Soccer, Not Football

So it’s finally hit me this week: I am not English.

It all began last week, the week of March 16th, 2009 – one of the most memorable weeks for soccer in the Cascadia.

• Vancouver, a city with 30 years of history in soccer, officially wins one of the two 2011 MLS expansion spots
• Seattle Sounders hosts their inaugural MLS home opener in front of a 32,000-strong crowd
• Portland announced as the other winner for the 2011 expansion

I was fortunate enough to have taken part in two of these historic events, namely the celebration party in Vancouver on Wednesday night, followed by the Seattle Sounders’ opener on Thursday.

To make a long story short, the Sounders’ opener, while goosebump-inducing in countless ways (can you really ask for more than a 3-0 win on your first night out in the MLS?), remained a largely “North American affair”, much to my disappointment.

What do I mean by that?

Think organic vs. engineered.

You see, the main reason behind why I love the beautiful game, soccer -  or football, as the rest of the world calls it – is because of its tribal nature. It’s all about the club you support.  The more adversity the club faces, the more it means to the true supporters to stand behind her against the rest of the world.  The true supporters know that only the club stands the test of time: players and coaches and trophies come and go, but the club you support will remain timeless.

You don’t cease to be a Vancouver Whitecap after the whistle is blown in 90 minutes.  It runs in your blood.

It’s for these reasons that you see this sort of thing around the world:

*Note the ladies taking their tops off around the 50 second mark.  Those Brazilians……Anyways.

Yet, as North Americans, most of us are accustomed to having to be entertained, having to be fed.  We are used to sitting on our fat asses at home in front of our HDTVs.  In fact, we are so used to sitting in front of the TV that for most “fans”, going to the game and watching it on TV are actually interchangeable.  And even when we do actually attend professional sporting events, most of what we get is merely artificial, engineered support. You often see the big LCD screens in the stadiums displaying messages like “CLAP YOUR HANDS”, or “STAND UP”, or “SCARVES UP”.  You often hear loud rock music played over the PA every time play stops, as if to distract you from the silence that fills the stadium.  You see mascots telling you how to chant and how to react, and if you can string 3 words together (eg. “GO CANUCKS GO!”, “LET’S GO CANUCKS, LET’S GO!”), you are considered a hardcore fan.  And then you see cheerleaders jumping around even though they have absolutely no place on the field whatsoever.

This was the case in Seattle.  And so, a debate in my head arose.  “Was that really a good night out?  Or was it just the same old North American crap masked by all the fireworks and brass band and a bunch of bandwagoners?”  Afterall, some claim the Sounders managed to fill the stadium only because their city has just lost their NBA franchise, the Seattle Sonics.

And sadly, as a natural reaction – I think overreaction is a better description – to the disaster that North American sports have become, soccer fans in North America have decided to try to emulate their counterparts over in Europe, especially in England.  We start calling soccer “football”, start yelling around English phrases like “Shut up you twat”, or “Aye you’re a right bloody wanker like”, while raising up our scarves and singing English chants.  And guess what?  A little while later, you can’t help but notice that we’ve just gone one full circle and ended up exactly where we started – engineered support that is not true of who we really are.

So it is at this point that I stand.  Right here, right now.  This very moment.

Who are we, really?

Can I feel comfortable in my own skin as a Vancouverite and not end up as either i) a boring fickle fan like the Canucks lot, or ii) an Englishman wannabe?

Can I come to accept that while Seattle got it wrong on their big night out, at least Toronto FC got it spot on 2 years ago and that hopefully the Whitecaps will get it spot on as well come 2011?

Can we relive the day of the 100,000+ parade in downtown Vancouver in 1979, when we won the NASL Soccer Bowl?

Yes, I think I can.  In fact, I am very hopeful.

Those of you from the east coast might have read about this, but TFC just got an away support of about 2,000 fans in their game against Columbus Crew down in Columbus today.  That’s a 7 hour trip, and I’m not even counting the return trip.  They got a section all to themselves at Columbus’s ground.  Isn’t that amazing?

You have probably met people who moved from coast to coast because of the person they love, or their family, or their career.

For me, I think I have just found my reason to stay in Vancouver.

This is my home.

Pilgrimage

My year begins a fortnight from today, in the Emerald city.

I honestly can’t wait!

Here are some of the more important fixtures that I will be attending for sure:

Thu 03/19 – Seattle Sounders FC vs. New York Red Bulls – (the debut of our Cascadian friend/foe in the MLS)

Sat 04/04 – Colchester United vs. Leeds United – (tickets yet to be acquired, chances not looking good)

Sat 04/11 – Tottenham Hotspurs vs. West Ham United

Sat 04/25 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Portland Timbers

Sat 05/30 – Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Tue 06/02 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Toronto FC

Sun 06/07 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Montreal Impact

I searched for perfection

Before I get into the nitty gritty stuff, this past week I had done 3 times what I had previously only done once ever in my lifetime: to go to the cinema for a motion picture by myself.

