Redemption!

As many of you who follow my little musings will know I am a staunch Canadian.  A promoter if you will of our way of life and our culture.

One thing that is deep in our marrow is the fact that we will not quit.  From being shock troopers in the first and second world wars.  To besting the world with sometimes antiquated equipment (the schooner Bluenose) to winning bronze at in Olympic soccer today at the London 2012 games.

After a hard fought match filled with controversy and lactic acid our fine ladies Canadian national team brought home our first medal in soccer EVER!  Yes it was a bronze, but just think about this for a second.  Hmmmmmm.  When you think of Canada what do you think of.  For me personally soccer doesn’t exactly leap off the page.  I think hockey, snow, beer, incredibly sexy ladies and a warm and relaxed people.

Diana Matheson battles France’s Gaetane Thiney for the ball in the 2012 bronze medal soccer match. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

These talented and incredibly resilient women brought home not just the bronze medal but also a huge amount of pride to our humble nation.  The talk everywhere at work today was, have they started yet, what’s the score, who are we playing, did we win?

Diana Matheson puts the ball in seconds away from overtime! (AP Photo/Jon Super)

No one had to ask what the conversation was about we were all on the same mental wavelength.

This game was all about the defenders, France by all accounts out shot us by a huge margin but failed to find the back of the net.  Goal keeper Erin McLeod and Winnipeg’s own Desiree Scott had brilliant games keeping the score nil to nil until the dying minutes of regular time.

This picture says it all! Canada wins! (Jean Levac/Postmedia Olympic Team)

Diana Matheson potted home the lone goal of the game with ten seconds remaining before a grueling overtime would be required.

It’s not gold and it’s not silver but yet these fine ladies managed to do what so many other teams could not.  They found the podium and they found it with pride.

Good on you girls, you did yourselves and your nation proud.
You may have only won bronze but you’re as good as gold to all of us back home!

Playing for bronze.

 

I just finished watching the women’s soccer match today pitting an underdog Canadian squad vs the American number one ranked team.  No one expected much of a match from Canada.  Let’s face it we haven’t beaten team USA in almost a decade on the soccer pitch.

But let me tell you something just the same, today our women in white gave the Red White and Blue a run that they will probably never forget.  We held our ground in the middle and in the ends, we withstood horrible calls and still fought on.

Canada was not expected to show up let alone perform at these games and yet the courageous women on the pitch took one, two and three goals vs the American squad. Something that had not yet happened in these games.

Christine Sinclair flies on the pitch in London!

Corners, elbows and rough play became clear in the match as it became personal.  Words were exchanged, Canada struck first, then again and again. Only to be matched by the United States.

Extra time was called, and penalty shots loomed but still Canada persisted.
Like a pesky mutt chewing at your leg, Canada kept punching above its weight. Striving for a win and a hope for Gold.  We kept fighting and fighting and will yet again.

Alas in the last-minute of extra time America headed a shot into our goal.  But against all odds Canada stood tall and shoved back we did not go easily into the dark of night.  We will fight for bronze and we will give it our all, and if we play our best we will win.

After all for Canada it’s not about winning all the big matches, we are a big nation but a humble people.  It’s about punching the elephant in the nose when it’s about to roll over on the mouse.   It may one day squish us, but it’s sure going to feel sore about doing it.

Way to go, Christine, Melissa, and all the rest of you.  I watched you battle and I lived and cried with you all.
GO Canada GO!

Related articles

• Canadians lose heartbreaker to U.S. in women’s soccer semi (cbc.ca)
• Women’s Olympic soccer: Canada vs USA live (o.canada.com)
• Olympics 2012: U.S. women’s soccer team falls behind Canada in first half (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Canada loses 4-3 heartbreaker to Americans (insidehalton.com)
• Olympics: Monday’s U.S.-Canada soccer semifinal (staradvertiser.com)
• Canada falls 4-3 to the mighty Americans to miss out on gold medal game (lfpress.com)

 

The Stanley Cup – An almost impossible dream.

I have always been a staunch supporter of hockey, although I am not much of a player to speak of.  In fact, I can hardly get my wonky legs to carry me on skates these days.  However watching sports here in the north of North America one thing has always bugged me about my neighbors to the south and their precious NFL football claiming that the Superbowl is the hardest of all the trophies in pro-sports to kiss and hold high in victory.

Zdeno Chára lifts the Stanley Cup in Boston’s 2011 victory over The Vancouver Canucks

Yes, I will grant that Football is a man’s sport fraught with contact and danger. However I would wager my front teeth that hockey is really the sport that is that hardest on the body and hardest sport in which to win the top prize.  The NHL’s Stanley Cup.

Should it please the court I will present my evidence.

The Winnipeg Jets are finally starting to find their wings.

Last night Dar and I were lucky enough to take in our second Winnipeg Jets game of the year.  It is easily one of the hottest tickets in town now and any chance we can get to take in a game we obviously jump at.

Tickets to the Jets vs Devils game.

We joined 15,000 other rabid Jets fanatics for the chance to cheer for our team and jeer the antics of the struggling New Jersey Devils.  Looking at the stats for both squads before the game I noticed that both the Devils and Jets were sitting right around .500 on the year so it could be anyone’s game.

Being no strangers to the Winnipeg sports scene we knew to arrive early to beat the crowds and grab a bite to eat outside the arena where prices are needlessly inflated. Winnipeggers may be sports fans but we are also ruthless in our search of a bargain.

After a quick bite in a nearby mall food court we headed in to grab our seats, everywhere you looked the shiny new logo of the Jets was worn with pride.  Hats, sweaters (jerseys), and even scarves were on display.  A mix of the old logo and the new logo helped to give the crowded thorough fare some definition.

Winnipeg Jet's logos on the ice pregame.

Next Year, Bombers.

It was a hard loss for us on Sunday seeing our struggling Blue Bombers crash hard in the 99th Grey Cup.  It wasn’t so much the score of 23-34 in favor of the B.C. Lions but all the emotions that were built up over a season of hoping and dreaming.

Mr. Doug Brown, has by all accounts played his last down of football in this or any other league.  He is the elder statesman of the team in most interviews and one hell of a battler on the defensive line.  For Doug to retire with 11 seasons as a Blue Bomber under his sizable belt without a Grey Cup ring on his finger is a shame.  But that is the vexing thing about pro sports.

Mr Doug Brown

Sometime the most deserving don’t win.