Football: it’s time to get on board, Canada > Nathan Lowther
term election period) and football. Determining whether politics are as prominent outside the election cycle is a topic for another article, but you know if it’s football season, football is making primetime. And while that may not be too different than hockey here at home, the difference lies in how many levels of football get coverage. Here the Canucks and the NHL get lots of air-time, no doubt. And minorleague teams get some coverage in their hometowns; the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Heat, or the Salmon Kings here in Victoria both get some media play. But levels below that? Not a whole lot. How much coverage have you seen of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL)? Unless you’re a hard-core fan that searched it out, probably none. In the States,
The cultural differences between Canada and the United States are many, but in the world of sports none are bigger than the places of hockey and football in our respective hearts. Everyone, whether Canadian or not, knows the puck is sovereign in the Great White North, while the Land of the Free celebrates the gridiron like no other. As someone who never played ice hockey (love the game though) but played junior football and now coaches minor football, this point was kicked clearly through the uprights when I went to Seattle to see the Seahawks play the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL match-up. There were two things on television, whatever time, whatever channel: politics (something about a mid-
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high-school football makes the evening news. And not just scores, but highlights. And we’re not talking a state championship game — even the provincial high-school championships will make the news in B.C. No, we’re talking multiple regular league games having camera crews in attendance. And hundreds, maybe thousands, of fans go watch these games. They have stadiums, and the stands are packed. Go watch two Victoria-area high-schools play. If we’re generous, we can say friends and family attend. Meanwhile, in the U.S. they make movies about their Friday night high-school football games. And that level of appreciation is consistent at every level. The Seahawks are averaging just over 67,000 fans per game this season, good for 18th in the 32-team
SCORE BOARD
Final Men’s Soccer Standings School W-L-T Pct. Pts. xAlberta 11-2-1 .821 34 xUBC 8-3-3 .679 27 xCalgary 8-4-2 .643 26 xSask. 7-4-3 .607 24 TWU 5-5-4 .500 19 13 Victoria 4-9-1 .321 UFV 4-10 .286 12 1-11-2 .143 5 Leth
Victoria Minor Football Association (GVMFA), which has players from eight to 14 years old and it is fun to watch, although no one save parents would know. There are also good high school programs, including UVic’s neighbour, Mt. Douglas Secondary, which is always competitive. Junior football is fast-paced and hard-hitting, with the Victoria Rebels being the home team. Their up-Island rivals, the Nanaimo Raiders, are now five-time defending B.C. champs. I don’t expect Canadians will ever permanently trade their Bauer shoulder pads in for ones made by Riddell, but football is a great spectator sport in its own right, at every level. And Victoria boasts plenty of exciting action, but you have to get out to see it. Because, around here, highlights don’t make the news.
League Leaders: Men’s Soccer GOALS No. 1. J.Bar.-Hamilton-SASK 10 8 2. Samuel Lam-AB Marcus Johnstone-AB 8 4. Gagandeep Dosanjh-UBC 7 Izak Lawrence-CGY 7 Danfi Parker-TWU 7 7 Josh Northey-SASK 8. Sasa Plavsic-UFV 6 5 9. Brett Colvin-AB Andre Costa-TWU 5
Final Women’s Soccer Standings School W-L-T Pct. Pts. xAlberta 10-2-2 .786 32 xTWU 9-3-2 .714 29 xUFV 8-5-1 .607 25 xUBC 8-5-1 .607 25 Sask. 7-6-1 .536 22 21 Calgary 6-5-3 .536 Victoria 5-6-3 .464 18 17 Regina 5-7-2 .429 Man. 1-9-4 .214 7 Leth. 1-12-1 .107 4
x - clinched playoff berth
league. In Vancouver, the B.C. Lions are doing well when they get 32,000. While this is better than the Washington State Cougars’ average of about 26,000 fans per game in 2009, it pales compared to the Washington Huskies 64,000 average attendance, and the Huskies aren’t even any good. No doubt part of the explanation is simply numbers: the U.S. has a much larger population than Canada. But compare hockey at any level in Canada to football at any level in the States, and it’s ridiculous. And really, short of maybe soccer in Europe, no sport anywhere in the world gets the support that football does in the U.S. It is too bad that more people don’t get into football in Canada, at all levels. I coach in the Greater
Women’s Soccer GOALS 1. Elizabeth Hudon-SASK 2. Heather Lund-AB 3. Megan Webster-UFV 4. Janine Frazao-UBC Tessa Miller-CGY 6. Alicia Tesan-TWU Daniela Gerig-TWU Lisa Furutani-UBC Carleigh Miller-AB D. Fuenzalida-SASK
CanWest Athletes of the Week No. 11 9 8 7 7 6 6 6 6 6
MALE SPORT Josh Northey-Sask. Soccer Northey scored a goal and added an assist over the weekend to send the Huskies to the playoffs. FEMALE SPORT Haley Wickenheiser-CGY Hockey Wickenheiser had three goals and an assist in two games versus Edmonton.
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