| A weird thing happened to me and
others this past month. We watched women’s soccer… and loved it. Why?
Edmonton had the privilege of co-hosting the
Under 19 Women’s World Soccer Championship with Victoria and Vancouver
through the month of August. I thought, “Hey, that could be a fun
event“, but I clearly had no idea of what was in store for me. It was a
complete re-awakening.
In this world of sport where we feast on box
scores, attendance, player stats, player salaries and contract
negotiations, this event couldn’t have come at a better time. With all
the baseball strike talk and crazy salary negotiations, I was slowly
starting to lose perspective on WHY I’ve always loved sports.
I found all the right answers again at the
Women’s Soccer championship! Watching Team Canada play with enthusiasm
for the pure fun of achievement, representing our country with great
pride, and most importantly, knowing that they’re not making a gazillion
bucks doing it made it a wonderfully refreshing experience. They took me
away from the greedy and sometime seedy world of pro sports and made me
realize first and foremost what I like most about sports. Not the
competition for the last buck at the bargaining table, but the
excitement of competition for that loose ball or puck, the thrill of
scoring that big goal, the sadness of seeing players cry after a tough
loss, fans being able to identify with players again and players truly
caring about the fans who actually PAID to come and watch them play.
Best part of it for me?? After every Team Canada
game, I watched with 100% pure pleasure, the ladies come out of their
locker room and do a meet and greet with hundreds of fans in the South
East corner of Commonwealth Stadium. Most of those fans were kids and
they’ll never forget that an athlete actually came out and took the time
to tell them that they matter. I could have stood there after every game
and watched the scene over and over again. Knowing it’s not a staged
event put on by a team’s PR department, but done simply because the
player felt it was important to give back without worrying about what
they get out of it.
Just to hammer home the point? While the
Canadian ladies played and had fun in front of big excited crowds at
Commonwealth, the Major League baseball players and owners squared off
in another prolonged negotiation session to determine how they’d split
their multi billion-dollar pie!
Thank you Ladies for the wake-up call.
Bryn Griffiths Sports Director- The TEAM 1260
Edmonton’s Sports Radio |
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