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Canadian Corner: A Cup with Meaning

WynneVancouver (Reuters)  

 

By DUANE ROLLINS

When it comes to the Nutrilite Canadian Championships, you really have to live here to get it. Outsiders look at it and wonder why anyone would care about an event that only involves three teams.

Where it is true that the tournament (which will only be referred to as the Voyageurs’ Cup from here on out – more on that in a bit) is small, it is far from insignificant to Canadian soccer fans. Yes, it may be a piddly little tournament, but it’s ours. It took a long time for us to get it.

The 2009 tournament continues tonight when Montreal plays Vancouver in British Columbia. The Impact must win to have any hope of winning the cup for an eighth straight year. Toronto leads the home and home, round robin competition with a perfect six points in its two home games. Vancouver sits three points back, with Montreal having failed to find a result as of yet.

The winner advances to the qualifying round of CONCACAF Champions League.

As mentioned, amongst the hardcore of Canadian supporters the Voyageurs’ Cup is of vital importance. That’s partly because it’s theirs.  You see in the darkest days of Canadian football – a time when the national team had once again bombed out of World Cup qualifying and immediately after the CSA had released a study that pretty much killed the dream of re-establishing a Canadian pro league – It was the Voyageurs (Canada’s answer to Sam’s Army) that stepped up.

If the CSA and corporate Canada wasn’t going to do something, the fans were. A grassroots fundraising effort was undertook, a trophy bought and a dream was hatched. The fans were going to declare a Canadian pro champion.

At first the tournament was limited to the three pro teams that were playing in the then A-League (now USL-1). With almost no budget and even less official support, the Voyageurs simply calculated results from the games those teams were already scheduled to play. Eventually, when Montreal had gained enough points to assure themselves of the first title, some phone calls were made and, to the surprise of some, the Impact agreed to accept the trophy.

Some Montreal area fans were invited to hold a ceremony before an Impact game and a tradition was born.

Jump ahead to 2008. Toronto FC has shocked the country by proving that pro soccer can work in Canada if provided with proper ownership and marketing. CONCACAF has agreed to let Canada into its new Champions League and the country’s three pro teams are organizing a tournament. TFC COO Paul Beirne learns of the history of the trophy, thinks it’s a great story, and decides that there is no need for this new event to waste its time with a new trophy when there is already one out there. Suddenly the little cup the fans bought was actually worth something tangible. The Voyageurs are understandably proud of that.

Protective too, which is why you rarely hear a long-time fan refer to the event by its title sponsorship. Perhaps that’s unfair – corporate money is hard to find, it’s appreciated – but the fans really feel connected to the cup. And in a sports world too often ruled by corporate interests it’s nice to see that the fan can still make a difference.

They can call it the Nutrilite Canadian Championships if they like, but it’s always going to be for the Voyageurs’ Cup. And it’s always going to matter to Canadian soccer fans, no matter how few teams are playing for it.

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Duane Rollins is SBI's Canadian Soccer and Toronto FC correspondent and is creator of the Canadian soccer site The 24th Minute.

Comments

  1. Great story Duane! Always enjoy hearing about the history of various competitions…
    Also, ditto on opening it up to more teams…Of course, the big three (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal) probably don’t want to open themselves up to the potential of an upset. I think it hurt TFC enough to be knocked out by a USL-1 side last season

    Reply
  2. Great story.

    I think this brings up a point that is often lost in the debate about the value of the MLS Cup versus Supporters’ Shield. Importance and value are ultimately determined by the wills of the fans.

    I’ve read and heard numerous American fans suggest, “Let’s make the league a single table, balance the schedule, start counting the league as the REAL competition, turn the MLS Cup into something like the FA Cup, and establish another, lesser competition like the Carling Cup.”

    I don’t think some people realize that the weight each competition in England holds was established by the fans over long periods of time. The Carling Cup wasn’t always the stomping ground of reserve squads. People stopped caring about the competition, so managers stopped caring. Things obviously aren’t going to change overnight, but if American fans start regarding the Supporters’ Shield winners as the true champions of MLS, over time, that’s how it will be. The playoffs will likely never go away, but its importance is ultimately determined by us.

    Duane’s story is a great one. It shows the very real power that fans hold. It’s good to see.

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  3. KBD, Duane wasn’t trying to say Voyageurs were better than or as good as Sam’s Army, simply that they are to Canada what Sam’s Army is to the U.S. national team. It’s pretty simple.

    As for the random folks who take issue with the Canadian Corner, GROW UP. This column is intended to inform and educate, but Canadian readers (of which SBI has a good amount of) as well as American readers. Saying you only want to know about teams alive in the Hex is ignorant. MLS is going to have two and could wind up with three Canadian teams, and Canada is sure to be a force in CONCACAF in the near future. For those reasons, I believe the Canadian Corner is worth having on SBI.

    If you don’t want to read it, don’t read it. I think plenty of readers are enjoying it.

    Reply
  4. Ives keep it true to your real audience.

    —————

    Including total meatheads, apparently.

    Nice to see you have them down there in abundance, just like up here.

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  5. KBD, I think he was making a comparison in saying the voyageurs are to Canadian soccer what sam’s army is to U.S. soccer. I don’t think it was meant as you read it.

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  6. KBD the comparsion was done for well comparsion purpose

    If he only said Voyageurs-your thought would be “who the hell are they”.

    But if you want to see it is a slight against you
    then go ahead.

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  7. Nice piece, Duane! The one thing that bugged me was the way you described the Voyageurs- as an “answer” to Sam’s Army. I don’t know why, but that got to me. What’s with the need for one-upsmanship? I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it seems to me that many people are trying to create a hate-fueled rivalry between the US and Canada that frankly does not exist, outside of hockey (and there is nothing in hockey better than a US-Canada game!!). Even the idiot TFC fans (I separate these from the classy TFC fans; the ones who marched with United supporters in the stadium rally) have tried to provoke some nonexistent rivalry between Canadians and Americans in general, rather than just amongst MLS teams.

    If the 2 National teams actually had a historical rivalry or even played each other outside of GC’s and WCQ’s, then I could see where some passion might fuel a rivalry. But as of now, there is nothing yet.

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  8. I agree with Rudi and wiscfan. The top PDL and CSL teams and maybe even some Pacific League teams need to have a preliminary tournament to determine a 4th seed. I understand the desire to bring this thing along slowly but the sooner it happens the better

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  9. WiscFan, I think that is the ultimate goal.

    But to ensure corporate support, it is currently limited to the three pro clubs, the only teams that can ensure a professional presentation and a decent standard of competition.

    As time goes on, the CSA will look to open the competition to more teams. But I think the bar has been set for the forseeable future, USL-1 calibre or higher only.

    That’s what happens when the pro game is built from the top-down.

    Reply
  10. Nice summary, Duane.
    I’d still like to see it go to an open format involving the semi-pro teams in the eastern CSL loop, which is expanding west down the line. You don’t need to bring the pros in until it’s been whittled down, but at least then it makes it truly national.

    Reply

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