Canada boasts both female and male national teams for soccer. However, only one of those teams has shown success in recent years while the other one has little to no success at all. The female Canadian National team have become a success story in Canada and their fame really exploded following the 2012 London summer Olympic games. It was the first time Canada has won any traditional team medals since winning silver at the 1936 games (SOURCE). Currently the Canadian women are ranked 7th according to the FIFA ranking and have always been successful in the World cup. They have also won multiple medals in both CONCACAF and the PanAmerican games.
When we look at the men’s team however things are not looking very good for them. Having no success other then winning the CONCACAF gold cup in 2000, the men have failed to qualify to the World Cup since 1986. Furthermore, the men are ranked 112th in the world and are behind countries according to the FIFA standings like Punta Cana and Haiti.
The failure of the men’s team can be attributed to multiple factors however one factor stands out more then others. Most of the great talent that Canada breeds end up leaving to play for their country of origin rather then playing for the country that has raised them, Canada. The most prolific example of this type of behaviour was with Owen Hargreaves. He was born and raised in Calgary however his father was English, Hargreaves was a great talent and instead of choosing to play for Canada he decided to represent England. In 2006 he was rated one of the best players to play in the World Cup that year while also receiving English Player of the year award.
A great article written by Jared Mercer called, The State Of Canadian Soccer Defectors, essentially...
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...ayed a strong role in the increase of soccer participation as 1 in every 5 Canadians now is a visible minority and with soccer being the most played sport worldwide many are bringing this sport culture to Canada. Moreover, the hosting of international events has led to an increase in media exposure that has allowed more Canadians to experience professional soccer either on TV or at a stadium. The expansion of the MLS has given Canadians a chance to enjoy soccer at their front door and with European stars making their way to NA the league has been truly put on the map and has increased in popularity and viewership. As a Canadian, one must wonder what will the Canadian sport culture look like in the future. With immigration rising and soccer gaining popularity with the general public will the “beautiful game” as it is known around the world one day be Canada’s game.
Therefore, the women participating in such arduous sports breaks the normative ideas of what it means to be a women and what activities she can participate in. In contrast, for those women who do carry on tasks that are typically seen as masculine, are valued less, have less recognition, and their prestige and income tend to decline compared to their male counterparts (Johnson, 1997). Interestingly, when one types “soccer team” on google, the first thing to show up is the Unites States Men’s National Soccer Team. One has to explicitly type “women” in front of soccer. This shows the lack of acknowledgement of the women’s soccer team compared to their male counterparts. If the men’s soccer team is credited significantly more than the women’s soccer team, then the male representation is made more palpable in media with a greater screen time, thus bolstering their reputation and popularity and resulting in increase in pay from the soccer
Before the 1980 Winter Olympics began, the US Olympic hockey team was not expected to do as well as they did. They had many powerhouse teams to beat and the team was just a bunch of college kids who wanted to play hockey. In the end, they had performed one of the greatest upsets in the history of hockey by defeating the USSR, the whom many thought of as the greatest hockey team in the world.
Lacrosse is a fast-growing American high school sport and becoming very successful within the past few decades, so it’s important to analyze how lacrosse has gotten to where it is today and what impacted the spread. The research question is: How has lacrosse changed over the years, and what impacted the spread? Research shows that lacrosse is becoming more popular every year, and many more people are becoming aware of this sport so the history behind what is known as ‘America’s first sport’ should be known. According to the National Federation of State High School, between 2009 and 2013, participation between high school boys and girls has increased for a total of 34%. Today, over 1400 high schools in the US include
Nowadays in sports especially in hockey we see a lot of athletes come from across seas to play on Canadian and american hockey teams. Some of these players are premier athletes and
Canada’s foreign policy intent was limited because of deployments that kept the military from being unequipped and becoming a high power. They are only put into conflicts that they are able to control the environment. During this time, Canada’s military had little capabilities. They were not known as a world power. Even though they were not as powerful as most countries, they wanted to take on a role as a middle power which was good for them.
However, the discrepancy in media coverage is getting better with time. There is a realization of the importance of balanced attention with regard to gender in sports programs. Therefore, there are increased efforts to ensure that several sport programs show women participating in games. This will lead to a better perception of sports by girls. Eventually, girls will change their attitude about sports.
Women are becoming a bigger part of the professional sports world. The number of professional sports for women is growing at a very fast rate. Right now though, the comparison of women's professional sports to men's professional sports still varies greatly. For example, men's professional sports range from wrestling to football to skateboarding. Women on the other hand, do not have the opportunity to participate in these professional sports. But this is changing quickly. Women are beginning to receive the same opportunities in sports as men.
