When you think of the Vancouver Whitecaps, there are many things that come to mind. Most recently, it’s the huge win on Wednesday, DeMerit’s mullet, and a race for the playoffs, but when you think back to the "original" Whitecaps, and fast-forward to the team today, one person that is there through it all is Mr. Carl Valentine.
Practically synonymous with the Whitecaps, I was admittedly star struck when I sat down with Carl for this latest edition of <i>'Nightcap with a Whitecap'</i>. Two hours, and a few pints later, it was clear that this would have to be a multi-part story. As I had suspected going into this, Carl Valentine is simply too awesome for just one column.
So I present Part One, of this special two-part <i>'Nightcap with a Whitecap'</i>:
First question, of course is Favourite Nightcap?
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
<i>Sambuca.</i>
Wow, really? Why?
<i>Medicinal reasons. (*laughs*) I mean, obviously when I was a kid, I used to shoot Sambuca, like everyone did. Now I just find it nice and relaxing. It’s very refreshing at the end of the night. I don’t shoot it anymore, I sip it.</i>
I think that’s the first time anyone has chosen that, and I think we’ve discovered that Carl has a wild side…
<i>(*laughs*) Maybe. I just sip it… most nights, actually.</i>
There’s nothing wrong with that. Perhaps we should have ordered Sambuca instead of beer?
<i>I like beer, but I don’t have a favourite beer, and I never have. I don’t know how to say this next part without it sounding the way it sounds, but I’ve not found a beer that I don’t like. I know how that makes it sound… I like beer, but I don’t have a beer where I say, "I have to have that beer next time I go out".</i>
Don’t worry, Carl. I think people will only like you more to hear you’ve never found a beer you didn’t like.
Second question, no surprise, Favourite Whitecap? And just for you, you can name someone from your playing days, and someone from the current squad.
<i>I played with so many, it’s hard to pick a favourite. Probably… Fran O’Brien. He was my roommate, an Irishman. He lives in Tacoma now. We had a lot of fun and we still keep in touch. I won’t say he was a great roommate, he was always nicking my toothpaste, had no money, that kind of guy, but we get along really well and he was a great player.</i>
How about your favourite Whitecap now?
<i>I’m not around him a lot, but I just love Gershon Koffie. I had the pleasure of going to Vernon with him for the day. As an ambassador we try to reach out to the community, so we have day trips. I’ve gone on them with a number of players, but I spent the day with [Koffie], as well as seeing him around the field, and he’s a really nice young man. Fantastic player now, and going to be a great player later on, I think.</i>
I think there are many fans out there who would agree with you.
<i>As a former player, I watch with a critical eye, but as fan as well, when I see Koffie play, even when he’s not on top of his game, he does a lot of things for the team that go unseen. Sometimes he goes down too easily, or stays down too easily, but he’s fierce in the tackle. He breaks up a lot of plays. I think that for someone so young, his awareness on the field is what separates him, for me. That’s why I think he’s a talented player now, and going to be a very talented player if he’s in the right environment, and continues to stay in the right environment, because he’s got it all.</i>
I like that you picked a player that isn’t the most flashy, but is a strong player and a strong member of the team. That being said, at least he’s on twitter… You’re not even on twitter, aside from <a href="http://www.twitter.com/afrocarl" target="_blank">@AfroCarl</a>. Are you aware of AfroCarl?
<i>I’ve heard from other people that [AfroCarl] is actually quite funny. There are even some people in our organization who think it’s me. But I think, as long as he’s funny and witty, it’s okay that they think it’s me.</i>
People in the organization think it’s you?
<i>I think it was Alex Morfaw, last year, who had a go at me on the field for something I had tweeted, and it was Michael Nanchoff who had to say to him, "Alex, that’s not Carl".
So, obviously, if AfroCarl isn’t witty or funny then it’s bad, but he seems quite funny, so I don’t have to go around and tell everyone that it’s not me. I mean, I tell them it’s not me if they ask me...</i>
So you don’t mind being impersonated?
<i>This isn’t the first time. There was a guy in Vancouver, and I don’t know if he was actually trying to impersonate me or not, but he would go out with a Whitecaps shirt that said Valentine on the back, and people would say, "I saw you at such-and-such a place the other night," and I’d think, "No, I was at home". I never asked him about it, I knew him a little, but he was quite a good looking guy, so it was ok.
I’ve never really needed to build a reputation, it seems like someone is always doing it for me.</i>
Speaking of building your reputation though, how did you become the ambassador that you are for the Whitecaps? Did you always want to be the "face" of Vancouver Whitecaps?
<i>I approached Bobby [Lenarduzzi], around the time the Whitecaps were applying for MLS. I definitely wanted to be involved with the club on the ground level. I think the reason is that I’m very fortunate that I’ve had this relationship with the fans. I don’t question it anymore. I know how much I’m loved and I love them as much. I felt there was a reason for me to be with the Whitecaps, especially because the ownership wanted to nurture the history. I thought that would be a real plus for me, and the Whitecaps.
