Tag Archives: Whitecaps

Whitecaps FC Community Asset Review – Part 4

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Editors’ note: Kurt and John are firm believers that Vancouver can and should be the Canadian epicenter for growing the sport and culture of soccer football soccer. This is a self-described healthy community. We can play outside year-round, as fields are rarely closed due to snow and/or freezing. And, most importantly, Vancouver is the place to expertly develop the sport of soccer because our city’s team, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, shares this goal and so demonstrates this vision through its Club Structure and the Whitecaps Foundation, which aims to create the fittest generation of BC Youth by 2020.

As Vancouver Whitecaps FC season ticket holders, Kurt and John are well-positioned to evaluate how the franchise showcases its commitment to “be a significant community asset” – so, following every match we will reflect on this commitment by answering two questions, which are below. Sometimes we bring friends and/or family-members to the game. And sometimes those awesome friends and/or family-members write awesome blog posts about the experience.

How is the team a significant community asset?

Vancouver Whitecaps FC is not only a bicycle friendly organization, they make cycling to games easy by collaborating with The Bicycle Valet. This encourages bike riding to and from the game, which certainly aligns with the club’s vision to develop the “fittest generation of youth in BC by 2020.”

I was lucky enough to attend both home games last week and rode my bike to the games with Michelle on Wednesday and Kurt on Saturday. There was certainly some powerful community building in the lineup for the Bicycle Valet, too, as cyclist chatted about Eric Hassli’s brilliant goal (below), tips about how to get to and from the game, and how beautiful a city Vancouver is for cycling.

WHAT COULD MAKE THE CLUB AN EVEN BETTER ASSET?

With the summer season upon us and BC Place located in our city’s gorgeous False Creek/Downtown ‘hood, Vancouver Whitecaps FC has an opportunity to leverage the beauty of its community – there might not be a better place to spend summer than in Vancouver. For some cyclists, though, getting outside for exercise isn’t enough, so my proposal is that the club incentivize cycling to and from games.

What does this look like and how can it be done? Simple gestures, such as coupons or gift certificates to Whitecaps FC business partners, represent great strating points. Grander gestures, such as “Bicycle Day” or “‘Capscycle”, would go a bit further to honour the folks that travel to experience sport by, well, experiencing sport and emitting far fewer emissions en route to doing so.

So, think  about it, Vancouver Whitecaps FC. See you at the bike valet!

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Masthead photo courtesy of Mafue’s photostream on Flickr

Whitecaps Build Community with Flags and Families

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Photo courtesy of Gerry K.

Nothing like a hard fought soccer game under the open Vancouver sky. This weekend, I got to experience it first hand as the Vancouver Whitecaps took on DC United in their third game of the season. Coming off a two game winning streak, first at home against the Montreal Impact and then (miracles!) on the road against Chivas USA, there were big expectations and a heady sense of optimism about a winning streak that’d last to three games in a row. In the end, we got a tie (certainly better than a loss) – but that’s not all that we witnessed that night.

Equally powerful was the sense of community (particularly in the first part of the second half) when the Whitecaps really turned the electricity on!

It started outside the stadium. Unlike BC Lions games or even Canucks games, the community built by the Whitecaps tends to be young, diverse and the total opposite of “rough around the edges” turkeys that were made famous last summer during the Vancouver’s most disgraceful night.

Milling around the outside of the stadium, thousands of fans clad in blue and white meandered towards the gates. Few were ridiculously intoxicated or surely. Hundreds had goofy grins on their faces.There was a young family vibe to it all.

Once in the stadium, we set up close to the Whitecaps goal next to three dozen fanatical fans equipped with jerseys and dozens of multi-color flags. The super fans included a big burly Scots as well as French, Koreans, Filipinos and even a group of guys who appeared to hail from the Middle East. It’s part of what I love so much about soccer – the multiculturalism of it all. Together we sang a dozen uniquely Vancouver chants inspired by the great European clubs.

On the field, our team mirrored the diversity of its fan base. Players hailed from Brazil, Spain, China, Korea, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, the US and Canada. When Long Tan ran on from the sidelines in the late stages of the game, a group of Chinese fans a few seats away gave a mighty cheer.

Talk about a terrific community building event.

Header courtesy of Albumen. 

Fans, food and flummox: The Vancouver Canadians Experience

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Last Saturday night, I had the pleasure of attending a Vancouver Canadians game with a group of family and friends. Having spent the last year focused on learning the basic rules of soccer so that I could muster my way through a Vancouver Whitecaps game without completely embarrassing myself, I’m flummoxed and somewhat hesitant to admit that I somehow lost all of my knowledge of baseball. After receiving a crash course (and braving the incredulous response I received from my husband, who asked more than a few times, ‘you’re joking, right?’), I was able to sit back, enjoy the game, and, more importantly, critically analyze some of the key differences and similarities between Vancouver’s sports teams. In no particular order:

1. The fans

The ever-enthusiastic Whitecaps fan base

One of the key things that struck me was the difference in tone, atmosphere, and make-up of the fans. The Canadians game was definitely more family-friendly – a claim I can confidently make after astutely observing the large number of families in attendance. That, plus the fact that I left the game without hearing one swear word or having any beer spilled on me – two things one can always count on at any given Whitecaps game. What’s more, I didn’t notice a lot of folks on their cell phones or wearing business suits, which tend to be frequent sites at Canucks games.  I chock this difference up to – not surprisingly – the low cost of tickets and marketing efforts geared towards families.

