Sep
21
Written by:
Norman Rumack
9/21/2009 2:04 AM
Sometimes when we get older our tastes in just about everything can change or modify. Much to my surprise, this has happened to me as well.I have had a growing passion for soccer,or football as it's known outside of North America.I even played a little bit as a kid at summer camp, back then it was Camp Ogama, near Huntsville, Ontario.The only problem was that in the mid- sixties there were no soccer leagues that I ever heard about. So like most of the kids in my neighborhood, we played hockey in the winter, and baseball in the summer and fall.Nowadays, youngsters can play any sport they want anytime of year. I gradually received more exposure to "the beautiful game" as professional soccer came to Toronto in the form of the North American Soccer league and the Toronto Metros as they were initially known.In 1975 the Metros of the N.A.S.L. merged with Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League,and the team was re-named The Toronto Metros-Croatia.I can still remember sitting in the basement of my parents home with my brother David, now a long time soccer coach and teacher, as we watched the Metros-Croatia play in the championship of the N.A.S.L. against Minnesota. Remarkably to me at the time, this game was televised live on the CBS network, and I remember how excited I was to see a Toronto team win a league championship on a major American network.The game was played in the U.S. so it was fun watching the Toronto players run laps with the trophy in the stadium and I wish I could recall exactly which city they were in for the title game.The Metros-Croatia were gone after 1978, and replacing them in the N.A.S.L. were the Toronto Blizzard. This team would draw 35,000 for many games at a time when the New York Cosmos had Pele on their roster and that team would sometimes bring close to 70,000 fans to Giants Stadium. Soccer was developing a stronger presence here and throughout North America. Even though the N.A.S.L. folded, my growing passion for the sport did not.Italy's win in the 1982 World Cup was huge in Toronto because of the very large Italian community in various parts of the city. I could hear the horns going off miles away from my home as Golden Boot winner Paolo Rossi lead the Azzurri to the very top of the soccer world.As my career in sports journalism got underway, I began paying more attention to Euro and World Cup championships and I was always riveted by the incredible renditions of God Save The Queen by the England fans wherever their team was playing.It's hard to imagine that anyone in the world can be more energetic than they are at international matches. I enjoyed that because it reminded me of elementary school in the early sixties, where we would sing God Save The Queen each morning before classes began, as "Oh Canada " didn't become the official anthem until 1965.So for me, God Save The Queen was a part of my life, as was the then Canadian flag, the Red Ensign.Our family also has a relative buried in the R.C.A.F. cemetery in London, England.Harry Glass was a flight engineer on a Lancaster Bomber during the Battle of Britain, and served three tours of duty before his aircraft crashed into the English Channel, and he perished after helping rescue his crew.He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his bravery and sacrifice. For that reason I also feel a strong connection to England. With relatives in France, native Parisians who are cousins, I also enjoyed watching France win the 1998 World Cup on home turf,followed by Euro 2000 and surprising just about everybody when they took Italy to penalty kicks in the 2006 World Cup final,and eventually losing without team captain and 3 time FIFA World Player Of The Year Zinedine Zidane, who was shown the red card for head butting centre back Marco Materazzi. Their fans are pretty close to the English with their energetic presentations of La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France of course. So family relations and contagious enthusiasm has fueled the growing passion I have for "football"More recently, that same passion has led me to an attachment to both Chelsea and Liverpool in the E.P.L. So now, I get to enjoy the game frequently, and can honestly say that my enthusiasm for the sport and those teams is as intense as any teams I follow.Sometimes getting older is better !!!
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