On the flag debate: There is no flag debate

[Guest]

It was a special day for Canadian soccer on Saturday, as over 58,000 fans packed the Olympic Stadium to welcome the hometown Impact into Major League Soccer. The game itself was nothing special, but the Montreal faithful got a moment to remember when captain Davy Arnaud scored Montreal's first goal in MLS, in a game that would eventually end 1-1.

But of course, it wouldn't be Canadian soccer (or Canada, really) if regional hostilities didn't flare up. And flare up they did, if the reaction on social media was any gauge. What was the knicker-knotting point of contention this time?

Flags. Specifically, images of the Impact lined up behind a Quebec provincial flag, rather than the Canadian national flag, as the anthems were sung. But the images don't tell the whole story.

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Having missed the anthems, I assume that, on television, it may have appeared as though the U.S. and Quebec flags were the only two on display during the opening pomp and circumstance. But as many in Montreal were quick to point out, the two flags were simply in the middle of a row of four, bookended by the Canadian flag and the Montreal civic flag:

The arrangement of the flags clearly caused some confusion and anger from those watching on television, assuming as they did that the Canadian flag was absent. Was the placement an intentional attempt to make a political statement, or simply an unintended oversight? Only the decision-makers at the team know for sure, and one can assume they won't exactly be jumping at the chance to explain it.

But it's no secret that a sense of Quebec identity is part of the Impact's ethos, and their marketing pitch. The giant fleur-de-lis in the crest and the blue-and-white colour scheme on the kit probably gave it away. It's a wise move, frankly. The passionate support that soccer clubs enjoy is usually predicated on the sense of connection that the clubs are able to form with the local community. Frankly, it'd be downright self-defeating if the Impact didn't play up the Quebec angle when it comes to promoting the team.

Regional flags are nothing new to soccer games, either. Note the number of Cascadia flags present at a Whitecaps home game. Does some subsection of that flag-waving group believe that Cascadia should be its own independent political entity? Perhaps. But I'm willing to give Vancouverites the benefit of the doubt and assume that, in most cases, such displays represent a sense of pride in their immediate surroundings, rather than any sort of slap in the face to the country at large.

And I'm certainly willing to extend the same benefit to fans in Montreal.

Of course, fan displays are different than the "official" flags held on-field prior to kickoff. But unless there was some local plebiscite of which I'm unaware, the Impact fans had nothing to do with which flags were displayed, or in which order they were displayed. It was a decision made by someone in the front office which may have been intended as a political statement... or, just as easily, may have been intended as a marketing statement (albeit an unnecessarily incendiary one).

There is, of course, a very reasonable argument to be made that all of the pre-game nationalistic chest-thumping is, in and of itself, unnecessary and ridiculous, a byproduct of the sort of overblown jingoism of which we sometimes derisively accuse our southern neighbours. That's another argument for another day -- but, of course, if there were no pre-game flags and anthems, this misunderstanding would never have occurred.

We wouldn't have to worry about who was standing behind which flag, who had their hand over their heart during the anthem or which language it was sung in.

We could instead just concentrate on what matters: The game on the field.

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