GET YOUR KICKS

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/06/2010 (5958 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Remember the groundswell of goodwill, loving thy neighbour and warm, fuzzy feelings spurred on by the Olympics just a few short months ago?

Well, you can throw them all out the window with the start of the 2010 World Cup.

Instead of all Canadians pulling together as one and rooting for anybody with a Maple Leaf on their uniform, the international battle lines have been redrawn. The sporting war zone is 13 soccer pitches in South Africa where 32 teams will battle for world supremacy and bragging rights.

"The Olympics brought the nation together and the World Cup divides it," said Rob Gale, technical director for the Manitoba Soccer Association. "Everyone has an allegiance to a different country. Even people who don’t like soccer, they know what’s going on. You have rivalries, everybody has an opinion. It brings out the banter in everyone."

While the Olympics were a gigantic series of events, it only involved winter-sport countries. Aficionados of soccer, or football, if you prefer, will tell you the World Cup will dwarf the Olympics in terms of global interest and fanaticism. In fact, they’ll say it’s bigger than the Summer Olympics, the Super Bowl and every other sporting event combined.

It’s tough to argue with numbers like these: An estimated 450,000 international fans are expected to descend upon South Africa over the next month and the cumulative audience for the 64 matches is expected to be in excess of 26 billion. Some 204 national teams went through the qualifying rounds — which exceeds the number of countries in the United Nations — and were whittled down to 32. Some prognosticators are predicting the final could be the most-watched event in human history.

Even though Canada’s team didn’t qualify and the tournament is happening on the other side of the world, the World Cup is expected to turn Winnipeg upside down. The Manitoba capital is one of the most multicultural cities you’ll find and has fans, ranging from pockets to legions, supporting every one of the teams involved.

There will be no shortage of venues around town polishing up their big-screen, high-def, surround-sound televisions. Many of them will be open at the break of dawn to show the early games. Because of the time-zone difference, some matches will kick off at 6:30 a.m. Winnipeg time, others at 9 a.m. and the rest at 1:30 p.m.

But just because your favourite watering hole is open at 6:30 a.m. doesn’t mean you can raise a pint to toast your heroes. Diana Soroka, spokeswoman for the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, says pubs, restaurants, cabarets and bars are prohibited from serving anything but coffee, juice and virgin drinks until 9 a.m. (By this time, it’s happy hour in Johannesburg.) And if you berate your bartender into spinning the cap off a bottle of booze before the hour permitted, you may set the place up for a fine or worse.

"We have liquor inspectors out and about. We don’t talk about our inspection schedule. It will be part of our regular inspection schedule to check on licensed premises," she said. "I would like to think our licensees would respect the Liquor Control Act. It’s not an issue that we’ve had in the past."

Paul Simeonidis, owner of the Santa Lucia Restaurant on Corydon Avenue, said he’s going to tune his television in to every game involving Greece and then throw away the remote control.

"When there’s a Greek game on, I’m not putting anything else on," he said, with a laugh but in a tone that let you know he wasn’t kidding.

He said he’s not worried about his patrons wanting to slam back a few ouzo shots first thing in the morning.

"We’ll do something for breakfast, some eggs. We’ll do fine. Most people just want to watch the game and have something light. It will be friends getting together and watching the games. There’s not a tournament like this in the world. You can’t miss it," he said.

Hadley Mann, the bar manager of Dylan O’Connors pub, feels much the same way. He finished hanging English flags all over the walls and beside the projection TV earlier this week. He’s expecting a throng for any game involving England and solid crowds for other games, too.

"It’s going to be all soccer, all the time," he said.

Mann said he’d even consider opening early for a non-England game if he got a call from a group of people wanting to come by his Portage Avenue pub.

Having seen England play at Wembley Stadium before his family moved to Canada 12 years ago, he knows a thing or two about English soccer fans. He said the hooligans whose drunken antics embarrassed the country so many times in the ’80s and ’90s don’t have the presence they used to.

"English soccer fans are some of the most passionate fans you’ll ever see. You’ll be at Wembley and all of a sudden, 95,000 people will burst out into a rendition of God Save the Queen. It’s pretty unreal," he said.

"Some of them take it a bit too far but a lot of that has been stamped out the last few years. A lot of money has been put into cleaning up the game now. There are so many police everywhere in full riot gear."

Speaking of money, bar and restaurant owners are expecting to see a lot of it coming their way, which is sure to have a positive economic effect on the city. Chuck Davidson, vice-president of policy and communications for the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said the World Cup might seem like an extension of the just-completed National Hockey League playoffs for tavern owners.

