WCQ | Window 1 | Match Day 3: Canada vs El Salvador- Wednesday, Sept 8th, 7:30pm Eastern / 4:30pm Pacific - Toronto, BMO Field

[vancanman]

12 hours ago, narduch said:

The ref was shit.

The ref was sandard-issue CONCACRAP.  Nothing new.

[red card]

Listening to a American Mexican futbol podcast recently, they played clips of American Mexicans explaining why they support El Tri rather than the US.

Nobody cited reasons that were football related that I can recall. Instead, it was about being born in Mexico, coming together with family & friends, enjoying Mexican food/music, childhood memories, family traditions and so. There was also language familiarity and not always being considered as part of the American mainstream.

Fortunately, Canada doesn't have one of it's biggest rivals' supporters base in our midst like the US. But it doesn't mean ES supporters from yesterday will switch over to Canada men after just one match. At best, maybe as a second team for some if the performance continues.

The main difference from 15 years ago is that the Canadian support led by the Voyageurs don't allow the opposition fans to control the atmosphere at BMO Field. As Herdman said, better performance on the pitch helps kickstart it.

We have finally a significant base in Toronto that knows what it means to be a football supporter in a stadium setting. Other cities have work to do, Vancouver is second but need more intensity. CPL is showing, it has spread to selected other cities but numbers are small.

Edited September 10, 2021 by red card

[Hawkguy]

4 hours ago, frmr said:

Not sure there's a direct correlation there.

Yeah, there is. When you learn to stay on your feet, you can beat players and attack the open space. If you're on the ground, you can't attack shit. 

[Hawkguy]

4 hours ago, reggietfc said:

6 hours ago, Hawkguy said:

It's alright. Once he develops into a player who doesn't go to ground so easily, you're going to see something special. Right now we're just seeing very effective at times. 

And just because I called him out for diving doesn't mean he's never been legitimately fouled. 

lol...what are you the dive police,its part of the game.lets be polite and try not to win we need some dark arts,its easy for us in the stands to say he goes down easy,tajon got butchered last night,

 

Funny.

"Be polite", yet you start your post by attacking. Hey, why don't you teach Tajon that instead of falling.

[Cblake]

24 minutes ago, red card said:

Listening to a American Mexican futbol podcast recently, they played clips of American Mexicans explaining why they support El Tri rather than the US.

Nobody cited reasons that were football related that I can recall. Instead, it was about being born in Mexico, coming together with family & friends, enjoying Mexican food/music, childhood memories, family traditions and so. There was also language familiarity and not always being considered as part of the American mainstream.

Fortunately, Canada doesn't have one of it's biggest rivals' supporters base in our midst like the US. But it doesn't mean ES supporters from yesterday will switch over to Canada men after just one match. At best, maybe as a second team for some if the performance continues.

The main difference from 15 years ago is that the Canadian support led by the Voyageurs don't allow the opposition fans to control the atmosphere at BMO Field. As Herdman said, better performance on the pitch helps kickstart it.

We have finally a significant base in Toronto that knows what it means to be a football supporter in a stadium setting. Other cities have work to do, Vancouver is second but need more intensity. CPL is showing, it has spread to selected other cities but numbers are small.

Mexican football is huge source of revenue for the USSF and SUM. There is a reason why Mexico plays so many games in the US. 

[GasPed]

2 hours ago, vancanman said:

↑ As I said above, I live abroad, and I will always support Canada first, but I will also support Japan.  The person that I mentioned at Swangard, and many others, supported everyone we played, but would never support Canada.  I don't know of any Canadians who would live abroad and support every team that comes along, except for the country where he/she lives.

Gambare Samurai Blue! 😉

[Watchmen]

2 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Was anyone else bummed about Reynolds buying a team overseas???   Couldnt he have bankrolled a CPL team??  DIdnt he make hundreds of millions on that gin company??  

Not really, because it wasn't really about the soccer.  Not to say he won't care about the team, but it was about owning a team and selling the behind the scenes content.  His investment in it is much lower than it would have been buying a CPL team, and even then he's only a partial owner.

