This is the only time you’ll ever hear Canadians use the word, once every four years during the planet’s most-watched sporting event
, the soccer — er, football — men’s World Cup finals.
The month-long, 32-nation tournament is also when footie-mad Canadians take to the streets in a flag-waving frenzy more commonly associated with A) beating the U.S. at hockey, or B) vaccine protests. Maybe our lack of success comes down to how we view the sport. The purpose of the Canadian game, as any soccer parent can tell you, is to raise money, mostly through the sale of raffle tickets outside grocery stores. Particularly good players, those who sell chocolate-covered almonds by the carton, might find themselves competing at the national level. In other countries, the season culminates with the cup final; in Canada, it’s the post-New Year’s bottle drive.
Basically, Canadians traditionally have regarded soccer as a form of recreation for children while the rest of the world has viewed it as a proxy for armed conflict. Note that when playing Germany the English fans have been known to spread their arms and pretend to be RAF bombers, or to sing “two world wars and one world cup” to the tune of Camptown Races.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jack Knox: Shovelling money out of our economy gives us the Black Friday bluesSince the phenomenon spilled into Canada, it turned out we were just as capable as our neighbours of going all Lord Of The Flies on each other if you dangled a $12 toaster in front of our faces
Read more »
Jack Knox: Amid tales of dysfunction, don't forget needWhen encountering some bedraggled figure on the sidewalk, what do you feel? Sympathy? Fear? Resentment? Does your heart hurt or your lip curl?
Read more »
Jack Knox: Amid tales of dysfunction, don't forget needWhen encountering some bedraggled figure on the sidewalk, what do you feel? Sympathy? Fear? Resentment? Does your heart hurt or your lip curl?
Read more »
Jack Mintz: Why I'm glad Danielle Smith fired me from the Alberta Health Services boardReal health\u002Dcare reform will require big policy and governance changes, writes Jack Mintz. Find out more.
Read more »
Jack Mintz: Why I'm glad Danielle Smith fired me from the Alberta Health Services boardReal health\u002Dcare reform will require big policy and governance changes, writes Jack Mintz. Find out more.
Read more »
Jack Mintz: Why I'm glad Danielle Smith fired me from the Alberta Health Services boardReal health\u002Dcare reform will require big policy and governance changes, writes Jack Mintz. Find out more.
Read more »