The first time happened in Halifax, when I felt so disgusted by the monotony of my job that I decided to call in sick to hangout by myself. It was “The Transformers” that I watched, what a mistake that was.

This week though, I watched “The Reader”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, and “Revolutionary Road”. The weirdest thing was that I literally watched “The Reader” in an empty theater. All by myself, as if I owned the place. It was a late Monday night showing though.

In fact during those 3 trips to the cinema, and while I was there, I was very scared that I would get spotted by someone I know. I purposely picked theaters that are slightly less popular, so I could do my best to avoid such a scary outcome. And what all that built up to was me finally deciding that I wanted a weekend where I got to spend all to myself, which is somewhat of a rare thing since I am used to having all these responsibilities penciled in on my Saturdays and Sundays.

So on Saturday morning, I basically ditched my friend last minute after agreeing a week ago that I would go to Seattle with him and his friends, and then I got into my car and drove up to a place I had always wanted to go visit: Burnaby Mountain Park.

The view indeed was beautiful. There was still snow on the drive up. I was anticipating perfection.

Instead, I was left with bitter disappointment.

Don’t get me wrong, like I said, the view was indeed gorgeous. The weather was just right. In fact there was even a blonde girl there, just standing there smoking. But remember, I was looking for perfection! And it wasn’t to be found!

I walked around hectically, hoping to find that perfect spot where I could sit down and enjoy the toasted sandwich I had bought from Subway while looking out to a beautiful view. But every spot I went, either the view was blocked by a tree or some other sort of obscure object, or there were families of immigrants who kept chatting away. Especially the annoying kids.

And so by the time I finally settled down on a bench, my sandwich was already cold.

Perfection was nowhere to be found.

As I sulked in my disappointment, I drove down slowly – only to spot a footy game happening at Kensington Park. The kids were about high school age. I pulled over, got out of the car, and joined the handful of parents who were there cheering for their kids.

God is great, isn’t He?

There I was, watching as the kids played out an exciting end to end game, realizing that perfection is found only in God – and football, the Beautiful Game, is where God manifests Himself here on earth.

And that is the reason why football is now my religion.

Football Education

This year has started fantastically well when it comes to my football education.  Going a few posts back I had talked about how my hopes for this new year is that I would finally get out of the whole (Chinese) Christian bubble, and, more importantly, to invest this year into the Whitecaps so I can become a proper supporter.

I got to hit 2 birds with 1 stone last night as I attended my first ever Southsiders gathering, where the supporters group for the Vancouver Whitecaps gathered at a pub downtown with none other than the championship winning manager himself, Teitur Thordarson.

This is the beauty of the USL and supporting your local side – to be able to meet these folks up front like that and put them on the spot with some tough questions.

It was definitely a great opportunity to get out of my bubble, as I was the only non-white person there.  I also got to chat with 2 very knowledgeable men, one who is a younger lad who is actually currently writing a book on his 1 year of experience being a supporter for a football club in South Korea.  The other bloke is a older man who is actually making a film on the history of footy here. So he was able to answer all my questions about the good ol’ Whitecaps and 86ers from back in the NASL days – when the likes of Alan Ball, Grobbelar (lol) and Peter Beardsley played for us. The good ol’ days of when Vancouverites were actually fans of the beautiful game, instead of this boring stuff they call the Canucks now……

I was glad I was able to share some of my wealth as well, taking out the latest “textbook” I have been using from my backpack, Gary Imlach’s “My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes”.  Great book that puts the game back into perspective.

We even got the chance to clear our throats and sang a few chants, for me that was immense already.

I can’t wait till the season finally starts.

Going to be heading down to Portland with the lads for the away game there, and I might even fly out to Montreal for one of the games there, as I’ve always been meaning to visit that beautiful city.

And let’s not forget about going with the Leeds away supporters to a game at Colchester when I head to the UK in April.  Wootttttttt!!

One thought that came to mind, and I wish to discuss next time, is: do instant replays and highlights ruin the game? (reason being that the goal is no longer a special moment, but a dissected piece of junk painted by all the crap the pundits say)

Travelling Plans

So here’s the plan: leave to London on April 1st (or March 31st), and come back on the 12th or 13th.  Which would mean I would be spending Easter over there with my brother and all the Brits.  Beautiful innit.

I have already successfully requested time off at work, beautiful.

Now I just need to arrange to see Colchester vs. Leeds with a mate of mine.  He’s a Leeds fan so it’d be absolutely amazing to attend a Leeds game with him, I reckon.

At first I was thinking about attending a random Prem game in London (Fulham vs. Liverpool was one), but I think the Prem is a farce these days and I am after the atmosphere of lower league games anyways.

After that, I hope to visit several other cities: Bath, Edinburgh, Barcelona.  Maybe a few others. Attend a game at the Nou Camp, how awesome would that be?