[An Observer]

4 hours ago, vancanman said:

↑ As I said above, I live abroad, and I will always support Canada first, but I will also support Japan.  The person that I mentioned at Swangard, and many others, supported everyone we played, but would never support Canada.  I don't know of any Canadians who would live abroad and support every team that comes along, except for the country where he/she lives.

I support Canada but haven't lived in Canada for getting closed to 30 years now.  And for 17 of those years, I lived in London (and have a UK passport to show for it) and I can never bring myself to supporting England against anyone (although I don't think I am alone in that...they are hard side to support for a neutral).  I guess that made me a bad immigrant.

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

18 minutes ago, An Observer said:

I support Canada but haven't lived in Canada for getting closed to 30 years now.  And for 17 of those years, I lived in London (and have a UK passport to show for it) and I can never bring myself to supporting England against anyone (although I don't think I am alone in that...they are hard side to support for a neutral).  I guess that made me a bad immigrant.

I don’t think I am as hardline as you. As England is my home and I have a child here, I’d like to see them do well but do find it hard to cheer for them.

[An Observer]

48 minutes ago, Greatest Cockney Rip Off said:

I don’t think I am as hardline as you. As England is my home and I have a child here, I’d like to see them do well but do find it hard to cheer for them.

i always justified it that as I lived in the UK I was able to support 3 other sides so I need not feel bad about not supporting England!  😀

[frmr]

3 hours ago, Hawkguy said:

Yeah, there is. When you learn to stay on your feet, you can beat players and attack the open space. If you're on the ground, you can't attack shit. 

So you're saying that once Ronaldo decided to stop going down when he felt something which he deemed as illegal contact—which is well within the rules of the game—he went from a tricky pacey winger to arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen. Well fuck me running, what the hell are you doing giving away your secret sauce away for free on a Canada Soccer forum? You should be bottling up this secret formula which is Guaranteed™ to turn a promising player into the one of the best players the planet has ever seen, and making a multi-billion business for yourself. Hell, even I should be able to go from a useless piece of shit into an MLS player using this one-trick-that-defenders-hate.

Stupid, stupid take. No, that was not what turned young Ronaldo into GOAT Ronaldo. Yes, there are times when going down too easily is not beneficial. No, it is not a black or white issue, it is actually nuanced where sometimes it is 100% the right decision to hit the ground when you are fouled. Yes, there are times when going down from a foul prevents a promising attacking situation. No, it is certainly not always the case. Yes, I'm slightly drunk. No, this has not become an annoying, redundant, condescending post format.

Seriously though, that's a supremely stupid take and I'm shocked by it. Ronaldo reached his astronomical heights when he learned not to go down easily: fuck me. For the record, I also hate when players go down too easily, but I'll be goddamned if I have a single brain cell that thinks that's the defining quality which propelled Ronaldo from his actual number 7 days to arguably the best pure goalscorer the world has ever seen. Imagine, for just for the sake of experiment, if it actually had to do something with the fact that he is an obsessive, freakish compulsive athlete who focused solely on becoming the best competitor he could possibly be, and literally dedicated his entire life to becoming elite through a borderline compulsive obsession with improvement.

But no, that would be silly, it was it because he decided to stay on his feet when he got fouled.

For the record, I think some of our guys do go down too easily. David mostly for me. I don't find Buchanan to be too bad.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

You've got to be willing to swim against the tide to be passionate about the CMNT as a relatively recent immigrant when the mass media is bombarding you with the message that being Canadian = hockey, soccer = wimpy diving foreigners and unCanadian activity to be marginalized and stifled. Never had a problem with making my own mind up and treating that sort of stuff with the contempt it deserves but have always been aware that my level of interest in domestic Canadian soccer is unusual when I am amongst first generation immigrants that follow the sport.

Think some hard questions need to be asked about whether the CSA has done the best job it could have done to appeal to a soccer community that skews heavily toward recent immigrants and to create as inclusive an environment around following the team as it could have. Particularly among the older generation the biggest issue is that the CSA has always been viewed with complete derision and although people are generally positive about life in Canada in my experience that definitely doesn't extend to soccer in Canada.

