The city of Toronto unveiled a MLS franchise - FC Toronto. The hope is to develop Canadian talent on Canadian in a professional environment in hopes of reaching the World Cup. It's about time. I could not agree with MLS commissioner Dan Garber more with his enlightened comments about expanding into Canada and helping this country develop with its own program. Many in the media wondered why he was going to help Canada - a main competitor of the United States.
His answer was interesting. He argued that he is out to improve the regional quality of soccer on this continent. FIFA wants to see both Canada and the U.S. excel and his program is not only sound technically but philosophically as well. There is too much talent and over 100 years of soccer heritage in both countries (did you know Canada won a gold medal in soccer at the Olympics?) to let it all go to waste. Soccer is the world's game and we as a continent should make every efforts necessary to be a part of it regardless of what anti-soccer talking heads think.
I welcome the MLS. In 1986, the captain of Team Canada Bruce Wilson presented me with an MVP at a tournament in Cap-de-la-Madelaine just outside Quebec City. I remember the sheer electric spirit in the soccer community as Canada prepared to take on France at the World Cup. Soccer in Canada was supposed to take a full turn. Sadly, Canada has never come close to qualifying again. Instead it went the other way as it descended into obscurity. Once a program that was ahead of the USA, Canada is presently ranked in the high 90s and the Canadian Soccer Association deserves all the criticism it receives. Hopefully, all this will change. Let's make good use of this second chance. Give the jobs to the right people.
One thing I noticed was the manner in which Toronto businessmen conduct themselves. It goes a long way in explaining 580km East up the Trans-Canada in part why Montreal lost the Expos. There is no strong business elite committed to the international prestige of Montreal anymore. For a shimmering moment Mayor Jean Drapeau - a man with a grand vision for the city - did so as the city enjoyed somewhat of an international exposure between 1967 and 1994. Since then no one has stepped up and it doesn't look like anyone will. Why should they? We're so busy patting ourselves on our backs about how hip we are.
- Speaking of the world, the World Cup in Germany is less than a month away. I hope to find time and write about it from this point on. There isn't a sports spectacle greater than the World Cup. Only the Olympics and the Super Bowl come remotely close. Its magnitude on a cultural, political, economic scale is absolutely astounding. Its scope touches all corners and angles of the world.
Many abstracts and books about why this is so have been written over the last 50 years. It's not just a sports phenomena but a human one. While the world pays attention to the rise of heroes and villains being born before our eyes - all in a complex vortex of beauty and ugliness - ESPN radio will talk about why we should not pitch to Barry Bonds or who the Indian Pacers should select in the basketball draft.
For one month the world wide leader in sports will be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
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