"I think there’s going to be a huge impact based on our multicultural community. Depending on which countries do better and how that matches with the communities here, some of the venues, such as the Italian, Portuguese, English and African ones, could see a drastic financial impact," he said.

"People will be buying booze, jerseys and flags. I know sporting-goods stores are stocked up."

With all the flag-waving going on, you could be excused if you thought Folklorama had come early. Ron Gauthier, executive director of the annual summer festival celebrating cultures from around the world, said there are many similarities between the two events.

"It’s the world getting together and celebrating something they have in common in a peaceful manner and showing people are different yet the same. The only difference is with the World Cup they’re competing to declare a champion. At Folklorama, we don’t do that," he said.

"I’m sure whichever country wins, its pavilion this summer will be bragging about it."

But there’s a potential downside to all this fandom, too. Some companies are worried productivity could spiral downwards as bleary-eyed and hung-over fans blow off yet another afternoon of work or spend their time at their desks watching games on the Internet.

If you manage the situation properly, however, you’ll keep your workers doing their jobs and improve their spirits at the same time, according to Dianne Hunnam-Jones, district president for OfficeTeam, a staffing service firm specializing in the placement of skilled administrative people.

She said a recent survey her firm took of 300 senior managers found 56 per cent of employers believe getting employees involved in a sporting event, such as the Olympics, the NHL playoffs or the World Cup, can boost morale. In fact, 31 per cent thought it would have a positive impact on productivity.

Hunnam-Jones said encouraging people to come to work on designated "World Cup days" wearing the colours of their favourite team can capture the spirit of the tournament. Managers could also rename sales groups, for example, in honour of the countries on the pitch that day and encourage some friendly competition to see who can bring in the most business before the opening kickoff.

If employees are involved in a particularly intense project, Hunnam-Jones said managers could consider setting up some mini-soccer nets in the hallway and encourage employees to blow off some steam with a little game.

"A smart manager will harness any kind of world event into their office environment," she said.

Hunnam-Jones said it’s important to be proactive with the protocol surrounding the World Cup. If workers want to come in late or leave early so they can watch their favourite team play, work that out in advance.

"If you pretend it doesn’t exist, you have more danger of your employees sneaking off to do something," she said.

Having a pot-luck lunch to coincide with a big game can be a positive move, too.

"People bond over sport, music and food. They don’t typically bond over work because it’s a task but they tend to really get excited about the things they’re interested in," she said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Soccer rules

Canada has always considered itself Hockey Nation so it may come as a surprise to learn that in terms of participation, soccer is the No. 1 sport in the country. Rob Gale, technical director of the Manitoba Soccer Association, said there are 17,000 registered soccer players in the province but that doesn’t include "mini-kickers" and players outside of Winnipeg. In total, he said there are more than 35,000 players in the province.

"Across the country, we’re close to being the first sport that has 1 million participants, ahead of hockey and football," Gale said. "We don’t do a good enough job of selling that but we’re working on it. Events such as the World Cup, this is where you realize how big a deal soccer is. It will take over. Fortunately, Chicago won the Stanley Cup just in time to get hockey out of the way. That was convenient."

In conjunction with the provincial championship, the MSA is also hosting a 3-on-3 soccer tournament at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex on Waverley Street over the next few weeks. It has set up several big-screen TVs near the concession area and locker-rooms to create the ultimate soccer environment in the city.

Where

to watch

If you’ve just finished painting your face in your native country’s flag and are looking to watch the World Cup with a few of your mates, here’s a quick list of some of the places you can go, with the "home" team or teams in brackets.

The Pemby Draft House, 1011 Pembina Highway (England)

Bar Italia, 737 Corydon Ave. (Italy, South Africa and Mexico)

La Bamba Restaurant, 222 Osborne St. (Mexico)

The Nor-Villa Motor Hotel, 1763 Henderson Highway (Germany)

Kristina’s On Corydon, 761 Corydon Ave. (Greece)

Hermanos, 179 Bannatyne Ave. (South American teams, especially Brazil and Argentina)

Confusion Corner Bay & Grill, 500 Corydon Ave. (a home for all teams)

The Brit Cafe at Raging Brit, 2615 Portage Ave. (England)

Don Pedro’s Mexican Grill, 114 Market Ave. (Mexico)

The Club, Sargent Ave. at Arlington Street (Portugal)