Bronco's point about soccer being dwarfed by hockey is, in fact, understated.
I lived my first 30 odd years in the Vancouver area and started playing when I was five and all my friends were like me - soccer lads it was our game (of-course we loved to watch hockey and were canuck fans etc) and we lived largely in a soccer culture that went on to youth, premier, metro, college, vmsl div 2-premier etc.. It seemed as though soccer WAS a big deal - after all, everyone we hung out with and were our mates were of similar minds! But that was our little world.
I have lived the past six years in Northern BC, Alberta and now Ontario and can tell you our 'beautiful game' is of virtually no consequence to people where I've lived... that includes TV Sports Reporters with whom I work (me on the news end). EVERYTHING is hockey.
I am now in Sudbury and I went to a sports bar to watch the now infamous Canada vs Honduras match in Montreal and of the seven TV screens one had the MNT team all important game on... and of-course I was the only person watching it. Baseball seemed to dominate the other screens and the BIG screen - was reserved for a UFC event that was still about an hour away. A couple of loud guys seemed annoyed the soccer game was even on (the usual shite about it being a sport for queers etc.).
I know there are exceptions but.
Last thing - on the night when Canada hosted Jamaica down the road in Toronto when there was huge optimism in the air I mentioned to the head of sports for a large Ontario TV station that we might want to get score and hi-lights for the late sportscast - he kind of laughed and brushed it off as 'no one cares'. I'm not sure what he used instead but junior hockey a likely candidate.
I lived my first 30 odd years in the Vancouver area and started playing when I was five and all my friends were like me - soccer lads it was our game (of-course we loved to watch hockey and were canuck fans etc) and we lived largely in a soccer culture that went on to youth, premier, metro, college, vmsl div 2-premier etc.. It seemed as though soccer WAS a big deal - after all, everyone we hung out with and were our mates were of similar minds! But that was our little world.
I have lived the past six years in Northern BC, Alberta and now Ontario and can tell you our 'beautiful game' is of virtually no consequence to people where I've lived... that includes TV Sports Reporters with whom I work (me on the news end). EVERYTHING is hockey.
I am now in Sudbury and I went to a sports bar to watch the now infamous Canada vs Honduras match in Montreal and of the seven TV screens one had the MNT team all important game on... and of-course I was the only person watching it. Baseball seemed to dominate the other screens and the BIG screen - was reserved for a UFC event that was still about an hour away. A couple of loud guys seemed annoyed the soccer game was even on (the usual shite about it being a sport for queers etc.).
I know there are exceptions but.
Last thing - on the night when Canada hosted Jamaica down the road in Toronto when there was huge optimism in the air I mentioned to the head of sports for a large Ontario TV station that we might want to get score and hi-lights for the late sportscast - he kind of laughed and brushed it off as 'no one cares'. I'm not sure what he used instead but junior hockey a likely candidate.