would be popular if they covered it.

And that is %100 true.

They own the channels of communication and define what is popular.

Would it? You can't make people like things.

Look, when I become the sports editor of the Globe and Mail I promise I will give the sport much more play.

Until then we are going to have to agree to disagree....

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42

JohnTV's entire point is not that the media should be covering soccer because it is secretly popular, it would be popular if they covered it.

And that is %100 true.

They own the channels of communication and define what is popular.

Would it? You can't make people like things.

Look, when I become the sports editor of the Globe and Mail I promise I will give the sport much more play.

Until then we are going to have to agree to disagree....

[shaku_bert]

quote:Originally posted by MediaGuy

Would it? You can't make people like things.

Look, when I become the sports editor of the Globe and Mail I promise I will give the sport much more play.

Until then we are going to have to agree to disagree....

The ONLY reason people media outlets is drive their own agenda. The media very much drives public opinion in almost every facet of life. I don't mean to say that people are mindless drone requiring the newspaper to tell them how to think but the way people think is very much infuenced by what they read every day.

I agree that you can't make people like things. But I think that exposure of Canadian soccer in the paper would cause more people to follow Canadian soccer.

As an example, I had absolutely nothing to do with curling as a kid and thought the entire idea of curling was stupid. Here in Winnipeg, you are bombarded with coverage of curling. I couldn't help but start to know the names of the big shakers and who was doing what. Heck I even started watching and following curling. Because it was in the paper. And the fact that it was in the paper made it seem mainstream and I was conditioned to think it was normal to wonder who won the brier.

If Canadian soccer was in the paper, I think that people who were admitted soccer haters would still be reading about it and, one day, after reading a preview of a big match that Canada was going to play, would sit down and tune into the game and maybe get turned onto the game.

Its not the responsibility of papers to cover soccer. Its probably more the responsibility of the power brokers of Canadian soccer to make media tthink its important to follow soccer.

[Mobiiiiiiiilio]

John,

I certainly can appreciate your point of view.....I'm sure you are well aware that many of the people who you are talking about (the media) are on this site everyday. I feel that you need to be more specific with which media outlets are not covering the game to your satisfaction instead of....well let's call it soccer discrimination. Certainly there are stations and web sites that cover the game quite well. Secondly, your tone will not get you very far in your efforts. You say yourself you are an owner of a large company. Well no company will take to threats or unconstructive emails, telling them they are doing their job poorly. It will get filed in the garbage category very quickly. You may not like this, but the best way to go about it is to kill them with kindness. Complement them on their coverage, but make note how they can improve or expand upon it....put your negative, threatning tone into something positive and passionate and your endeavour will not fall on deaf ears.

[john tv]

I have and I can asure you that all media guys respect me and listen to me. Yes they will apologize and symphatize, but not one has ever hung up on me or even tried to discredit me,they know that my heart is very much in the right place and they will support me as much as they can. If you want to check that out, call those that i talk to at anmy media outlet.And yes i agree very much never ever get upsett or threatening or even be rude.I remember the olden days when I tried to get the attention of Brian Williams and he would say call me back. Well I would and to be sure I had about 25 quarters in my pocket and every time he would say call me back. Well I would get his attention and we became very good friends after all. Heck he even came to see me for a kitchen.I believe that I was the one who got Gerry Dobson into soccer as well as Scot Morrison,Lance Hornby and many others.

Yes you have to be very polite, very persistant but never ever rude. They remember that.

Got the attention even of Punch Imlach and Harold Ballard to have the Leafs play soccer the whole team that was and this came through the media. Of course you don't tell them about this conspiricy thing at all, you just try to convince them of the project you are involved in. Even got the Mayor of Toronto into soccer big time. anyway yes never ever burn your bridges and if they read this stuff well what can they say, deep down they can relate to it big time and they all know. Soccer is being ridiculed in al sports departments big time and it is a sort of standing joke among all sportswriters to knock soccer and that is without exception.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

I was going to guess Steve Simmons as well for the guy that Jeremy corresponded with. I'm 99% sure its him.

Maybe the game is better served at this point without the contributions of writers whose style is that of Steve Simmons.

[Guest speedmonk42]

quote:Originally posted by MediaGuy

Would it? You can't make people like things.

Look, when I become the sports editor of the Globe and Mail I promise I will give the sport much more play.

Until then we are going to have to agree to disagree....

If you can't generate interest in things via advertising and media then none of it would exist as we know it.

You pay the right credible / saleable people to sell something it works. This we know works.

The 'no press is bad press' cliche is true. Exposure is everything.

Whether it is directly paid for as advertising, or indirectly paid for as 'content' as VNR's or press release that look like news, it is STILL paid for.

