WCQ: Third Round - Window 2 (October 7-13, 2021)

[Joe MacCarthy]

On 11/11/2021 at 3:54 PM, SpursFlu said:

Like someone else mentioned the BC Place Canada Mexico game, I'd say around 30% of the crowd of 55k were Mexican and it was an amazing atmosphere. I liked it

Sorry, I wouldn't.

[Joe MacCarthy]

On 11/12/2021 at 10:04 AM, kungfucious said:

@Chad_Impactlast i saw, just crossed 46k for tn (fri).  no reports yet of tues, but considering its them, #'s should be higher?  i commented on the other thread how its still not sold out as representative of typical cdn apathy.  i stand by those words here in this thread.  more accurately, ill cite the apathy built upon lack support from media, domination by telescope to nhl, complete abscence of corporate canada (until it becomes a winning marketing play)

@Approve My Account Pls @rkomaru2 are absolutely right.  having the opponents inside is a great privilege of attending matches.  u get a first-class lesson on how to support your team as well as an indication of how far we are (empty seats) from where we wanna be (locals buy up all the tickets, naturally shutting them out).  

@Cblake like u said, money talks, and when u are as rabid as those mexicans like u saw, only then can the CSA or the general population get any credit.  as it stands, canada can only call itself an ice hockey nation.

Ice hockey WTF?  New here?

[Joe MacCarthy]

8 minutes ago, Kent said:

Was it Mexican apathy that resulted in just 61,200 fans to show up for the game against us at Azteca, which has a capacity of 87,000, in a city that has 16.5 times the metro population of Edmonton?

In O degree weather!  I saw a guy in another forum saying the reason for a low attended CMNT Toronto game was because it was a weeknight in October, brrr (not this year)  Not a shot at Toronto as they did great the last game, but at some of the dumb ass stuff I see posted.  Before we weren't homers enough and apathetic, now these guys want to see the other countries fans show up, WTH?

[An Observer]

4 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Ice hockey WTF?  New here?

I have lived in the UK or HK for 25 years and have developed the habit of saying ice hockey which always strikes Canadians as bonkers if not sacrilegious but frankly, I have got tired of being misunderstood as meaning field hockey when I say hockey so have just given in.  It’s hard to switch that off when talking to Canadians

[Joe MacCarthy]

2 minutes ago, An Observer said:

I have lived in the UK or HK for 25 years and have developed the habit of saying ice hockey which always strikes Canadians as bonkers if not sacrilegious but frankly, I have got tired of being misunderstood as meaning field hockey when I say hockey so have just given in.  It’s hard to switch that off when talking to Canadians

Hockey, is there any other kind? 

So says the person who watched the USports Women's Field Hockey Championships on CBC today

[Kent]

I have come to realize that Canadians complaining about other countries calling Hockey "Ice Hockey" is kind of like people from other countries complaining that we call it Soccer instead of Football. It's maybe even a bit worse, because Ice Hockey is the official name of the sport. Hockey, Soccer, and Football are all nicknames for Association Football.

So yeah, it always sounds a bit weird hearing Ice Hockey mentioned, but I've decided to let it go!

[kacbru]

1 hour ago, An Observer said:

I have lived in the UK or HK for 25 years and have developed the habit of saying ice hockey which always strikes Canadians as bonkers if not sacrilegious but frankly, I have got tired of being misunderstood as meaning field hockey when I say hockey so have just given in.  It’s hard to switch that off when talking to Canadians

Same. It has taken me 9 years, but I've noticed ice hockey is now my default. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

10 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

In O degree weather!  I saw a guy in another forum saying the reason for a low attended CMNT Toronto game was because it was a weeknight in October, brrr (not this year)  Not a shot at Toronto as they did great the last game, but at some of the dumb ass stuff I see posted.  Before we weren't homers enough and apathetic, now these guys want to see the other countries fans show up, WTH?

Have you been watching Conmebol qualifying? I haven't seen full stadiums, and in fact this qualifying round has seen lots of empty seats in Europe. Club attendance is down too.

I don't think it's a good moment to be judging these things, but objectively Edmonton has been amazing and we should all be proud. And the fact that fans understand Mexico on a colder Tuesday night is more important than a Friday eve vs Costa Rica, more important than Davies's homecoming match, shows we are on the right track with the average fans in Canada. 

[Joe MacCarthy]

My watching of the CR game was somewhat interrupted, did I see Davies in the stands while the game was still going on.  I believe we can get penalized for that can we not?

[Floortom]

1 minute ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

My watching of the CR game was somewhat interrupted, did I see Davies in the stands while the game was still going on.  I believe we can get penalized for that can we not?

