BEHIND THE PLAY #85

Maybe it sounds a bit posh but it’s not just the seeing of the game that matters but how you do it. My game day experience for Canada v Qatar was an all day affair with ups and downs (almost all ups really) and pleasant surprises left, right and centre.

How to see a World Cup game

I was there in the 80’s and 90’s when we played World Cup qualifiers at Swangard.

I was there, even played, when it was $10 to get in to see the men’s national team play a friendly.

I watched 8-1. Alone. In a downtown bar after a meeting because I knew I wouldn’t get home in time to see it from the start and a win there would’ve put us in the 2014 World Cup which I was already committed to going to. It really was awful.

I’ve lived through many, many lows of our men’s national team.

But things changed. I was also there at Iceteca. And I was there in the even colder climes of BMO Field in Toronto when we beat Jamaica to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

I then went to Qatar and was there when Phonzie scored our first goal in a men’s World Cup. That goal led to a clip of me, looking weepy (I wasn’t - honest!), going out over the broadcast and being used in multiple follow up promos for other games. It was texted to me by people I know at least 20 times by the end of the day. It was actually cool to know how many people were watching Canada play back home.

And I was there last Thursday to see our first win in a men’s World Cup ever. A 6-0 demolition against Qatar. So the years of darkness for those of us who went through decades of not even being able to qualify for the Hex are being rewarded with this. This World Cup. In our country. These Canada games. In our city. This first win. The looming possibility of not just getting out of our group but finishing first and playing a knockout round game, maybe even two, at BC Place.

The bottom line is we all choose what matters to us and apply our inherent resources towards the enjoyment of those experiences. For me those inherent resources are time, money and emotions. They inform what we do, how we do it, how often and with whom.

It’s not just going to the game but how you do it. I’ve learned a fair bit about the importance of context from my wife. I mentioned this in a Facebook post last year about our youngest’s graduation from UBC; how she gets the whole notion of adding significance to enhance the memory of an event or experience. From that post:

And the bottom line is that regardless of the rationale…this shit just matters to me and I feel no reason or need to justify it to myself or anyone besides my wife and she’s cool as per this exchange minutes after buying the tickets.

But before that…

I already had tickets for Canada v Switzerland and the Round of 32 game that will feature Canada if they win the group. Both at BC Place. I’d tracked prices for the Qatar game but had pretty much ruled out buying tickets.

Then I got a text from Colin Elmes, co-owner and Sporting Director of Total Soccer Systems (TSS) the morning of the Qatar game. Colin and I have known each other since we were 17. We both turned 60 this year so that’s an enduring friendship and a long time that we have both worked full time in the game here in Vancouver.

He had caught me right as I was reaching peak regret for not getting tickets for this game and now it was the day of the game and I had begun looking at ticket options for the first World Cup game Canada would play in Vancouver and potentially the first World Cup game we would win.

But very shortly after that text thread began I heard from Tavish, my youngest. He was at work.

Then supply rose to meet my increasingly agitated and less economically-concerned demand.

So he had been trying to buy tickets for us to go as a Father’s Day present. That will add so much to the memory of that day. Context. It’ll get you right in the feels as its being birthed and forever after.

So now I needed a plan to make it a great day and I had five hours to kickoff. I let Colin know we were coming. He had a group that was having pre-game drinks at Yaletown Brewing.

Maybe the best decision of the day, besides buying the actual tickets, was to ride my bike to the game. Riding from the west side of Vancouver on a sunny day is excellent on its own. It definitely adds some magic when you’re going to meet friends for a beer on a sunny patio before going to see Canada play in a World Cup game and you’re floating through the city more than cycling it.

So we had a couple of beers there and I continued on my bike to meet Tavish in Olympic Village near the start of the “March In” for the game at Science World. Loads of people walking with Canada flags and jerseys. Every race, gender, age and ethnicity. Everybody happy. Helpful staff, tolerant police and security. It was a slow winding route and I was going to be a bit early for meeting him so I just went with the slow part and let it all sink in.

There’s a scene in a movie you’ve almost certainly never heard of, never mind seen. It’s called This Movie Is Broken. It’s a fictional tale set around an actual outdoor concert that Broken Social Scene, a Canadian band I happen to really like, played around 2010. The scene is a guy riding his bike around Toronto with his (almost) girlfriend set to the band playing the dreamy mantra that is Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl. The combo of the bike and the song really makes it a paean to the uniqueness of Toronto on a nice summer day. A couple experiencing their city as they head to an outdoor concert by a band from their city with friends and like-minded strangers. That’s what my bike ride to Yaletown and then around downtown to Olympic Village felt like.

Parked the bike and went to a private beer store to get a couple of cold ones for us before Tavish arrived. He had done the exact same thing so we doubled our intended consumption for the walk in to BC Place. Awesome.

And then we were in. I saw Trevor Linden on our way to our seats and gave him a smile and a finger point. He smiled back. It was a bit like the exchange Gord Downie had with Bobby Orr that he relayed in the No Dress Rehearsal doc on the band’s final tour. 😂 

Quite honestly, I haven’t followed the Canucks in a long time but Trevor Linden will always be my favourite and is a Vancouver icon.

Then I saw one of my former players from my daughter’s team. I have touched on how amazing that group of girls was (and still is) in a previous BTP but I should write about them more. This one though is now a family doctor and talking with her at the game just added another layer to my smile and continued to better the day.

Back to texting Colin.

Here’s the video version of the day with an emphasis on how it looked, sounded and felt.

And the post-mortem the next day.

My dad had biking through my city on a sunny day. For the past five years that has been my go to stress reliever. A pure joy. Patio drinks with a long time friend followed by more drinks and a stunning walk-in to BC Place with my son. Canada’s first ever World Cup win. One that put us in the driver seat for winning the group and playing a knockout game at home that I have tickets for.

8-1 can go do one. It has been fully redeemed by 6-0.