This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of posts, dedicated to sharing stories from fans of Canadian soccer about how they came to follow their country and/or local club, and what it means to them. We're told soccer is wildly popular in Canada -- but too often, that means people who play but don't watch, or those who exclusively follow foreign clubs or national teams. While that's all well and good, it's not the same as being a Canadian soccer fan.
To find out how you can be a part of this series and add your voice to the Support Local Soccer movement, see the end of this post. But for the first edition, I'll tell you about a friend of mine and how, in mere months, she went from being a footie neophyte to a full-fledged Canadian supporter.
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Miriam isn't one to shy away from expressing herself. On matters social and political, you can be sure she'll have a well-formulated opinion -- and the passion to back it up.
But as for soccer? As a kid, she'd get a ball now and then, as a Christmas or birthday gift, and enjoy it as much as any child would. Not much beyond that, though.
And now? "I now waste more time on soccer than anything else, and I'm at peace with that."
How does that transformation happen?
Unsurprisingly, the initial tipping point came during the sport's grand quadrennial showcase, the FIFA World Cup. Equally unsurprisingly, Canada wasn't involved in the tournament in question, the 2010 edition in South Africa. Even so, Miriam decided to give it a shot.
"I had a lot of time that summer to watch what I thought would be a game here and there, but I became enthralled rather quickly," she says. "I’m pretty sure I watched every single game."
She had no problem becoming engrossed in the games and picking squads to root for, given her natural predilection for supporting the underdog. But something was missing. Specifically, "that blood-pumping, stress-inducing exhilaration you only get from cheering for the side that represents you."
"After that World Cup, I decided I wanted to support both of our national teams, and I wanted to be part of the fan base witnessing the march to 2014."
Having suddenly caught the footie bug, Miriam knew the next step was to watch her first-ever live soccer match. But despite her newfound excitement, that game -- Canada v. Peru in September 2010 -- didn't exactly go as expected.
"I was not prepared for how small the Canadian fan section was compared to the Peruvian fans, most (all?) of whom were Canadians!" she says. "Then for Peruvian fans to direct their gloating at the Canadian section was unbelievable. Even thinking about it now makes me anxious. I really felt for the players, who must feel that they're always at away games, whether they're away or not."
But rather than being scared off by the experience, Miriam was emboldened by it.
"I was pretty much hooked right away and knew just a few minutes in that this was going to be something that was now a part of my life," she says. "With all the singing, cheering, screaming and jumping around I really couldn't follow exactly what was going on on the pitch, but it hardly seemed to matter that day."
For someone, such as Miriam, who had never been an adamant sports fan before, the intensity of a supporters-section seat at an international soccer match would surely present a shock to the system. But the interest didn't begin and end at the turnstiles. Whether live or not, she became a voracious consumer of all things to do with the national teams.
"I hadn't even heard of any of the players before 2010 and now I know quite a bit about them," she says. "I know Terry Dunfield had a rough first season in MLS, and is not Canada's best player, but I hold a special place for him. I was already sold the day he scored against TFC (and I'm a TFC fan!) for the Whitecaps and jumped into the crowd. But Dunfield scored a beauty against Ecuador last year and it was my first live goal!
"I also really enjoy Simeon Jackson (I consider him the only Canadian that plays in the EPL, and on one of the most exciting teams to watch!), and even De Rosario. I know, I know... but the man can score goals, which he does for Canada, over and over again."
After the initial swoon that comes with finding and diving into a new passion, there is always a leveling off period. The end of the honeymoon. For Miriam, that came at last summer's Women's World Cup.
"I was warned that if I was going to be a Canadian soccer fan, then I needed to understand there was more disappointment than anything else, and the Women's World Cup was my first real experience with that," she says. "We fell apart, and it wasn't pretty."
Still, Miriam diligently followed the team during the recent Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver, and was glad to see the team book its ticket for London. Still, she feels there's still room for improvement for the women's team, and not just on the field.
"It was nice to see a Canadian crowd at those games, but women's soccer (and women's sports in general) have a ways to go to get the same respect as the men," she says.
"During one of the games, the commentator gave a shout-out to an 11-year-old girl who plays soccer but was injured, and I thought that was disrespectful at any point of the tournament, but especially right in the middle of a game! Imagine that during a men's game? It was just a little too precious for me."
Clearly, Miriam is still ready to strongly express her opinion on a wide variety of subjects. And now, as much to her surprise as anyone else's, that range of subjects includes Canadian soccer.
"Caring about every single game the national teams play has become very much a part of my life."
Do you have a story to share about how you, or a friend, were converted to following the Canadian game, at the club or country level? Send an email to canadiansoccerguys@gmail.com, and you might be included in a future edition of Canadian Converts.