No - never happened 

[Joe MacCarthy]

9 hours ago, Kent said:

Soccer, and Football are all nicknames for Association Football.

Actually I hear soccer used a fair amount when I watch old British news and sports documentaries.  One I can recall vividly is the opening night of BBC2 when there was a massive power outage and they had to begin the start of BBC2 at the old AP studio.  I distinctly remember the newscaster using the word soccer.

[Joe MacCarthy]

3 minutes ago, Floortom said:

No - never happened 

I didn't think so, why would he be up there?  Obviously Wheels made a mistake.

[Joe MacCarthy]

6 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Actually I hear soccer used a fair amount when I watch old British news and sports documentaries.  One I can recall vividly is the opening night of BBC2 when there was a massive power outage and they had to begin the start of BBC2 at the old AP studio.  I distinctly remember the newscaster using the word soccer.

Found the clip, shows you how much things have changed.  I love the first news story "stinking wogs" broadcast on BBC2.  This plays like a Basil Fawlty sketch with the telephone ringing.  Audio begins at 2:59 (resumes at 7:19)

You've got to see this folks, it is real (and I find it hilarious).  He mentions soccer at 8:42

 

[Joe MacCarthy]

And of course

[kungfucious]

19 hours ago, Kent said:

Was it Mexican apathy that resulted in just 61,200 to show up for the game against us at Azteca, which has a capacity of 87,000, in a city that has 16.5 times the metro population of Edmonton?

the point of me saying that is that i want to illustrate the MNT dont get any credit, nor mention until the day before.  until this country grows up and raises expectations, we will always have an inferior "soccer" culture.  this is why i was critical of thurs not having been sold out days ago.  im not targetting edmonton.  when this happens in toronto, montreal, vancouver... im similarly disappointed. 

[kungfucious]

19 hours ago, An Observer said:

I have lived in the UK or HK for 25 years and have developed the habit of saying ice hockey which always strikes Canadians as bonkers if not sacrilegious but frankly, I have got tired of being misunderstood as meaning field hockey when I say hockey so have just given in.  It’s hard to switch that off when talking to Canadians

thnx for clarifying @Observer.  i have been here for a loooong time and deliberately say ice hockey nowadays as a form of respect towards the field hockey world.  dyk there are more field hockey players in the world than there are ice hockey?  

[Kent]

2 hours ago, kungfucious said:

the point of me saying that is that i want to illustrate the MNT dont get any credit, nor mention until the day before.  until this country grows up and raises expectations, we will always have an inferior "soccer" culture.  this is why i was critical of thurs not having been sold out days ago.  im not targetting edmonton.  when this happens in toronto, montreal, vancouver... im similarly disappointed. 

But you said Mexico has a superior soccer culture. Why is the standard for us (sell out games) higher than it is for Mexico (who as I pointed out, hasn't been selling out games).

[sstackho]

14 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I didn't think so, why would he be up there?  Obviously Wheels made a mistake.

Wheeler never claimed Davies was in the stands.  This reference is probably when they showed the pitch invader who made it back to the stands safely - until they showed him on international TV. 

Gareth Wheeler does not make mistakes.  Full stop.  😎

[narduch]

15 minutes ago, sstackho said:

Wheeler never claimed Davies was in the stands.  This reference is probably when they showed the pitch invader who made it back to the stands safely - until they showed him on international TV. 

Gareth Wheeler does not make mistakes.  Full stop.  😎

*Mixing up Davies and Adekugbe not included 

[Joe MacCarthy]

22 minutes ago, sstackho said:

Wheeler never claimed Davies was in the stands.  This reference is probably when they showed the pitch invader who made it back to the stands safely - until they showed him on international TV. 

Gareth Wheeler does not make mistakes.  Full stop.  😎

In all seriousness, I'm not sure what happened there, I was was shtupping with my TV setup and not paying real close attention. 

The thing that struck me the most was the very quick shot of Herdman holding a guy who looked really handicapped, I don't know if that was really the case but I thought he would have been a poor choice for a pitch invader.

[kungfucious]

On 11/14/2021 at 5:36 PM, Kent said:

But you said Mexico has a superior soccer culture. Why is the standard for us (sell out games) higher than it is for Mexico (who as I pointed out, hasn't been selling out games).

2 easy answers:

- underdogs hosting favourites should always outsell favourites hosting underdogs.

- there are a lot more mexicans living in canada than there are canadians in mexico

 

having said that, the match at azteca was supposed to have been played in an empty stadium. 

 

2 speculative answers:

- i dunno exactly, but maybe word got out late, tickets were available?

- i think mexico has a lower vaccination rate, thus maybe they werent allowed to sell out the stadium?

