I don’t usually watch soccer.
I am not saying this as some badge of honour in some attempt to put myself ‘above’ soccer, nor am I trying to make the argument that hockey is 10 times better (at least not now.)
No, I am just stating that for some reason I, along with many other North Americans (or north of Mexico really), just never really caught the soccer bug. It’s a fun game to play, but normally, you would not catch me watching a match for more than a minute before changing the channel.
That being said, the World Cup was pretty cool.
I, again, am not going to claim that I went all out and watched every game, or even most games, and the fact that Canada did not have a team competing took away some of that connection that perhaps some of the international community here had. But at the end of the day, it did not really matter.
The fact that it is only every four years, like the (Winter) Olympics, makes it quite a spectacle. Even though I am not much of a soccer guy, I still wanted to be a part of it. It felt like I would be missing out if I did not catch at least a game or two.
You could argue that we should bond over more than what we watch. Maybe. But who cares?
Perhaps the greatest thing that the World Cup, or really any sport, does is to evoke a sense of community.
Whether it be seeing people at the pub wrapped up in the game, cheering after a big save or goal, or just seeing it being discussed on facebook, it was just fun to watch the community engage in such a spectacle.
To me, one of the great things about sports is the avenue of communication they open up. One of the reasons I watch hockey, beyond the excitement of the fast pace, is the connection it provides to others.
You cheer together, you revel in disappointment together; it gives you something to talk about. That’s what does it for me, that bond that connects a lot of us really.
And certainly the World Cup is no different. As a matter of fact, that connection I speak of is probably magnified with the amount of people watching and how much of an international event it is.
It was just fun just having a conversation with the person next to you, possibly a complete stranger, asking them to clarify the rules or asking them what team they were rooting for.
Perhaps it’s silly, you could argue that perhaps we should connect and communicate over more meaningful things. You could argue that perhaps we, as a people, should bond over something more than just something we watch.
Maybe. But at the end of the day, who cares?
Anything that promotes people coming together and becoming closer as a community is good in my books (except for some mass crime, I guess). And to me, that’s what sports do, whether you’re talking about playing or watching.
And despite its country vs. country theme that could be divisive, the World Cup instead brings people together. In my opinion, it is the epitome of this quality.
For now, however, it’s over for another four years and maybe next time I’ll get more into it, catch more than just a game or two. Just maybe.
(A)side Jab: “I’ve been with Germany since they won” sounds remarkably similar to “I’ve been with Germany since day one.” Use this, and you, too, can be a clever bandwagon jumper like me.
