Faces of Football: Canada – a letter to the national team

Dear Canada National Team,

I was 12 years old when I fell in love with this team and recently you guys made a dream come true that seemed impossible for most of us Canadians.

My name is Aaron Hooper from Ottawa, Canada and I’ve been supporting the Canada men’s and women’s national teams since 2006. I have to say it wasn’t an easy time for me as a kid who fell in love with Canadian football. All Canadian fans – and I’m sure some of you players (since we’re a similar age) are among them – remember that there were no professional football teams in Canada back then. While there were hints that Toronto FC would be formed in 2007, that was a big deal even then.

Being a Canadian football fan wasn’t exactly “cool” in our country at the time, especially in junior high. In middle school and early high school, we were often mocked by hockey players. We asked others to train and play with us as we dreamed that one day football could gain even a shred of popularity or just be respected.

I remember walking to 6:30 a.m. practice with my teammates in high school, or standing on the field after school and saying, “Man, imagine Canada playing at a World Cup… that would be it what… I hope I could be part of that team…” But I always ended the conversation with “but who knows when that will happen… probably when we have grandkids”.

But for some reason, in my heart, I believed in it. I believed that the Canadian men’s team would play in the World Cup in my lifetime.

Ever since the 8-1 loss to Honduras a few years ago, we thought that maybe that day wouldn’t come until 2026, when Canada hosts the World Cup. But let me tell you that you have exceeded all of our dreams. You made all of Canada believe. You’ve made every lifelong fan and past wearer of the Canada jersey proud. You made dreams come true and created many new dreams for all the young fans who dream of playing professionally and will now also dream of playing in a World Cup. But this time not for their parents’ country of birth but to play for our own national team – and actually see a path and dream of playing in Europe’s top leagues to play alongside Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Milan To play Borjan and Atiba Hutchinson and to imitate them.

To go to the World Cup with this national team is a dream and even reaching the round of 16 would be a dream and I know you guys and John Herdman (who should have a statue) have a lot more in mind. The blessing we have is that there are no expectations, no pressure, and no fear.

You don’t show fear on the pitch and that’s evident against any opponent. I knew that straight away when you played the qualifiers against USA, Mexico and Honduras. You made us all believe.

When I was 12 and fell in love with Canadian football and believed in the potential of our country but was declared insane and now to see where we are – it’s really surreal.

For all of us who have cried tears of happiness and disappointment, who have struggled, who have dreamed of this moment, who have believed when others said it was impossible, and who have believed: enjoy the dream.

I’m sure you already know this, but fear not and take it one game at a time. And continues to transform Canadian football culture and make the future brighter than the past.

ALL CANADA!

This article was originally published on 90min.de as.