This is all very exciting.

I just hope to get to spend some one on one time with my brother before he gets married off (or before I do, which however is rather unlikely).

Footy in London

So I am starting to plan for my trip to London to visit my brother, either in March or April next year.  And I am thinking of a team to watch while I’m there.

First one that came to mind was West Ham, as they are sort of the crappier team (ie. Not Arsenal nor Chelski) in London, but then I am reminded that it was the Hammers who gave Becks a real tough time after WC98.  It was them Hammers that brought a good chunk of the abuse to my hero.  And it would be real hypocritical of me to go watch them, I think.

So now I’m thinking about going to see Tottenham.  But really, maybe I should see a lower league game instead?  Something like QPR?

The Prem has become a real farce these days, hasn’t it?

I am also wondering where I should go after/before.  Maybe somewhere in Scotland.  Maybe Barcelona.  Maybe somewhere east of London.  Somewhere close to the sea.

I am not too sure.

The Old Lady’s midfield pairing for 08/09

Very happily, I have just purchased tickets to see Arsenal vs. Juventus at Emirates Stadium (or, as the proper Gooners refer to it: Ashburton Grove) in a pre-season friendly match.

And you must say Juve is getting on quite well with the times, just look at their central midfield pairing for this coming season:

Mohamed Sissoko and Christian Poulsen. That’s Mohamed & Christian together side by side

Add to that, up front there’s the star in David Trezeguet for a little bit of Star of David Jewish action and man, that’s really a team for everyone eh?

LOL.

In other news, I have a confession to make: I was leading worship at Sunday service this past week and as I began to really get into it, I looked at the congregation and spotted a few white folks (they weren’t just your regular white folks, they were English as well)! Consequently, I played the piano with a bit more thought, sang with a bit more passion, and so had a real good time.

It’s not even funny.

Euro 2008, of course

Before I write about the Starfield concert, before I write about my trip to New York City, before I write about more theology, about my job interview, about how disrespectful I am to my mom at times, etc., I thought that I really owed it to myself – as a little armchair football fan – to write about the European Championships taking place in Austria/Switzerland right now.

No, England is not in it.  But to many Englishmen it’s actually a good thing: no longer do they have to sit in front of their teles listening to the stupid pundits and English media – excuse my language – wank over their mediocre England national team.  This time around, they can actually watch as neutrals without having to pull hair out or be put at risk of suffering from heart attacks. And as a neutral, Monday is going to be very exciting, as Holland faces Italy.

There’s something very special about international tournaments.

Each team only gets to play a maximum of 6 games (if they reach the final).

That means every decision counts.  That means coaches really need to strategize so that the players pace themselves, without going into exhaustion too early on in the tournament, especially when extra time is so common in the latter stages.

That means that every game counts and failure to meet expectations would mean that you will forever be remembered as a bottler.  This means that mental toughness is key because there’s no turning back.

It’s a very special thing, these tournaments.

There’s great beauty about it.

As for who I would like to see do well, well, Holland and Italy are always the favourites, but I would definitely love to see the “lesser” teams like Croatia and Romania do well.

Although he probably won’t be getting many games, I hope this guy gets his chance to shine in what most probably is his last ever international tournament:

Alessandro del Piero!

Bits and Parts

I am really feeling indifferent about the Starfield concert.  Their first, largely acoustic album was ace, second was a nice change of sound, but their third and latest one feels like an album past its expiry date.  It feels like an album that had to be made for them to continue being relatively successful.  If I want to listen to the tired radio rock riffs, I might as well throw on some Foo Fighters or something.  With all this said, they have never failed to entertain in live shows, as my friend SJW pointed out.

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It’s the Champions League final but I am not that excited at all because football has become a joke, really.  Where are the real football teams like Ajax of ‘95?

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The Whitecaps are going to revamp the BC Place and use it as our temporary home, with the hopes of securing a bid in catching the heated wave of MLS expansion.  Good news but also bad news as this means any plans to build the Waterfront stadium can easily be pushed back.

Luckily I get to catch our home game against the Seattle Sounders this coming Friday! 

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I want to move away from Richmond because it’s no longer the little suburban town I was so fond of as a kid (I suppose anywhere South of where I live still is) but a place filled with, well, stupid places.

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I don’t usually talk about cars but I want one of those Audi R8s after seeing Iron Man.

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I want to play in a band.

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I have discovered The Smashing Pumpkins, only about a decade and a half late.

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I really like Ben Gibbard and Conor Oberst and really wish there were Christian musicians who can write songs like them.  Is Sufjan Stevens the only one?

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I just watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.  It was funny, cute, and the last little bit at the wedding when the dad finally came around really touched my heart.  Yes, the meaning of life is indeed to get married and have lots of kids.

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I don’t really want to go back to Vancouver.  But neither do I want to stay here right now.