Under-20 World Cup in Canada

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_FIFA_U-20_World_Cup

The Brazil 3 - 2 South Korea game was some of the most thrilling soccer I've ever seen.

I'd never heard of one of the cities the games are being played in - Burnaby.

Isn't that a bear's name?

vancouver suburb

Scotland are back to the old cliche of having a comedy goalie, hurrah :-( They are playing at stupid o'clock tonight against Nigeria and i have the day off tomorrow, so I might stay up and watch it, glutton for punishment that I am after the Japan game.

dude i went to highschool in burnaby - it is ON THE MAP

I saw a clip that made it look as if they had more comedy defense than comedy goalie. Apparently Nigeria are tipped by a bunch to take it all, though, so hopefully Scotland won't get completely thrashed :( they do have a tough group, too.

but yeah i have been watching under-20 world cup in canada!

canada team is not so good at all! not a surprise - chile kinda destroyed them
didn't get to see yesterday's korea game but heard it was really good stuff - am lookign forward to watching them play

it is weird to watch games that are being played in ottawa or here b/c they're live and the sky looks the same as it does outside the window - i mean, vs games being in like germany - it's an interesting closeness

Comedy goalie has a history of comedy goaliness in teh SPL.

It's sad but I am actually bummed out by the fact that after this tournament is over I may never get to see soccer of this caliber again. Montreal Impact is NOT a quality soccer team. Not even Toronto FC is fun to watch!

I was there when Poland upset Brazil, when USA upset Brazil, and the Gambia upset Portugal, and they were all AWESOME games... I was pretty relieved re: the Gambia game because I live right in the Portuguese neighborhood, and I didn't think I'd be able to sleep if Portugal had won.

This has been so awesome. Please soccer, come back to Canada soon...

i totally agree! (and yeah you def wouldn't have been able to sleep - the portuguese fans are nuts)
i went to a game on friday night at olympic stadium! poland v s korea. so awesome and fun! the lights, the crowds, the chanting, and of course the high-quality game! have been watching some games on tv but going to a game is really the greatest - i have a newfound appreciation for it all.
too bad abt team canada - kind of heartbreaking :( canada's not all that steeped in, y'know, soccer culture... but we're a good host country!

Except for the ridiculousness that is Edmonton being the toher major location for games-- I mean sure, east-west symmetry or something, but the number of empty seats at those games... absolutely embarrassing. And they had the host team! Yeesh. Mtl, Ottawa, and Toronto fully are not disappointing in the turnout category, though.

yeah edmonton... it didn't help that it rained during yesterday's game and everyone appeared to move up to the stadium overhang, leaving the stands looking empty (except for pockets of hardcore fans with raincoats and umbrellas yaay them!)
but i guess it's only right to spread the games across the country... hard on the players what with the time difference though
canada is big...

They need to break Canada into two countries. I don't ACTUALLY believe this, but it'd be awesome for things like under 20 world cups... assuming our half of the country got it and not theirs, anyway. I am disappointed there was no Wales, I wanted to see Gareth Bale! Now I have no reason to wear my Spurs shirt.

you guys think this was a bit of a test to see if Canada could pull off a full world cup (2014, 2018 etc)? has there been any talk of that being a goal for the future?

That's been a goal for a pretty long time, I think. Canada has never been shy to say they want to have a World Cup here. We're probably one of the least like North American candidates, though, so I don't see it happening. The U-20, though, is less highly-sought after, and it's the kind of thing that would encourage kids to develop their play, which is something that the Canadian soccer community needs right now-- more young kids getting into the sport. Thankfully, I think it's already on the upswing here, what with our own MLS team, the MLS getting a lot of press (ty Becks), hockey disappearing up its own asshole, the Expos and Grizzlies leaving us with two less major league sports teams, etc.

apparently, i read, the ticket sales during this u-20 have been better than average for u-20 world cups! so that's a good thing at least. i am all for encouraging soccer in canada. i am totally fascinated by soccer culture. i think that esp with the weird state of hockey these days - not that i think hockey's gonna lose out as 'our' nation's sport - there is room for soccer to get popular.
it wld be rad to host a world cup omg

