Championing Soccer in the City of Champions
February 19, 2008 6:30 PM
What a whirlwind of a week last week. As you probably (hopefully!) know, we announced that we are playing the Los Angeles Galaxy in a rematch of sorts - this time at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Now, for those of you that are not able to make the northeasterly journey, have no fear: we are still working hard at securing our international friendly match for Swangard Stadium. What I can tell you right now is it's going to be a fantastic summer!
Now, looking back at this Galaxy rematch, your first question might be 'why Edmonton?' Well, I'll tell you why. One of our main corporate goals is to grow the sport of soccer in BC and Canada. With 2 of the 3 professional teams out east, we have taken the initiative to be western Canada's pro team. Alberta, and more specifically, Edmonton, has a nice history in supporting high profile soccer matches. In 1994, almost 50,000 showed up to see Canada draw Brazil, likely one of Canada's greatest international matches. The recent World U-20 Championships had a strong representation in Edmonton, helping to make it the most attended U-20 tournament in its history.
And of course, there is that big stadium. Soccer is surely meant to be played on natural grass and there was a dip in the quality of play at BC Place on the turf. We can certainly expect a more free-flowing game in Edmonton.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Edmonton is a wonderful 'participation' city. They have a great track record of supporting big events, sporting matches and festivals. I lived there for four years and I was always impressed by how the city feels like one giant community.
This last point was reinforced for me in a whirlwind 24-hour period in which I flew in to Edmonton and returned home just in time for Valentine's Day evening (phew!) After traversing the snow-covered streets in our SUV rental, we made our way from the hotel to the stadium to attend the press conference. When we arrived, it appeared the entire Edmonton media community were on hand to witness the announcement. In fact, I think the only thing that outnumbered the reporters was the number of Tim Horton's donuts! There's an Edmontonians joke there, but I'm not touching it :-)
After the media scrum had died down, we began the process of meeting with various TV, radio and newspaper companies to determine exactly who our partners were going to be and how best we were going to get the word out about this event to the public. After all, we are going to need some strong support and guidance if we are to promote this event in a city we don't even live in! With every group we met, the people seemed genuinely excited and intrigued by the prospect of a major soccer match coming to their city. And the next day, it seemed every radio station and newspaper was talking about it. Now, I'd be lying if the majority of that enthusiasm wasn't geared toward Mr. Beckham, but hey, the guy is an icon. If you want to grow the sport, you have to employ many different methods in order to reach everyone: from grassroots development to touring soccer celebrity.
Seven repetitive but insightful meetings later, we were right back to the airport to fly home. Oh, but not before the zipper on my luggage broke! I tried to put the luggage into a plastic bag, but it was fairly useless, as the bag was completely chewed up by the time I retrieved it in Vancouver. I had no idea whether my clothes had survived the transport, but, miraculously, the only thing missing appears to be the lid to my cologne.
So although my stay in Edmonton was short-lived, I came away assured that the city is fired up for this event. I think they will do themselves proud, show up in droves and cheer their hearts out. Now it's up to us to put on a good show. With a bunch of new faces on our squad and a few regular season games before this match, I predict we will give Edmontonians a taste of exciting, competitive soccer.
Wait, regular season?? Oh right, we have that too. Back to work!!
Posted By: Ryan Mckee on February 19, 2008 6:30 PM
