Matthew Good is a Canadian rock star, a soccer-lover and a dedicated Arsenal fan. I should be ecstatic that he's going to be the "opening act" for the MLS Cup – I even like his music.
But I'm not happy. Not at all.
Why? Check out this blog post Mr. Good wrote during this past World Cup.
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"I’m not going to get into why I support the national football team of [England]...I have never supported Canada’s national side, not even in youth tournaments. Label me traitorous if you must, but when it comes to football there’s simply no room for split allegiances..."
Everyone of us at SCG has railed and ranted on and on (mostly Squizz, actually) about our personal frustrations with Canadian soccer fans choosing to support another nation, so there's no need to go on and on about it here. Suffice it to say that this attitude – that "the nation of my ancestors and much of my extended family" should be the recipient of my soccer support at Canada's expense – is perhaps the greatest roadblock standing in the way of Canadian soccer.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Now, it's Matthew Good's right to cheer for whoever he wants – don't get me wrong. Though I don't respect his decision – and it is a decision, after all, not a birthright, or a familial imposition or anything else – he's free to make it and I'm not here to talk him out of that. What I will say is that Canada's National Stadium is patently NOT the venue for people who have expressly chosen to turn their back on Canada's national team, especially at times when Toronto becomes a focus of international soccer attention, as it will on Sunday.
I'm not sure who booked Matthew Good, or if his England support is at all well-known (I only happened upon this post when I was wasting an afternoon trying to confirm a rumour that he was a Gooner), but it's the same kind of PR blunder that saw Steven Harper posing idiotically with Owen Hargreaves.
Again, I'm not bashing Matthew Good as a person, as a musician or – though I disagree with his support of England – as a soccer fan. (Indeed, I even have a soft spot for him given that he's for Arsenal.) But he's an awful choice for this event: BMO Field is Canada's national stadium, and it should be unrepentant fortress of Canadian support.
As you said, Mr. Good, "when it comes to football there’s simply no room for split allegiances."
Am I wrong?