I approached Bobby, of course he didn’t have a position for me at the time, so Danny Lenarduzzi was very instrumental in getting me the position, but basically what they did was they went to four different departments, and probably begged. With Partnerships, Tickets, Media and Coaching, they went to 4 different departments and they got enough together to get me a salary.
I’ll never forget the first day I went into the office, it was December, so there was no coaching, and the Media Department, they were looking after me, and they kinda looked and thought "What they hell are we going to do with this guy?"
All I had done was coach and play, so they had no idea what to think.
Long story short, I went in and did some writing, and they liked the stories I had and how I wrote. I did some interviewing, which was more of a challenge, but obviously they liked that side of it and it just grew from there.
At the end of the year, they said they wanted to take me away from the coaching and more on the media and community relations. The role really just evolved… but I still don’t know what I’m doing!</i>
You’re just "the guy"!
<i>When people say, "What do you do?" I don’t really have an answer. I just blab on about different things… I don’t have an answer. I’m just, I’m there, I guess.</i>
Even when you weren’t with the Whitecaps, it’s safe to say that they were never far from your mind, and you were never far from the minds of fans, am I right?
<i>Prior to this it was almost 10 years outside the Whitecaps, but even though it was 10 years not working directly with the Whitecaps, it was every other day, or every 3 or 4 days, I’d bump into someone talking about the Whitecaps and "the days," and you knew there was still that connection there. And I’ve always had that connection with the fans, and was hoping that there would to be somewhere in the organization to nurture that. So the role has kind of evolved, and I find it funny that a lot of people haven’t seen me play. So it’s not just the connection of Carl Valentine and the history I had with the old Whitecaps fans, but the connection with the new Whitecaps fans.</i>
They may have never seen you play, but they've certainly heard of you.
<i>When I see people, when they chant my name, and sing "My Darling Valentine", not really sure where that came from, there’s real energy with it, and love. From my point of view it’s just fantastic.</i>
What do you miss most about your playing days? What has changed between when you played and now as you watch the Whitecaps in the MLS?
<i>Back in the day, we were probably the most popular team in town. I think it was 1980, they had a poll for "Most Popular Athlete" in the Vancouver Sun. The Lions were in there, and the Canucks, but I won the award as Most Popular Athlete in Vancouver. It was only my second year here. When you think about it, you have to wonder "how does that happen?"
It really shows you how well loved the Whitecaps were. I think part of that is when you talk to the fans of the old days, it was a real "we" – "we" won this, "we" had a great time.
I think the other difference between now and then was the characters. We had some real characters, players that could do the unexpected on and off the field. We had Willie Johnston, who took the swig of beer and also mooned the bench when he scored a shoot out goal against Seattle. We had Alan Ball, John Craven… There were a lot of characters that I played with back in the day.</i>
Do you miss that?
<i>Of course I do, but it’s not the players’ fault. Look at Terry Dunfield, a hometown lad, playing the very first major league game in Vancouver, scores a goal and jumps into the crowd and gets booked. That’s emotion. Even if there was a rule that jumping over the barrier would mean a red card, he would have done it. It’s emotion. But you can’t do that stuff now.</i>
Will that ever change?
<i>No. I don’t think so. You won’t have the same characters that we had in our game. Which is too bad because we had a lot of them and the crowd loved it, and without the fans, you’ve got nothing.</i>
Speaking of being a crowd favourite though, did you ever think to yourself, "One day, I’m going to walk around Vancouver and people will know me, stop me for photos, sing my name…"?
<i>No. When I came over I was only 20. So when I came over I just came to fill a role. Then in the first game someone got injured and I got thrown into the team. If I looked back, on myself as a player, I think, "wow, there was a real connection with the fans, but man, I wasn’t that good"!
I remember, a guy walked up to me in the street and said, "You’re Carl Valentine aren’t you? You’ve only got 2 moves haven’t ya?" I didn’t know if it was a compliment or not but I thought, "well, I guess it’s good I’ve got 2 moves, the defender won’t know which one I’m going to do." I didn’t have a lot of skill, but I was fast. And I really didn’t know what I was doing on the field, but if I didn’t know what I was doing, there was no chance a defender knew what I was doing either!
To be honest, I’d rather be known as the most hardworking guy on the team.
When I look back on my time with the Whitecaps, I am more proud that when we had our team scrimmages, five a side, I was always the first picked, because I worked hard.
I mean, you can win some awards, and that’s great for your ego, but I always wanted to be known as the hardest working guy.</i>
Do you think that’s on the mind of players now? Do they want to work hard or do they want to be famous and get a big pay cheque?
<i>I think it’s a little bit harder in the MLS, since everyone knows what you’re making. There are a lot of guys who make a lot of money, but that’s a lot of pressure. Players might want to moan and complain, but if they’re being honest, everyone in the room knows what they’re making, so there’s a lot of pressure to perform.
In the end, I really think our guys care about putting a Whitecaps jersey on. They want to do well, and it’s tough when you go through a bad spell, because they care. They’ve learned a lot of the history, and I think these guys are really proud to put that jersey on.</i>
And that's what the fans want to hear. A good note to end part one on.
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