Varsity Tyler

You guys don't have to rebut anything. I am sorry that my differing opinion begging for openness and kindness is so very troubling. I will see myself out. If somebody in charge will PM me a mailing address then I will send the shirt back. If only it were so easy to deal with this darn tattoo.

I will likely be banned, suspended or at the very least ridiculed for this. I have zero faith in this country's ability to hear a narrative other than the accepted one. I concede that this is only half related to soccer, and I appeal as a longstanding member of this community to allow some latitude to put forward my perspective. On unity: Right now the national team is an escape from the sorry state in which our country finds itself. I can honestly say that following the CMNT is unexpectedly the happiest part of my life over the last year or so. The rest of the country is in severe decline and in my 36 years I cannot recall ever seeing it so divided. I have long told myself that should Canada ever qualify again that I will be present in person for the World Cup. As it stands I am forbidden to travel abroad or on a plane within my own country. My spouse is fired from her career of 10 years. My friends protest and petition for my child to be segregated from theirs. My entire world has closed in around me. Of course this is all due to vaccine hesitation. Meanwhile, I anticipate punitive taxation, to be jailed, and to be denied healthcare should the need (for any reason) arise. I put my travel budget to see these world cup qualifiers into the Vees flag and tifo funds because I am banned from the stadiums. My own government tells me that I am unemployable by them, but yet since I am self-employed they drop their vehicles off to me to be repaired at my private shop. Locally, the Yukon's Public Service Minister shakes my hand after working alongside me during last summer's floods; I had volunteered for the day with my own heavy equipment to fill and haul sandbags. Yet he is the one who fires my wife, and he fails to respond to calls or emails when prompted. The hypocrisy boggles the mind and I am persona non grata within my own community (unless my services are needed). The PM calls me racist, misogynist, fringe and unacceptable. Meanwhile, I have stood shoulder to shoulder with a number of you on the terraces, sharing in song, drink, revelry and despair. I never once cared or treated you differently on account of your skin colour, gender, political leanings or health status. I have lived previously in Ottawa and have mourned at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Nov 11, and doffed my cap to the statue of Terry Fox not long after my own father died of cancer at the age of 45. Yet if I were to travel to Ottawa tomorrow I would be shamed as one who decries these symbols. Right now my family and I are investigating options for living in Mexico, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Never before had I imagined fleeing the country due to persecution. At present the CMNT is perhaps the best thing about this damn country. I can genuinely say that I love the team and I am basking in this amazing qualifying run. But unity? Inclusion? Right now we couldn't be further away from either of those ideals. My hope beyond all hopes is that this country can find itself again. And if somehow the wild success of the CMNT is a catalyst which makes that dream a reality then you will find nobody in the country happier than I. All I ask of individuals - and the country as a whole - is kindness and acceptance. Live and let live. Allez les rouges.

Can a mod please shuffle this stuff off to the Covid thread (including this post from me)? The players are individuals, and we as fans have less than zero cause for questioning their personal, private medical choices. Borjan and Hoilett don't have to do a darn thing to their body if they don't feel the need to do so, and to suggest that they 'need to get their heads out of their asses' and roll up their sleeves is wrong on many levels - especially from the perspective of a sport fan.

Ironically, Whitehorse was the same temp as Edmonton today. And FH Collins Secondary got a new field turf pitch, track and bleachers this past summer ; )

Atiba man. There are tears in my eyes right now. I bumped into him at a night club in Tallinn after we got beat in our last snow bowl. I had to ask when I ran into him, 'You're Atiba, right? Canada?' He responded, 'yeah Canada - when we're not embarrassing ourselves.' And now this. 2 to 1 over Mexico with the entire country watching, topping the CMNT record for caps. What a stud.

Get. The. Fack. In. Scrappy. I love it.

Sounds like a nice afternoon.

It was only a couple degrees below zero. All told it was a friendly match on a snow covered pitch. It was a novelty match - no takeaways whatsoever.

That match in Tallinn was something else. It snowed the night before matchday, and in the morning there were messages on local radio saying something along the lines of "full refunds to those who don't want to go, but for those who do want to see the match go ahead then come down to the stadium in the afternoon and grab a shovel. Anybody who volunteers gets a free ticket to the match." I went down and put in a shift with a bunch of the Estonian supporters. Between the fans and stadium staff there was ~50 people in total, and the pitch (natural turf) got cleared pretty well. However, it kept snowing throughout the afternoon and into the evening of the match. Maybe 6 inches total. It was a bit of a gongshow - orange ball the whole game, and more snow clearing at half time. I made friends with some Brits who went to the match with me, and there was a Russian fellow near me in the stands who was friendly with his flask. I got to meet up with de Guzman, de Rosario and a couple others before the match. Afterward I was at a bar/club in the old town and ran into Atiba, Lars and some others. Tallinn was a great spot to visit. I can't believe that was 13 years ago now.

Can you make it ~13 or 14 years? My little guy is only 5 years old at the moment.

2 years. Would have been 2005, 2006ish. Once out west with Coast Range -- Williams Lake, Bella Coola, Alexis Creek/Chilkoten, Ft McMurray chopper shows Once in Ontario with Outland -- Spanish Forest, Gogama. Days off in Timmins.

I once paid for a cab from YEG in Leduc into Edmonton proper with the $20 remaining in my wallet and the remaining 3-cans in a 6-pack of Lucky. This was all negotiated before the ride - no meter. Needless to say I was dirt poor (returning from a summer of tree planting and we were yet to get paid out from our contract). The Muslim cabbie somehow found God half way between Leduc and Edmonton and didn't want to accept the beer as a form of payment. When we arrived downtown he refused to give me my hockey bag full of planting gear/clothes, which was in the trunk of his Crown Vic. I don't recall exactly what was said to get him to give up the bag, but I know that it took a little bit of bullshitting back and forth. So yes, the airport is not near Edmonton. Plan accordingly.

Then the polite thing to say would be: "Bummer that Hoilett's personal decision conflicts with governmental regulation. He is a quality player and it would be great if he could see the pitch at Azteca. Alas, it looks like it's not meant to be this time." Super easy. Super kind. Super respectful. Super understanding.

It doesn't matter why it kicked off. The anger, venom and hostility which seems to come with this topic is crippling, and calling people 'a$sholes' and 'facking idiots' is flat out rude and unkind. The individuals on the receiving end of those insults are the same people wearing red as part of the support in the stands during these qualifiers. Unfortunately, this sort of behaviour takes the enjoyment out of our forum.

Can we get all of this vax garbage cleaned up from here? Perhaps I am alone, but I read this forum to escape this type of divisive content. I don't care about another individual's vaccine status, political leanings, religion, view on abortion et cetera. At the end of the day it has little to nothing to do with the national team.