Or not.
You tell me.
I hear the CBC spent about 25 million for the World Cup rights.
The Vancouver Sun writes that "Hockey is Canada's passion but soccer is the sport Canadians play. In 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were 873,032 registered soccer players in more than 1,500 clubs across Canada, many more than the half-million or so who sign up for hockey.
That makes soccer the No. 1 participation sport in the country, with 20 per cent of all young Canadians playing the game, according to Statistics Canada. And while the numbers for other sports stagnate or fall, soccer has continued to grow every year for more than 25 years."
Still, I would like to see the break down done demographically. My feeling is soccer is huge with little kids but as soon as they get old enough to play something, anything, else, they be gone.
With the exception, as Sports Illustrated pointed out when the World Cup was in America back in the day, immigrants and their kids. I realize we are becoming more and more a country of immigrants but when I get outside of cities I don't feel the buzz in the 12 plus set.
WFDS
Slip over to Toronto for a few important games, something involving Brazil or Italy. Wander around little Italy, and then be swept up by an impromptu parade that shuts down traffic for blocks and blocks. And then find a seat in the Korean part of town the next day, and see the same thing happen. It is the world's game, and if you are in an area that has a window on the world, you'll see the excitement. I suspect the same will happen in Vancouver.
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