Men and women have been separated since the beginning of life. God put Adam in charge of the Earth. When God created Eve, he took a piece of Adam’s rib from his stomach to create Eve. From this story that came from the bible, men believe that God made them better than women. And this has created a gender inequality between man and woman ever since then. Gender inequality, as stated on The Free Dictionary’s website is, “the difference between women and men in regard to social, political, economic, or other attainments or attitudes, or the problem perceives to exist because of such difference.” I believe that, when it comes to women’s sports, there is a pretty big difference in genders. Some of these differences are caused by men. A good example is that there are an enormous amount of men that take it as a joke. Most men feel that women just do not have the capability to ever have the strength and skills to compete with men. While others look at it as women are too girly to play and that they will cry and complain if they break a nail. Some think women are too fragile and if they try to compete against a man they will get badly injured. I believe these opinions that men have about women in sports, leads to the gender inequalities in it.
Terrence and Jordin Tootoo grew up in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, in Canada’s arctic region. They were like other Inuit children in Rankin Inlet in many respects: They were brought up to respect the customs of their people and they enjoyed the resources the land around them provided- they learned to hunt and fish for food like the others. However, the brothers were also different from their peers in one main respect- they were blessed with a love for the game of hockey, and also with extraordinary amounts of talent which would enable them to leave their native community to pursue the dream of professional hockey. While the brothers were growing up they were inseparable; however, after leaving Rankin Inlet to pursue the professional game their respective careers took strikingly different paths. Jordin’s journey took him to the top- he was drafted into the National Hockey League and signed a lucrative contract with the Nashville Predators. However, Terrence’s road to the professional ranks was filled with hardship and tragedy, ultimately resulting in his suicide in August of 2002. The contrasting paths taken by the brothers is an illustration of how professional sporting careers can have varying impacts on the lives of Native American and Canadian athletes and their communities. In the following few paragraphs I will outline the history of Native Americans and Canadians in sports. I will examine how successful Native athletes are able to help their communities, both financially and by serving as role models for younger Natives. Also, I will argue that their still exist barriers and challenges to Native athletes that do not confront other athletes. For example, Native athletes are often placed under increased scrutiny because of their positions as role models. I will conclude by commenting on how Native athletes fit into pro sports today, and speculate on what can be done to increase the amount of success enjoyed by Natives.
Throughout history, women have had to struggle for equality in all elements of our society, but no where have they had a more difficult time than in the area of athletics. Sports is a right of passage that has always been grafted to boys and men. The time has come for our society to accept women athletes and give them the attention they deserve.
...nged other soccer leagues in Europe as well the struggling NFL. The ASL’s stars would eventually lead the United States to a third-place finish in the very first soccer World Cup in 1930. Soccer almost became a major sport in the USA. But, just before the 1930 World Cup, disaster struck. The ASL clashed with the USFA (United States Football Association) because the ASL wanted to use rules that were never used before in soccer. The ASL was eventually brought to an end in 1933. Although this was a big tragedy for American soccer, it has started to show signs of life again. Soccer has started to gain popularity again, with top players from around the world playing in America’s MLS (Major League Soccer), and many fans cheering on MLS teams and the USA national soccer team. If this continues, then, maybe one day, American soccer will return to its illustrious golden age.
Canadian that grew up cheering for the Canadiens, did not help either. As Patrick said in
The fight for women's ice hockey players to earn respect and acceptance has been hard fought over the past one hundred years. Women have constantly been told that they can not play with men and that there sport is a second rate version of the men's game. The road of women's ice hockey has had many ups and downs but has perservered to the present day and is stronger than it has ever been. The future of women's ice hockey is bright thanks to diligence and hard work of those who kept it all going. Ironically women began playing the sport side by side with men over 100 years ago right at the sports inception. One of the oldest action pictures featuring ice hockey shows men playing with women. Part of the reason that women enjoyed early participation with men is because of the way that the public viewed the game. At the start, hockey was seen as a recreational activity. Women have been routinely barred from participating in serious and competitive sport, but if the game is viewed as merely recreational then women are more accepted. In the 1890's this is what happened to the sport of ice hockey. Suddenly the game was more than recreation and organization entered, rules were drawn and leagues were formed. With the new structure came segregation of the sexes. As the sport progressed for the men, the women were left behind. In spite of all this, the first all female organized game was played in Barrie, Ontario in 1892. Women's ice hockey slowly limped on up until the 1920's.
Throughout history it is clear that not only women, but both genders have faced seemingly insurmountable barriers when attempting to break into a sport that is not "proper" or stereotypical for their gender to participate in. Though as a society we are making strides towards equality in sport, such as the advent of Title IX, it is clear that we still have a long way to go. Though breakthrough policies such as this are moving in the right direction, other evidence points towards the fact that as a society, we are still more comfortable with women in traditionally female sports such as field hockey as opposed to boxing, and men in traditionally male sports such as body building as opposed to synchronized swimming, since these activities fit with our preconceived notions of what is "normal" for a specific gender. Supporting this idea is the fact that though we seem to be moving towards equality in sport with many coeducational universities and colleges having sport opportunities for both sexes, funding is still extremely unequal, as states by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2001:
Back in the history of soccer, women participated in the "mob" games which were often played by a large number of people around neighboring villages. "When I started refereeing, girls teams were only 25% of the sport while now approximately half the players