I enjoyed this piece as it presented a very different way of watching to what I’m used to. For background, I grew up in England immersed in all the rivalries and tribalism and now live in Canada, keenly following the Canadian teams (no idea who I’d cheer for if they played each other). I’ve always found it hard to get on board with national team fandom’s focus on individuals and their careers and this helps put that in perspective. It’s certainly cool to follow the fortunes of Canadians abroad, but I can’t say I’d be cheering on Manchester United if Jonathan David suddenly signed for them. I also find at a macro-level there’s sometimes a tendency to focus ahead on the next move rather than enjoying where a player is now. David is a case in point. I get that many Canadians want to see him move up the career ladder, but maybe we should enjoy his success at Lille. When it comes to internationals, a happy, in-form player is often better than someone struggling to get into their club side.
Hi Jon,
I enjoyed this piece as it presented a very different way of watching to what I’m used to. For background, I grew up in England immersed in all the rivalries and tribalism and now live in Canada, keenly following the Canadian teams (no idea who I’d cheer for if they played each other). I’ve always found it hard to get on board with national team fandom’s focus on individuals and their careers and this helps put that in perspective. It’s certainly cool to follow the fortunes of Canadians abroad, but I can’t say I’d be cheering on Manchester United if Jonathan David suddenly signed for them. I also find at a macro-level there’s sometimes a tendency to focus ahead on the next move rather than enjoying where a player is now. David is a case in point. I get that many Canadians want to see him move up the career ladder, but maybe we should enjoy his success at Lille. When it comes to internationals, a happy, in-form player is often better than someone struggling to get into their club side.