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Canada’s win on September 7 was one of the most amazing matches the Men’s National Team (CanMNT) has played in recent memory.
The match can be considered amazing for a number of reasons.
First, there’s the phenomenal attendance at the match, 17,000 and change, for a CanMNT match on a night with forecasted thunderstorms. This was helped by the CSA bringing the famed Women’s National Team out, in addition to excellent marketing and sales done by the Voyageurs, who sold out the entire south end of the stadium. People travelled from all over Canada to attend the match, I met folks from Quebec, British Columbia, and was aware of others from other provinces. My own province of Saskatchewan had a sizeable contingent (even with some issues making flights on time, the entire group got there just in time for the game).
Next, the attendance of the match lent to one of the loudest crowds that I think anyone can recall at BMO Field, at least in recent memory. Watching the PVR’d game tape, the audio was extraordinarily loud, especially shortly after Canada scored after that cheeky Hutchinson set piece. The *clap clap clap* “Ca-Na-Da” chant that followed was overwhelmingly loud and you could truly feel the presence of the pro-Canadian crowd. It felt hostile towards the Panamanian side and for what I feel is the first time ever, BMO Field felt like a fortress for the CanMNT.
Speaking of that goal, what a way to score. After 70 odd frustrating minutes, the Canadian crowd had been somewhat lulled into a sense of nervousness. The way the goal was scored, and the timing of it, lent to an outright explosion of excitement. Goals like that are not supposed to happen in favour of Canada (Ecuador friendly notwithstanding), they’re supposed to happen in favour of whoever we play against. The combination of how that went in, what it meant when it went in and when it went in is what will make it a goal to remember for some time.
Finally, the result. With all these other factors in play, Canada walked away with three in World Cup Qualifying. We were not embarrassed at home, but rather our boys walked out of the stadium as heroes, in front of a big crowd, with a first rate television production from SportsNet, in a major must win game. If Canada can finish out the group and qualify for the Hex, we can point to this night, this result as the reason why we did. There was something special in the air that night at BMO Field and I have a feeling we’ll be talking about September 7, 2012 for some time.
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