Alright, it's not quite "catch the taste!" as far as catchphrases go, but Canada head coach Stephen Hart just might be onto something with his latest urging to soccer fans in this country.
"It's almost like, taste the soup," he told the media Thursday, when asked about support for the men's national team. "Come out and see what it's about and push the team along. If it's truly something you want to see, your team getting to a World Cup, you could be a part of that. And you could also have bragging rights to say you were there from the beginning."
So that leads us to the obvious question: What kind of soup is the Canadian men's national team?
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Tomato would be a good potential answer, what with it being red and slightly bland. But then, tomato soup is also smooth and consistent, and enjoys a high level of visibility and popularity in North America. So, that doesn't quite work.
Chicken noodle? No, not the sort of associations you want: noodles flop all over the place, and chickens do a lot of squawking. Hey, maybe that could be Honduras.
How about a cream soup? It evokes the old Wu Tang song about cash ruling everything, which is a good explanation for why some "Canadians" choose not to represent their country in international play. But then, that's not something you'd want to be constantly reminded of, is it?
No, I think the perfect soup for our national team would be minestrone. Taken straight from the infallible wellspring of knowledge known as Wikipedia: "There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are in season."
Perfect! Hart is always emphasizing the importance of utilizing players who are getting playing time with their clubs (as he did again on Thursday) and there's often a tendency to toss something into the pot, just to see how it will taste (as in the case of trying Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault and David Edgar at right back against St. Lucia and Puerto Rico: "it was a matter of a little bit of experimenting and trying to see where we can try to have some sort of depth at that position").
There's also the possibility of tossing in ingredients that no one would have expected, as Hart has done in the past few years by unearthing previously unknown Canadians such as Pedro Pacheco and Milan Borjan. When I asked if any such similar players may find their way into the national setup in the near future, he actually said there were "one or two" players he's got an eye on, but who are currently dealing with some "complexities" when it comes to citizenship.
When I asked what countries they may be from, or playing in, he laughed and declined to answer.
There's also the chance of trying out some veggies that aren't quite perfectly ripe yet, in the form of younger and/or domestic players: "If the scouting reports that I get suggest that (a) player is worth a look and he can definitely compete and push then yeah (they might get a shot). I've never been afraid to do that."
But again, no names. Some cooks are so secretive with their recipes.
To make things delicious, a soup -- like a soccer team -- always needs the right finishing touch. Though grated Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper won't get Canada to the World Cup, a better nose for the net just might: "We could still be more clinical with the chances we got (against St. Lucia and Puerto Rico). We created so many chances and we need to be a little more clinical, a little more composed."
The right taste can only come once you've made a few bowls and know exactly what you're working with, of course. Like, giving Josh Simpson a shot up front? "You had quite a few injuries up front and you never know what your options are going to be."
And of course, the more time you get in the kitchen, the better your chances of finding just the right flavour and being able to replicate it when guests come over.
"If we get through all of this and no disasters happen, then (it's a good thing)," Hart said of the opening six-game round. "We're getting to play a fair amount of games and more importantly, in environments that are very difficult. In the Puerto Rico game, the night before we only trained 45 minutes on a wet pitch with a ball we've never played with. Then, the next day, the pitch was like concrete and the ball was all over the place."
Yes, in the CONCACAF kitchen, sometimes you need to make soup with an arm tied behind your back, rusty knives and Gordon Ramsay dishing out inexplicable yellow cards. Even so...
"All in all I thought it was a good performance (in Puerto Rico), in the sense that some of the playing relationships look like they're coming together," said Hart. "We know where we need to improve and I think you will see us building from game to game upon each performance."
Plus, minestrone is often tomato-based (red!), the soup has an Italian background (as do plenty of folks in the upper echelons of the Canadian Soccer Association) and given its frequent inclusion of beans, it can often produce gas (though in the case of watching Canada play, let's blame it on the anxiety and beer).
Unlike in most cases, though, too many cooks won't spoil the soup. In fact, the more cooks (fans, that is), the better. So, who'll get to taste, uh, Canada?
While Hart praised the work of the Voyageurs and the Toronto FC supporters groups (as well as corporate sponsor Umbro) in rallying a strong contingent for the Sept. 2 game against St. Lucia, he did say that there is still building to be done -- while also hinting that it would be "nice" for the team to move around to other cities in future rounds of qualifying.
"Canada's football team," he said, "belongs to Canada."
Hart stressed, though, that the #1 concern is doing what it takes to qualify. He noted that forcing players coming over from Europe to cross several additional time zones -- while an opposing team, with most players plying their trade domestically, wouldn't be in the same conundrum -- could potentially put Canada at a disadvantage.
Still, he said, "it would be nice to be in a position to move the team around."
Open wide, Canada. Allez les soup.