I think I was almost more excited about the u-20 thna i would ahve been for a proper world cup-- ok, that's not true, but "the kids" seem so much more excited by winning, even in the round robin portions... that, adn they're all hungry to make their name, whereas the owens and terries of the world already have their paychecks lined up when the cup's over, you know? plus, there's NO WAY that the tickets would have been 10 bucks a pop for 20 rows above the corner, meaning i wouldn't have been able to go to all of the games. i'll take this u-20! hell let's host it every year!

yeah the $10 ticket price is great! damn i wanna go to another game now!
and yes the players are super excited and that's great to see - the game i went to ended in a tie but the polish players totally did this circle dance and ran around the field and bowed to the fans and etc etc - loved it! the s korean team meanwhile laid flat out on the field and caught their breath! and then came and waved to the crowd and acted kind of awkward. all of this was really adorable.

Canada's bidding for the 2011 Women's World Cup. The men's can only be next.

Where I live (Commercial Dr, Vancouver), hockey has already lost out to soccer. European cup/World Cup etc = daily parades, street closures. Stanley Cup = sports bars slightly busier.

This tournament is being used as further leverage for the proposal to build a soccer stadium downtown Vancouver. It's just for the real estate $$$ and the whole thing will fall flat due to lack of support like the original Whitecaps did. Kinda like the Plaza of Nations - touted as a lasting benefit for generations to come and in reality has finally been demolished after years of neglect and underuse. Condos ahoy!

ugh fuck a condo

if vancouver weren't so freakin lame all the time with stuff like this i wld move back in a heartbeat
but it looks like it's gonna keep being lame for a while... (still love it though :/ )

Not sure what exactly you refer to as lame. The insane condo development? Seriously, this stadium proposal is the thin end of a wedge that's going to line condos all along the Burrard Inlet from Coal Harbour to Victoria Dr.

Here's a question though: will Canadians support a LOCAL soccer team in significant enough numbers for the sport to reach a respectable level of professionalism and economic success? I mean, everyone's all gung-ho for the World Cup etc but they're all supporting Portugal, Brazil, Croatia etc. Those Whitecaps games can be pretty deadly when there's less than 1000 fans there.

lame re: condo development, gentrification, looking good to look good to outsiders/investors rather than doing good things to keep a community together and caring and real (e.g., supporting the non-big-money art scene) - things that make me really worry abt future of communities like commercial drive and strathcona and the future of art, music, good times

re: local team support - yeah probably not? not in the next 10-20 yrs anyway. this is what i mean abt canada not being a soccer nation, it not being in cdn blood (yet). vancouver also didn't last long with nba basketball even though those games were totally fun to go to!

not that i don't think condos don't make sense in urban spaces if done right, but there is something v creepy abt vancouver condo scene

and damn expensive

Totally. Check this piece of viral marketing:

“Donovan Life” is a lifestyle comedy in the tradition of “Sex and the City”, “Will & Grace,” and “Friends”. It tells the story of Anya, a 20-something professional woman who seeks exile from her commitment-phobic boyfriend in her best gay friend Dougal’s luxurious new Yaletown apartment in the Donovan building. Over the course of the five webisodes, Anya tries to decide whether to go back to her boyfriend, or start her life anew by moving into Donovan.

Agree totally about committing all the efforts for investors/tourists etc and putting up nothing for actual Vancouverites. Having said that Commercial Dr is booming like never before and has quite a few proper music venues. It's the downtown area that's really gone to shit. Throwing up yet another stadium is just encouraging that trend. The target market will be tourists and the folks from Langley etc who normally fill BC Place, looking for an excuse to visit the city.

if ever i wld say do not want i wld say do not want at that
so gross
xpost

well, i really hope east van can hold on! it is always good to hear good things. i still worry abt ghettoization, however

and hell, downtown shouldn't be full of condos and stadiums! geographically it's totally awesome! it should be about beaches and parks and mountains, eesh

anyway, soccer is good just not monsterous new stadiums in the wrong places