As we stare down the 2012 Whitecaps FC “second round” I’d like to take a moment to consider round 1. Not to break down the squad or look where mistakes were made and room for improvement lies, but as a fan and a father of a young fan.
My youngest son and I have been going to watch the Whitecaps since 2005 when he was two years old. He has grown accustomed to a couple of things with the Division 2 Caps: making “friends” with players and winning. In 2008 he turned 5 and we made the move to the Southside where Jay Nolly quickly became his favourite player simply because he was such a nice guy and always had a moment to say hi or even just smile. This, of course, was the year that the Caps won their last Championship and cemented the team in his young mind as the greatest club on the planet.
In 2009, he discovered his first favourite based on play and “feeling” – on the way to Swangard one day he informed me Marcus Haber was his favourite player. He said that he liked the way he played – he was fast and could “jump high” and he scored goals. That day in warm up I called Marcus over to get a picture with my boy because that was how it worked back then.
Marcus seemed just as thrilled to have a little fan, as my son was to meet his favourite player. My son was six years old at the time Marcus went to Europe and this was a terrible shock to a boy who truly believed that the Whitecaps would beat Spain head to head. My boy wore his socks over his knees in his U7 league that season as his tribute to Marcus.
After a 2010 season ended with disappointment and hope for the future – we were ready for the move to MLS and the fear of losing many more favourites. The last Div 2 road trip to Portland that saw the Caps lose the game 1-0 but win the playoff series on aggregate was, well that we won the series and also won free cookie dough from Papa Murphy’s for losing the game would be a good analogy for how we felt – the loss of the match was there but meh. There was some sense of the last small crowd “these are our Caps” and no one else’s feel to the game but we had beaten the Timbers again and still had more Div 2 Soccer to go, but we would never be the road warrior fans of a Div 2 team again.
The season ended the next weekend in a fashion we have grown to expect as fans – hugs from the players and handshakes and a small group of supporters not wanting to leave. A seven year old by my side with a tear in his eye and another on his cheek – more because the team had lost than an understanding of the significance of the moment – that would come in March 2011, but my little guy was experiencing his first heart break and shaking the hands of all his “heroes” – many with tears in their own eyes.
The off-season brought a lot of questions: “so we are going to be at the big stadium next year?” My son only wanted to know what this meant to him and who would be on the team and how did all this work and why were we moving and who decides which league is better and why didn’t all those people come to the games before and would he get to play soccer at half time – so many questions needed to be answered.
We watched the roster build together and cheered together when old favourites were signed. We built the Whitecaps with as many players as we could find on FIFA10 – DeMerit, Rochat, Chuimiento (who became a favourite for his orange boots and slick tricks), Cannon, Salinas, etc. The MLS Whitecaps became our own hobby looking forward to first kick and speculating on starting line ups and who would score and who would start in net and where Simon Thomas would end up playing. I likened it to building a toy model with him only checking all the news and searching the web for info and playing our “made up” Whitecap team on Fifa10 and winning MLS Cup. His excitement fuelling mine and mine his and the goals of the Club and the history of success fuelling us both.
In the early spring before the season Wes Knight decided to give away some old Cap gear – a good allotment of it ending up in my boys hands. The key piece being an old duffel bag with the Whitecap logo and the number 8 embroidered on the side – I spent the remainder of his U7 season lugging a pair of size one boots and a sweatshirt in this bag – I had to throw in a spare ball just to give it some wait so the wheels would work when I dragged it.
My boy changed his kit to number 8 for the U8 season and maintains that number now. Though with Wes gone away from the Caps he says it is because of Kaka. Wes was waived while we were on vacation and I held back on telling him about it for a while – didn’t want to ruin his holiday.
So, the 2011 season started with a great bang – Teitur, Phil Davies, Terry Dunfield, Wes, Jay Nolly, Nizar Khalfan, all had deals. I was sad to see Z, REB, and Kyle Porter leave the club but my boy had all his favourites on the team minus Simon Thomas who he had been prepped for – I saw that one coming, so the season started with a great win in a beautiful environment and with fantastic weather.
From here we grew up together, my boy and I, and learned about soccer and life together. Turns out that first day was more exception than rule and the path to the playoffs was not paved with the kits of inferior squads and dreams of on field success were turned into aspirations of deferred gratification for unwithering support.
Early in the season my son and I won the opportunity to attend a screening of the unedited version of “Rise and Shine” with Jay DeMerit and many other Cap players and supporters. I wasn’t aware that Jay had become one of my son’s favourites but apparently he had – I guess being the captain holds a lot of weight in the eyes of a 7 year old.
My son is a cool little fellow – he is a bit of a performer who isn’t easily fazed, but meeting Jay sent him into a state. He bounced around the theatre, hid around corners, turned red, giggled – and posed for a picture wearing the kit of the Mexican national team with the US men’s team star.
Jay was very personable with everyone and down to earth and likeable – much like we had grown accustomed to in the Div 2 days. After the screening my boy got to hang out with Wes for a while – my son was playing as a defender and got to talk about how to play and discuss the old duffel bag. Wes invited my son to come meet everyone at a practise the following week.
