John and Kurt Watch Some Football

Kurt’s Amazing Narrative

Late in the afternoon on Saturday, March 19, we were on our feet in a jammed stadium at Empire Field next to Vancouver’s Empire Bowl. Surrounded by roughly 23,000 screaming blue and white fans, we had our first taste of the phenomena of “football fanaticism”. We were at the Whitecaps FC home-opener for the team’s debut in the MLS and something was in the air that we were getting in at the birth of one of Vancouver’s future premier sports franchises. Watch out Canucks – here we come.

The day started as it should when it comes to football – at the pub. We caught the SFU 135 from Downtown. Along the way we met half a dozen fans heading the same place we ere. Everyone was decked out in full gear (except for one fellow who had decided to body paint himself in team colors) and was jazzed about the start of the season and (perhaps) the beginning of a new era in West Coast sports. At Oscars Pub off Boundary, we waded into a throng of Southsider supporters. Jammed well past the firecode requirements, the pub was completely over-capacity. The three bartenders couldn’t keep up with the hundreds of orders for pitchers and pints. After initially planning on eating lunch at Oscars, we gave up, wedging ourselves into a nook at the bar and waiting 20 minutes for our 1 (and only) chance too order a pitcher and a shot (McNulty style).

We spent our time talking about the coming game, the MSL, the Whitecaps, the coming game again, World Cup Soccer and how nuts Southsiders fans are. We made friends with other Whitecaps supporters including Kevin, a friendly Air Canada baggage guy who had travlled the world watching pro-football in both North America, Japan and Europe.

By 2:45 it was time to head to the stadium. There we watched as thousands of fans streamed into the newly erected stadium. Almost everyone was wearing jerseys or team colors, thousands more carried their patented Whitecaps scarves. In the distance, the sun broke through the clouds shining on the snowy caps of Seymour and Grouse. The air was crisp and the excitement was palpable.

We made our way to seats in the north side of the stadium. From the first whistle to the final 90 minutes, the majority of the game was spent standing and cheering for the team. When the Whitecaps scored the first goal of the game early in the first half, the stadium erupted. Thousands of tiny drums could be heard thumping over the hoarse cheers of thousands of fans.

John’s Kolbian Experiential Cycle

As Kurt mentioned, he and I are two of the luckiest sports fans in Vancouver. After all, we are proud owners of season tickets to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. And, as he scrawled above, we definitely learned something about soccer, Vancouver, and ourselves this weekend. Which leads me to David Kolb and the Experiential Learning Cycle. See, Kurt and I just had “an experience” and I’m a big fan of reflecting on actions and experiences in order to have a better and more educational experience going forward. Here are some key lessons from Saturday’s game:

1. Show up at Oscar’s Pub earlier – as it turns out, the Southsiders like to party; a 1:15pm arrival at the pub revealed us to be grossly unprepared and left our bellies empty. Lesson: pack shareable snacks and become popular with equally hungry Southsiders!
2. Wear a shirt (this is not our lesson) – to the chilled-out young lad who got on the 135 to SFU wearing nothing but white shorts, body paint and a heckuvalot of team spirit, remember to wear layers. Lesson: let the body paint dry and then put on a festive sweatshirt to warm your body en route to the game – this tip is as safe as it is stylish.
3. Toronto FC sucks – what kind of seasoned, five-years-in-the-MLS team gets lit-up by an expansion team?! Lesson: only time will tell if Vancouver Whitecaps FC is a dynasty, if Vancouver will be the toughest place to play in the MLS, or if Toronto FC is just like the Leafs, Raptors, and Blue Jays, but with shin pads and way more endurance.
4. Being Tall is an Enigmatic Experience – people like it when you can reach stuff or hurl your poncho farther than anyone else in your section, but they do not like it when you stand up and block their son’s view. Lesson: when people yell at you to sit down, don’t just succumb to peer, fear or fan pressure(s). Engage your fellow-fans and try to work out a solution! [Editors’ note: by the end of the game John was leading cheers and getting thumbs-up from a super-excited mom and her even more excited son…who just needed to stand up on the bleachers!]
5. Empire Field is at capacity – we’re not sure if Whitecaps FC’s temporary home field will be able to sustain the size of crowd that was there on Saturday. Beer and bathroom lines were both painfully long (for reasons that are different, but also the same). Lesson: you don’t need to drink to have fun! The atmosphere was intoxicating all on it’s own. And with less beer in our bellies, Kurt and I can avoid perilously long lines for the loo and spend more time getting to know the cool people who share seasons tickets in our section.

So there it is. With our lessons learned Kurt and I are excited to experience Vancouver’s fastest growing sporting community in a bigger and better way than we did last weekend. See you at Empire Field on April 2 for the big match against Kansas City (I know! I was shocked they had a team, too!).