Quantity, quality and focus of exposure all matters.

Does it make someone 'like' something? Definitions become a problem now. How many superbowl parties would there be or be attended by people who would otherwise never watch a football game WITHOUT any superbowl exposure? Almost NONE, it would be all hardcore fans of the game.

But the NFL will jump with both feet to count all of them as people who 'like' football. And that = $$$$

[lefoot]

The CSA has to become much better at understanding marketing and promotion. They need to take more risks. Hire a better ad agency. Have a stronger agenda in terms of promotion. It should be really more impressive work on their side.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42

If you can't generate interest in things via advertising and media then none of it would exist as we know it.

You pay the right credible / saleable people to sell something it works. This we know works.

The 'no press is bad press' cliche is true. Exposure is everything.

Whether it is directly paid for as advertising, or indirectly paid for as 'content' as VNR's or press release that look like news, it is STILL paid for.

Quantity, quality and focus of exposure all matters.

Does it make someone 'like' something? Definitions become a problem now. How many superbowl parties would there be or be attended by people who would otherwise never watch a football game WITHOUT any superbowl exposure? Almost NONE, it would be all hardcore fans of the game.

But the NFL will jump with both feet to count all of them as people who 'like' football. And that = $$$$

Well I think that everything that you say is correct. But by the same token so is an earlier point:

".............Well no company will take to threats or unconstructive emails, telling them they are doing their job poorly. It will get filed in the garbage category very quickly"..............

To summarize: Its not just what you say its how you say it. And the superbowl is a powerful cultural event. As a result, the NFL is so powerfull that it can now bully the media but it didn't get to where it it is by bullying the media. It did so by kissing up and bribing them.

[Guest speedmonk42]

Well I think that everything that you say is correct. But by the same token so is an earlier point:

".............Well no company will take to threats or unconstructive emails, telling them they are doing their job poorly. It will get filed in the garbage category very quickly"..............

------------------------

I am not sure what that has to do with what I am saying.

I am not advocating abusing them or being rude.

To summarize: Its not just what you say its how you say it. And the superbowl is a powerful cultural event. As a result, the NFL is so powerfull that it can now bully the media but it didn't get to where it it is by bullying the media. It did so by kissing up and bribing them.

---------------

How did the superbowl get to be a powerful cultural event? Your final words here are exactly what I am saying. They bought it.

What we know as culture is for sale, and the gatekeepers do not like us.

If you were in their business why risk something new? Right now it works for them so why change it.

Show them how they can make money, more money than they do now and well.....

[Guest speedmonk42]

quote:Originally posted by lefoot

The CSA has to become much better at understanding marketing and promotion. They need to take more risks. Hire a better ad agency. Have a stronger agenda in terms of promotion. It should be really more impressive work on their side.

You are talking about competing against a 'sports economy' for want of a better term, that is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, if not that probably much more.

Do you think Sport Check wants to sell soccer equipment instead of hockey equipment? There are only so many kids and for every one that plays soccer instead of hockey it probably makes the accounts scream.

Soccers popularity could/can affect a lot of bottom lines, up and down. Peoples particular self interests may seem remote, but they do exist.

If we want to create some kind of long term change we need to find out who is affected, how and why. The economy of the game has a lot of potential but a lot of people whose living depends on sports are definitely threatened by its success.

The 'media' in a general sense is just one of them.

[jpg75]

quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42

Do you think Sport Check wants to sell soccer equipment instead of hockey equipment? There are only so many kids and for every one that plays soccer instead of hockey it probably makes the accounts scream.

Soccers popularity could/can affect a lot of bottom lines, up and down. Peoples particular self interests may seem remote, but they do exist.

Isn't this an Us vs. Them mentality though? Why would selling more soccer balls take away from selling Hockey equipment? The sports are on different seasonal schedules so if a child wants to play both they can. They don't have to choose one or the other. And for some parents who make a comfortable living and want to promote physical activity i don't see how buying a soccer ball means they can't also buy a basketball or a baseball glove as well.

Here's the key to economics (intro.), the more people consume and then turnover that money back into the economy the more the economy will grow, the more money those people will make and the more they will spend and the cycle continues(or so the theory goes). The more sports we consume the larger the sports economy will grow and those smaller shares of the pie will still grow regardless.

[john tv]

Guys this is kid stuff and reasoning. This whole soccer business is about societies. Do we or don't we want soccer in this country. If it were not for all these foreigners, soccer would be totally non existence Our society is being asked to accept soccer while they all think it is a foreign sport.The killings, riots and sisies taking a dive.As a consumer the soccer player in the long run will spent more money since being a natural athlete they will play more sports.On the average a good soccer player plays five sports well.