 

im not arguing with u to prove canada is inferior or anything.  i just wanted to illustrate im dissappointed these matches were not sold out ages ago.  credit this window for there being some hype at least time and SN carrying it live btw... but it doesnt help when a lot of canadians dont give a crap and the media for the large part ignore it.

ex:

- take a poll where u live.  count the number who are wearing anything canada on the street today. 

- ask your typical sportsfan if they are watching the game today.

[Sal333]

16 minutes ago, kungfucious said:

2 easy answers:

- underdogs hosting favourites should always outsell favourites hosting underdogs.

- there are a lot more mexicans living in canada than there are canadians in mexico

 

having said that, the match at azteca was supposed to have been played in an empty stadium. 

 

2 speculative answers:

- i dunno exactly, but maybe word got out late, tickets were available?

- i think mexico has a lower vaccination rate, thus maybe they werent allowed to sell out the stadium?

 

im not arguing with u to prove canada is inferior or anything.  i just wanted to illustrate im dissappointed these matches were not sold out ages ago.  credit this window for there being some hype at least time and SN carrying it live btw... but it doesnt help when a lot of canadians dont give a crap and the media for the large part ignore it.

ex:

- take a poll where u live.  count the number who are wearing anything canada on the street today. 

- ask your typical sportsfan if they are watching the game today.

750 K watched the Costa Rica game. Chances are 1 M will watch the Mexico game. 1 M. That's one out of 39 Canucks will be sitting in front of a screen munching junk food and uttering obscenities in pidgin Spanish. Not bad for a hockey nation.

[Kent]

I just think it's odd when there is a massive swell of interest in the team, relative to what we have had in our history, that it's a good time to complain about us not having already arrived.

[Approve My Account Pls]

1 hour ago, kungfucious said:

2 easy answers:

- underdogs hosting favourites should always outsell favourites hosting underdogs.

- there are a lot more mexicans living in canada than there are canadians in mexico

 

having said that, the match at azteca was supposed to have been played in an empty stadium. 

 

2 speculative answers:

- i dunno exactly, but maybe word got out late, tickets were available?

- i think mexico has a lower vaccination rate, thus maybe they werent allowed to sell out the stadium?

 

im not arguing with u to prove canada is inferior or anything.  i just wanted to illustrate im dissappointed these matches were not sold out ages ago.  credit this window for there being some hype at least time and SN carrying it live btw... but it doesnt help when a lot of canadians dont give a crap and the media for the large part ignore it.

ex:

- take a poll where u live.  count the number who are wearing anything canada on the street today. 

- ask your typical sportsfan if they are watching the game today.

The TV numbers suggest otherwise. I also wore a jersey to work today and I've had more people through the office mention the game tonight and the team than not, without provocation from me. And believe me, I am willing to bet a lot of money the vast majority of these people did not have a clue even who Alphonso Davies was a couple months ago. Lets take our wins where we get them.

Sports fans are fickle, if you're not a diehard,  you're not going to stick out the hard times but you're more than happy to show up when its all bright and shiny. Just compare, in the early 2000s, if you were a Leafs Season Ticket holder, you had to also buy Raptors season tickets as well. You couldn't give away tickets for free in the early 2010s. But in 2019, 3 million people attended the parade and now they are selling out as much or more than the Leafs and are now the most valuable sports team in the country. We're just hitting that point where the average fan is starting to realize there's a lot more to this group and after 3 points tonight (🤞🏽), I think it could very well hit a new level

[kungfucious]

@Sal333, @Kent, @Approve My Account Pls

the reason why im complaining is b/c i dont want those fairweather fans sitting beside me.  i hate those types of ppl.  u know the ones, those who follow not b/c they like something, but to stay relevant and cool.  to me, that is definitely not the way to grow the game.  u guys cited the leaves fans and how insane it was they had to have raptor tickets to buy leaves seasons.  THATs the kind of passion im looking for which is why i respect mexican football culture and not ours.

 

just to illustrate my point more, cactus club had the nets vs warriors game on right now instead of the pregame.  the place where im at is playing oldies music with SN volume muted.  the news radio called this qualification for the world cup of soccer.  guys...  please dont defend this as anything other than apathy.  everybody loves a winner and thats definitely why im backing the boys, but the typical fans (outside of this forum) think davies and david are the same person being mistakenly distinct.  if they know the difference, do u think they can identify (by photo): alphonso-teshon-johnathan-cyle?  show them photos of austin, john, mitch, william and they would likely score 66% correct.

 

sorry guys, i just expect more of those who call themselves fans

Edited November 17, 2021 by kungfucious
clarity