My boy went and had all the players sign a Whitecap ball and got to kick the ball around a bit with some players and had a grand time. He was very excited that Jay remembered him and had a couple of new favourites – Maloud Akloul, who spoke French with him and Shea Salinas, who he said was a nice guy (or as he said – Maloud and number 22 as Shea had yet to play a game for the club due to injury).
I think Kids love things in a way that we forget as adults and love is love – whether it’s a puppy, or a gold fish or a soccer club. We grow up and become adults based on our actions and reactions to feelings and thoughts and we all have things we hold dear forever. It’s just a game – but only to those who don’t love it - the same way your dog is just a dog to me. To someone who loves the game it is dear friend who may vicariously or directly tug on our heartstrings in positive and/or negative way. We can wake up feeling down after a hard loss and can feel exhilarated for days after a grand victory.
Twelve games into the season we lost our coach. My son asked me if we had a better coach and I said I don’t know. He said well then that’s stupid. My boy liked the coach but at 7 what is on the field is far more important so we moved on – I was upset with the firing on many levels that this story isn’t about, but my boy was unmoved – we are still the best team in the world.
Then the tidal wave hit – Terry Dunfield, Maloud Akloul, were gone, Jay Nolly was on the bench, and Phil Davies was forgotten. My son went through a process with each one. Terry went to Toronto, “but we hate Toronto right Dad?” Geez, in what content do you teach your son that it’s okay to hate? Maloud released, “Did we trade him?”
“So, we didn’t even get anything?”
“He’s just gone?”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Jay sitting on the bench while we continue to lose and my boy wonders why if Jay Nolly is magic he is sitting on the bench? And, of course, “that guy” – where is he? Phil Davies – he doesn’t remember the name any more.
At the same time as all these things are happening we are going to PDL games were things are going well and remain similar to the “old days” - my now 8 year old reminiscing about the “old days” when he used to say hi to all the players and play soccer at half time behind the Southside bleachers. Here in the PDL he found joy. It helped that the lads were fantastic and the coach had time to say hi and shake hands just like the “old days”.
My son had started playing centre mid in his new season and he took a shine to Alex Morfaw who always had time to share a word with him or play a game of 1 v 1 after the match. At this age – a Whitecap is a Whitecap and the same way my son truly believed the Whitecaps could beat Spain he saw no reason why the PDL club couldn’t beat the first team. I could really relate to my little guy.
The connection was that this is ours. We can play on this field too. We can say good play to a player and have that player say thanks in an intimate environment that simply can’t exist on a larger scale. The game is ours here.
On August 7th of that first season we were to play the Chicago Fire. As we were getting ready for the match my son asked me if the game was at the “big stadium”, meaning not a PDL game, and when I told him it was he said he’d watch on TV and I could bring someone else. I didn’t ask him why I just asked him if he was sure.
We left for Vacation after the game and it would be a long time before we would see our Caps again.
Wes was released while we were away. I read the news on twitter while my boy was packing his duffel bag with some items for a day trip. We were in the Niagara Peninsula at the time and had tickets to the upcoming Canada world cup qualifier at BMO. I took a picture of the duffel bag and sent it to Wes on twitter with a good luck note. I decided to keep this info to myself until after we returned to Vancouver. My boy was having so much fun on vacation and looking forward to the Canada game – didn’t want to bring him down.
When I told him that Wes was released he wanted to know if Wes would be able to play somewhere else. “Probably.”
“I hope so.”
Maybe Alex will get some playing time with the first team now – or Phil or Nizar. He took it very cerebrally. Maybe I didn’t need to protect him from the news after all. Though later he sat with his Mother and told her about it while snuggling for comfort.
The season went on and the playoffs became a distant dream and the games became more of an event from the sidelines and enjoying our time together. We sang songs and yelled at refs and held on to the sense that this was our club and we’ll be fine. We are always fine.
My son won some swag from the Rise and Shine fundraiser and cemented Jay as his favourite Whitecap. Jay ran a practise with my boys club and the boys were thrilled and talk about it often. A ladies team was practising nearby and all came over to meet him and get autographs – one lady wearing her Whitecap jersey stood out as being thrilled. I saw her walking to the car afterwards and she was beaming.
Shea Salinas came out and did a practise and taught the boys some skill. When Shea was traded there was no sense of loss – we were both happy for Shea. “San Jose is not a bad team right Dad?”
“Right Son.”
Alex was released in the post season while I was at work. I picked up my son from school and told him I had to tell him something, “Alex has been released.”
“Like traded…is he going to play in Europe?”
“Not traded, they let him go.”
“Why? They didn’t think he was good enough?”
“I guess not.”
My little talkative fellow was silent.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, he’s still my friend right?”
Life’s lessons can come from anywhere. My little guy had done a lot of growing in this season and I was right there growing beside him.
As we look forward to round two my son is excited that we have “four of the best players in the league, right Dad?”
We have all of the best players in the league son because they play for our team.
It’s only a game if you don’t love it.
Slamo
