World Cup 2010…the view from an Englishman in Canada
By Chris Bateman
Today two things are for certain, the BBC will play an absurdly overblown opening sequence (heavily featuring Nelson Mandela) and the 2010 World Cup South Africa will begin. The coveted trophy is once again up for grabs, 28 teams are in place and FIFA has made sure any indigent South Africans are safely swept under the rug to make sure nothing approaching reality spoils the tournament.
The pre-packaged nature of this World Cup and other major sporting events is something I do not enjoy. I revel in the extraordinary, and I’m hoping for something on the scale of Zinadine Zidane’s 2006 head-butt for this tournament. For me, football is all about great moments, both positive and negative. Upsets and injuries will define my tournament as much as great goals and fantastic players. The best possible outcome for me is Joe Hart scoring the winning goal in the final by using his arse to deflect the ball into the net. With teams like North Korea in the mix, my hopes for absurdity have been given a major boost.
This is my first World Cup I will watch from my new home in Canada, a country decidedly lukewarm about the start of the Greatest Show on Earth. I can’t blame the Canadians for their lack of enthusiasm – to say their team under-performs is quite an understatement. Canada finished plum last in their World Cup qualification group, picking up just two points. In the world rankings they are 63rd, behind Macedonia. Just to cap off a tired point, Canada is currently sandwiched in 5th place in the North American rankings, between the mighty nations of Costa Rica and El Salvador.
As a human male, born in England, I have been conditioned by years of disappointment to spout depreciatory remarks about my home country’s sporting fortunes in the hopes it will somehow boost the player’s chances of victory. I haven’t heard one mention of the national team since I’ve been here, giving me a telling clue to the football mentality in Canada.
Here the World Cup is less about Canada and more about heritage. Some Canadians are looking up the family tree for a team to support in South Africa. In cities with diverse populations like Toronto and Vancouver, every country at the tournament will be represented. This seems quite fitting – this is the ‘World’ Cup after-all.
My father-in-law has adopted England as his team for the tournament, and quite rightly so. Since returning from a military posting in Buckinghamshire a couple of years ago he has proudly worn an English rugby jersey with some regularity. He thinks it’s a football shirt, but I’m not going to tell him otherwise. We will both be watching England face the USA on the 12th June, both of us willing our neighbours to defeat.
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