No easy and quick ways to turn that around but a 2022 World Cup qualification would definitely help in a big way. Fingers very much crossed that happens.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

25 minutes ago, An Observer said:

i always justified it that as I lived in the UK I was able to support 3 other sides so I need not feel bad about not supporting England!  😀

My grandparents were Welsh and English but I never had any interest in England as a football team. The Welsh on the the other hand, I always had a soft spot for as I saw a lot of Canada when looking at them. Football was behind a much more popular and physical sport and they had only qualified for one World Cup. I am still not a massive fan of Wales but I have enjoyed their success recently. 

[Cblake]

5 hours ago, vancanman said:

The ref was sandard-issue CONCACRAP.  Nothing new.

The crew was Costa Rican for the most part. I believe it included one American if I remember correctly? Guess we would never see a crew from outside the region?

[SthMelbRed]

1 hour ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

You've got to be willing to swim against the tide to be passionate about the CMNT as a relatively recent immigrant when the mass media is bombarding you with the message that being Canadian = hockey, soccer = wimpy diving foreigners and unCanadian activity to be marginalized and stifled. Never had a problem with making my own mind up and treating that sort of stuff with the contempt it deserves but have always been aware that my level of interest in domestic Canadian soccer is unusual when I am amongst first generation immigrants that follow the sport.

Think some hard questions need to be asked about whether the CSA has done the best job it could have done to appeal to a soccer community that skews heavily toward recent immigrants and to create as inclusive an environment around following the team as it could have. Particularly among the older generation the biggest issue is that the CSA has always been viewed with complete derision and although people are generally positive about life in Canada in my experience that definitely doesn't extend to soccer in Canada.

No easy and quick ways to turn that around but a 2022 World Cup qualification would definitely help in a big way. Fingers very much crossed that happens.

My experience, growing up in Vancouver in the '80s, was that this attitude only popped up in the very late-'80s and survived until about the mid-noughties. In the early-'80s, the Whitecaps were never behind the Canucks or Lions in coverage or prestige. Every kid, regardless of their ethnic or cultural background, who was into sports, engaged in the mass lunch-time soccer games at my school up until around Grade 5 for me. That was '85/86. When the original NASL died, the media landscape shifted against world football in Canada.

[Mattd97]

4 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

You've got to be willing to swim against the tide to be passionate about the CMNT as a relatively recent immigrant when the mass media is bombarding you with the message that being Canadian = hockey, soccer = wimpy diving foreigners and unCanadian activity to be marginalized and stifled. Never had a problem with making my own mind up and treating that sort of stuff with the contempt it deserves but have always been aware that my level of interest in domestic Canadian soccer is unusual when I am amongst first generation immigrants that follow the sport.

Think some hard questions need to be asked about whether the CSA has done the best job it could have done to appeal to a soccer community that skews heavily toward recent immigrants and to create as inclusive an environment around following the team as it could have. Particularly among the older generation the biggest issue is that the CSA has always been viewed with complete derision and although people are generally positive about life in Canada in my experience that definitely doesn't extend to soccer in Canada.

No easy and quick ways to turn that around but a 2022 World Cup qualification would definitely help in a big way. Fingers very much crossed that happens.

It's such an easy team to market to that population too. If anything it's harder to target the old hats who want "Canadians".  This team has players who hail (or mlre accurately at the moment, who descend from people who hail) from around the world yet are passionate about canada and soccer. It's playing on easy, but as with canada basketball, whether it's money or talent it's almost always lacking in engagement 

[Approve My Account Pls]

21 minutes ago, Mattd97 said:

It's such an easy team to market to that population too. If anything it's harder to target the old hats who want "Canadians".  This team has players who hail (or mlre accurately at the moment, who descend from people who hail) from around the world yet are passionate about canada and soccer. It's playing on easy, but as with canada basketball, whether it's money or talent it's almost always lacking in engagement 

I was thinking similarly (I think). Why doesn't the CSA play on our cultural diversity and bring in nations for friendlies that will result in a 50/50 crowd and aim to convert 1/3 of them to Canadian fans each time? Like what we said with the ES fans, as long as they cheer for us every time except against ES I'm fine with that. Thinking outside of the Americas, why not bring in Egypt or Greece or Serbia for friendlies. Other "footballing" countries with decent national teams with sizeable populations in Canada that will draw fans. That should be the CSA's strategy. Then when it comes time for these WCQ or for 2026, you have more fans converted into followers of Canadian football. Simply having MLS and CPL teams, which frankly have very niche followings, is not a way to create a sea of red. We're different from other countries so we have to think differently

[theaub]

The answer to that is two fold

1) The CSA has historically never had any money to host friendlies, especially marquee ones.

