Valour FC soccer outing satisfies

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/05/2019 (2632 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First, a confession: I’ve never been much of a soccer guy.

In fact, if I were to begin compiling a list of my favourite sports, the so-called Beautiful Game would rank very low. Way behind hockey, my undisputed No. 1. But also trailing several others including baseball, golf, football, tennis and curling. Maybe even a few others, to be honest.

I’m not entirely sure why, other than it’s never been a big part of my life, growing up here in Winnipeg. There were always plenty of other sports to play, and watch, and I’ll admit to having a certain bias in thinking the normally low-scoring games can be painfully boring.

All of that said, I’d like to think I’m anything but close-minded. And so I headed down to IG Field Thursday evening curious to see what the upstart Canadian Premier League was all about, as Valour FC hosted Forge FC.

It was the first professional soccer match I’ve ever watched in person. And it didn’t take me very long to realize what I’ve been missing.

Colour me impressed. After two highly entertaining hours, I walked away with a new appreciation for the sport and feeling somewhat embarrassed by my previous perception, born pretty much entirely out of ignorance.

Shame on me. Consider it a valuable lesson learned.

Sure, there were just two goals scored, an early strike by the visitors from Hamilton in the eighth minute that stood as the game-winner, and an insurance marker in the 68th-minute. However, the 90-plus minutes of action were anything but dull.

The most obvious thing that jumped out to this novice observer was the skill, which was evident right from the pre-game warm-up. The precision of every pass, the quickness of the feet and ball movement was something to behold, even as players on both teams were simply going through routine drills.

Despite being early in the first year of play, the seven Canadian Premier League teams have clearly attracted some top-tier talent as they attempt to put Canadian men’s soccer back on the international map by giving players a legitimate, homegrown league in which to to develop.

It’s obviously going to take some time, but it appears the wheels are very much in motion. There’s already talk of future league expansion to other markets.

The stadium experience adds a whole other element, as soccer is one of those sports that is easier to appreciate when you can see the entire field. Television doesn’t do it justice, especially when it comes to anticipating how certain plays might develop.

For example, Forge’s first goal came on a bizarre defensive breakdown by Valour that everyone at IG Field could see coming — but which a broadcast would have been hard-pressed to capture. A rare two-on-one — from midfield, no less — quickly turned into a breakaway that Forge quickly capitalized on.

There was also a lot more physicality than I expected, including a near scrap in the waning minutes of the game when players from both teams got into a sideline battle over a ball. That prompted a large scrum and plenty of heated words, but cooler heads prevailed.

Hey, things happen. And it only added to the intensity and the drama. I doubt you’ll get many complaints from those in attendance.

However, it does lead me into perhaps the only negative on the night — the theatrics that we see far too often in soccer games, with players going down far too easy and feigning injuries while looking to draw penalties.

On two different occasions Thursday, Forge players appeared as if they were seriously injured — only to spring to life moments later once play was stopped and a trainer attended to them.

Seriously, just cut that crap out. Not surprisingly, that didn’t play very well to the crowd, which takes me to perhaps the best part of the entire experience.

Sure, the temperature was in single digits at game time, with a brisk north wind adding to the chill. And yes, the crowd of 4,731 was the smallest of the three games in Winnipeg so far, down from the nearly 10,000 who took in the opener and nearly 6,000 who attended the second game. But that’s to be expected, especially being on a weeknight with less-than-ideal weather.

However, what the spectators may have lacked in size they made up for in enthusiasm. There was a big-league feel to all of this, led by the team’s raucous support group, Red River Rising, which provided a fantastic soundtrack the entire game.

From “Ole, Ole, Ole” to the usual “Ref You Suck” when things didn’t go the home team’s way to a wide assortment of songs and chants and drumming, it all made for great theatre. Every promising rush and every corner kick by Valour would be met with a rising tide of noise and excitement, every failed chance met with a resounding groan.

It added a real European flavour to the game, one that you simply don’t get at any other Winnipeg sporting event. The closest I’ve come to seeing it was at a University of North Dakota hockey game, where the college band is stationed in the crowd.

As the final whistle sounded, Valour players walked off the field to loud chants of “VFC.” No, they didn’t win, now with two victories in their first five games, but it’s clear both the effort and entertainment from the newest kids on the sporting block were appreciated.

Another positive is just how fast the game is played. I’m on record as bemoaning the length of baseball games, despite being a die-hard fan of the sport. There’s no such concerns with soccer. Kickoff was right at 7 p.m. Fans were on their way out of the stadium by 8:55 p.m.

I suspect there are many families, especially with young children, which find that to be a real positive.

Finally, it was great to see such a diverse crowd on hand to take in the action. Winnipeg is a melting pot of cultures, with many citizens coming from soccer-crazed countries. Having a high-level team to call our own, one that is affordable for even those on tight budgets to take in, is a real plus.

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This truly is a great time to be a sports fan in the city, and Valour’s arrival is a major part of that.

Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it. I’d suggest taking in a game yourself and drawing your own conclusions.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back and mull over that list.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.