2. The food

Sadly, the food is one similarity that I wish was different. It tends to be overpriced, unhealthy fare no matter what the venue or sport. While fans justify overindulgence with the explanation that, “you gotta have [insert unhealthy food option here] when at a [insert sport here] game!”, for those of us who care about what we put into our bodies or where our food comes from, having some healthier options would definitely be appreciated.

3. Advertising and corporate sponsorship

Advertising at the Nat - No space left unspoken for

While advertising and corporate sponsorship are of course prevalent across all sports organizations, I found there was quite a difference in advertising methods, dependant on opportunities for promotion within the structure and coverage of the game. Given the continual flow of soccer, with few breaks other than half-time, advertising is done through marketing materials, clothing and gear. With a large Bell logo on the front of our jerseys that we wear to every game, we the fans advertise on our team’s behalf. On the contrary, with the frequent commercial breaks and high viewership of Canucks games, most advertising is done through commercials. In the most hilarious of advertising efforts, the Canadians squeeze it in where they can: between innings. A Smart car driven around the field between second and third inning? That will do!

So there it is – a few observations from a casual fan, slowly learning about the fascinating world of Vancouver sports.

24 Hour Soccer highlights AMAZING DTES shelter

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Whitecaps footballer, Portland FC and Portland Phoenix coaches!

Today’s a great day for some soccer. Sure it is a bit wet and cold in Vancouver. But that’s how we roll on the Westcoast. So if you’re downtown, think about stopping by the Art Gallery lawn and support the 24 Hour Soccer Marathon.

The kick off was at 7:45 AM this morning and  throughout the day there will be some great  music, food, entertainment and soccer (cue jazz hands!). The whole marathon is aimed at raising awareness around the New Fountain Shelter, an amazing homeless shelter that’s been in operation since early 2009.

Opened at Christmas in 2008, the New Fountain Shelter, funded for only 27 beds, regularly sleeps close to 40 people night after night. In addition to providing a temporary shelter for Vancouver’s homeless the New Fountain has connected over 300 people to safe, permanent housing and works hard to connect people to the medical and social services they need. BC Housing has announced that funding will not be continued beyond April 30th, after which time the Shelter would be forced to close, putting people back on the streets.

To help draw attention to the shelter and all the great work it does, Portland FC and Portland Phoenix (both of which have many players drawn from the New Fountain) will be playing for 24 hours straight to highlight the shelter and its great work. Pop by on your lunch break, coffee break, after work or at 2 PM on the way home from the bar. We’ll still be playing soccer! Check out some great initial photos from the event. Special shout out to some VIPs that took time to come out and show support to the shelter. Note the really,tall guy is David Eby, who is making a run at an MLA seat in Vancouver West Pt. Grey against new BC Premier Christy Clark. In goal is Vision Vancouver Councillor Andrea Reimer and on the field playing is Vision Vancouver Park Commissioner Sarah Blyth. Great work everyone!


DTES Comes Together for Team Canada

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It’s been an exciting time for a number of young men who herald from the Downtown Eastside. After over a year of practice, eight young men  (six of whom are from First Nations around BC) will be heading to Rio on September 15 to represent Canada in the Homeless World Cup. Haven’t heard of the Homeless World Cup? Here are some fast facts:

  • The Homeless World Cup is a world-class, annual, international football tournament
  • It uses soccer (aka football) as a catalyst to encourage people who are homeless to change their lives; and to change the attitudes of governments, media, public and key influencers to create better solutions to homelessness around the world
  • 64 Teams are competing this year
  • Last year’s cup was in Milan and the next will be in Paris
  • Team Canada is going to win (probably!)

Team Canada was drawn from Portland FC, a team drawn from the Portland Hotel Society managed HEAT shelters and the Eastside Sun Eagles, a pick up team of DTES residents.  It’s exciting the Team representing Canada will be coming from an area often written off as a hopeless basket case of poverty and addiction. Its neat to think of such a success coming from such a tough as nails neighborhood. It is a success that’s being talked up around East Hastings  most days and is capturing the imagination of many Vancouverites. Last week, this spirit was showcased on CTV and endorsed in an editorial in the Vancouver Province. This weekend, the team met Bobbie Lenarduzzi and were recognized at a Vancouver Whitecaps game.

While individual players are kicking bad habits one after another, Portland organizers and volunteers are increasingly looking to expand the Portland FC model and reach out to the dozens of other shelter residents spread around the Downtown Core. A women’s team is in the process of being formed.

None of this could have happened without the rallying support of dozens of coaches, coordinators and supporters. As a team member, its been truly heartening and inspiring to see how activists, businesses and non-profit organizations in and around the DTES  have come together to donate what they can (be it time, supplies or money) and provide the team with the resources they need to succeed. Be it businesses like Fairware, Farpost, London Drugs, Eclipse Awards, Darwin Construction, Anti-Social or organizations like Coastal Health, UBC Psychiatry or the Portland Hotel Society, Portland FC and Team Canada represent a effective (and hopefully duplicable) model of what can happen when a community comes together to make a good idea happen.

In the end, no matter what the results are in Brazil, Team Canada and the community that’s come together to support it are all winners.