2) Getting a non-CONCACAF/CONMEBOL country to come for a friendly requires that country to have a second friendly set up in the region or they miss out on a game in the window.  And for those countries you're also inconveniencing your players, most of who are European based, to have them fly across the Atlantic twice when you have a myriad of similar countries that are a <2 hour flight away.

Edited September 10, 2021 by theaub

[vancanman]

7 hours ago, GasPed said:

Gambare Samurai Blue! 😉

Thank you.  They'll need it after a nightmare against Oman in their first match in this round.  However, more importantly, Allez les Rouges!

[vancanman]

4 hours ago, Cblake said:

The crew was Costa Rican for the most part. I believe it included one American if I remember correctly? Guess we would never see a crew from outside the region?

If I remember correctly, when qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, we had a German ref for one game against Mexico.  He did a great job, but then a CONCACRAP linesman blew an offiside call and we lost 2 - 1.  Then we had to go to the intercontinental playoff and lost to Australia.  

[Mattd97]

12 minutes ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

I was thinking similarly (I think). Why doesn't the CSA play on our cultural diversity and bring in nations for friendlies that will result in a 50/50 crowd and aim to convert 1/3 of them to Canadian fans each time? Like what we said with the ES fans, as long as they cheer for us every time except against ES I'm fine with that. Thinking outside of the Americas, why not bring in Egypt or Greece or Serbia for friendlies. Other "footballing" countries with decent national teams with sizeable populations in Canada that will draw fans. That should be the CSA's strategy. Then when it comes time for these WCQ or for 2026, you have more fans converted into followers of Canadian football. Simply having MLS and CPL teams, which frankly have very niche followings, is not a way to create a sea of red. We're different from other countries so we have to think differently

Yeah those things are expensive, but targeted marketing campaigns are less so. 

[shorty]

13 hours ago, Mattd97 said:

All I ask for is a video of Deadpool training with the team.

Omg, yes please…. Genius. 
For real. Someone needs to make this happen. A series of videos.  Parody of the US’ Behind the Crest videos. Pool leading a visioning session, etc.  Omg somebody please make this happen. 

Edited September 10, 2021 by shorty

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, Mattd97 said:

It's such an easy team to market to that population too. If anything it's harder to target the old hats who want "Canadians".  This team has players who hail (or mlre accurately at the moment, who descend from people who hail) from around the world yet are passionate about canada and soccer. It's playing on easy, but as with canada basketball, whether it's money or talent it's almost always lacking in engagement 

Geesh.  The 86 team had 3-4 born in Scotland, James born in Wales, Samuel-T+T, Valentine-ENG, Vrablic-CZE, Letieri-Italy.  Us "old hats" are very used to the CMNT having a strong contingent of what we now call Duals.  

[Mattd97]

5 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Geesh.  The 86 team had 3-4 born in Scotland, James born in Wales, Samuel-T+T, Valentine-ENG, Vrablic-CZE, Letieri-Italy.  Us "old hats" are very used to the CMNT having a strong contingent of what we now call Duals.  

I'm 36, not sure what hat that is.  Admittedly was a stereotype though. Wasn't intended as much for age as a certain category of Canadian that's more interested in "real Canadians" playing "real sports".  As evidenced by the world around us, I get the feeling those people continue to exist in younger generations 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Mattd97

[The Beaver 2.0]

15 hours ago, Mattd97 said:

Ryan Reynolds owns a soccer team and one of the best marketing companies in the world, and reps canada hard.  Would be a dream match-up if the CSA could send out some feelers

Anybody on this forum have a credible way of getting to Ryan and/or his people? I just don't trust the CSA's ability to properly leverage the sort of publicity a partnership with someone like Reynolds could bring. I just don't.  I feel we'd do far better in that regard, and we're just a bunch of loosely affiliated nutbars. But the celebrity angle is a good one. Steve Nash was at Leylah Fernandez's semifinal match at the US Open. Let's get Reynolds--and others--hanging with the Vees in our sections.  Let's sell the party.