Some day, maybe Canada will be part of the beautiful game

MONDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — It was a beautiful game.

Watching soccer — or football, if you prefer — doesn’t come naturally to Canadians. Despite the fact just about every Canadian kid plays soccer in school, this country has never made the grade at the international level.

Only once has a Canadian team even made it into World Cup play. With no Canadian team in the competition, we had little vested interest in it, yet scores of thousands of Canadians were attached to their television sets for the past month.

We watched the games, talked about the results with our friends, and even learned a few of the names of key players. Sunday, we were among the many millions of viewers as Argentina and Germany played in the final.

Whichever of the teams we were cheering for, it was a magnificent game, won with a single goal by Germany.

Soccer is a game of contradictions. It has often been the cause of shocking violence. Yet it’s also a game in which heartwarming sportsmanship is often displayed. How many times, for example, have you seen a hockey player help an opponent to his feet after a fall? It happens in soccer all the time.

Soccer/ football is a game in which players and fans alike wear their emotions on their sleeves. Argentina fans wept in the stands on Sunday, and the Argentinian players did the same on the field. In other sports, such a display of disappointment would be considered inappropriate. In soccer, you’re allowed to show it.

Maybe the game’s honesty is one reason — aside from the amazing athleticism — that Canadians are beginning to think about some day having our own team in the fray.