That means they buy a heck of a lot of gear. Anyway this whole society thing, the scare that exist, the media that don't like us and our team getting dick all, is still an obstacle. Our sport is still a foreign sport.If the new second generation Canadian really comes involved one of the things they will do is to get rid of the OLD guard meaning these foreigners.It all makes sense but that is the nature of the beast and it is suppose that way.The better feeling is motivated by history and backgrounds and belogning.This country is going through a culture sort of shock since all of a sudden we have that soccer team and financed by the Canadian sports gods.

It is all very confusing and in the long run people will be smart enough to realize the real good side of our game. But in the meantime I was a littler concerned about that enormous exuberance in the stands. The media was watching and waiting and ready. Sofar so good and I guess Paul can relax a little.I believe that what we have to do is to find ways to convince many Canadians that soccer is a very good sport,it is fun and creative and in fact if it had not been for a soccer team, hockey would never have flourished as it did and also that guy Nnaismith, he was looking for a game that could use that soccer ball he had. He had that brilliant idea about that basket and hey that soccer ball could be used year around.In those days Canadians were extremely inventive and very much responsible for the rebirth of the Olympics.Believe it or not that time was amazing the exhuberance and the direction this country was taking was extremely fascinating. The desire to proof show and do as wel as being the very best really was totally different from that old europe.The beatifull Canadian skies were very convincing and even very creative.

So let us hope that we can bring those cultures together since they were anyway and start all over again. Soccer in the summer and hockey in the winter. Sorry baseball you really don't belong at all.

[Guest speedmonk42]

quote:Originally posted by jpg75

Isn't this an Us vs. Them mentality though? Why would selling more soccer balls take away from selling Hockey equipment? The sports are on different seasonal schedules so if a child wants to play both they can. They don't have to choose one or the other. And for some parents who make a comfortable living and want to promote physical activity i don't see how buying a soccer ball means they can't also buy a basketball or a baseball glove as well.

Here's the key to economics (intro.), the more people consume and then turnover that money back into the economy the more the economy will grow, the more money those people will make and the more they will spend and the cycle continues(or so the theory goes). The more sports we consume the larger the sports economy will grow and those smaller shares of the pie will still grow regardless.

But I am not saying it is rational or economically correct.

But to answer your first question it would be almost impossible for a given sports store to recoup financially the difference between the two customers. Most don't even buy a soccer ball, shoes if they don't get some through a shoe swap at the club.

Soccer clubs nickle and dime their own local soccer stores and buy directly if a given order is $1 cheaper.

The second part, the economics intro, is not necessarily right or wrong. I said we have to explore it, I don't know. But the perception has a different reaction. You have to remember, that in the United States people actually stood before CONGRESS to stop the World Cup coming in 1994 because of its economic impact in creating a socialist/communist atmosphere in the United States.

Screwed up, but true.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42

I am not sure what that has to do with what I am saying.

I am not advocating abusing them or being rude.

Well, I know that you didn't say that and I know that you are not advocating abusing them or being rude. I was adding balance to this discussion and was countering some more extereme views ( not from you) expressed in this thread.

Again, to summarize. WE do know that:

1) "If you can't generate interest in things via advertising and media then none of it would exist as we know it." This unrefuteable proof of this, you only need to look at the success of TFC versus the Lynx.

2) We can now safely concude ( after many years of observation) that there is evidence (in some instances) of hidden agendas in media business to quash the growth in popularity of the game or to have certain media peoples personal views on the game supercede the audience demands.

3) But, to counter point number three, the amount of coverage has grown exponentially over the past five years.

So what do you do about point number 2. Well I think that you can't change certain people's minds on these things, it just going to take time. I see no point of keeping harping over and over again on this topic, once I have heard it for the hundredth time, its gets tiring especially when there are soem many other things to talk about.

[john tv]

Free Kick you are totally offside again. We are only starting and getting to the problem that hurts Canadian soccer. There is no way we are going to stop. Now that we have some consensus and agree that this very nasty and just about destructive attitude exist and realize how powerful that attitude towards our game is, are we to surrender.Now we must unite and make that media aware that we know what is going on in all the sports departments and this has to stop and what they are doing to our sport.We demand equal opportunity and not this slanderous and negative attitude. Hey Free kick any word in the Star Canada's largest newspaper about our team.

It seems to me is that you accept this,why?

I strongly suggest that you rephrase your observation that you are tired of this thing. BS we are only starting and now we must act.

Do you have any valid suggestions how we can stop this crap at the sports departments and any suggestion how we can get the media interested and follow our team and any suggestions that may help and talk Canadian soccer.

I will never stop till we have the level of equal treatment and some respect for our sport and some positive recognition what we are trying to do for Canada.