It's Time to Support Local Soccer
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It’s time to support local soccer by Jerrad Peters Sporting events are fun to watch. They’re even more fun to attend, and still more fun to actively participate in. Unfortunately, many sports fans feel a certain disconnect between themselves and the teams they follow—money has something to do with it—and this is especially true in Winnipeg, where the nearest hockey and baseball teams are a time-zone away, and the big European soccer clubs are on the other side of the ocean. Being a sports fan can be an isolated experience in this city, but it needn’t be. Sure, we don’t have the NFL or NHL or Major League baseball, but we do have the Bombers, the Moose and the Goldeyes. Local fans will never abandon their big-league allegiances, but that doesn’t mean they won’t go out and support their local teams. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. It’s the same with soccer. No, Winnipeg doesn’t have the Premier League or Serie A, or even Major League Soccer, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a significant base of soccer fans in the city. And while most of those fans will get up on Saturday and Sunday mornings to watch Manchester United or AC Milan, they now have another, local option—an elite-level side with proper infrastructure and a game-day experience will all the amenities. That said, WSA Winnipeg, will be playing two exhibition matches this weekend against Huskies Academy out of Saskatchewan. They’ll play Saturday at 5:00pm at Memorial Park (5 Fermor Avenue), and again on Sunday at 12:30pm at the Indoor Soccer Complex at the University of Manitoba (211 Chancellor Matheson Road). In WSA’s first friendly match, against FC Edmonton in March, more than 600 fans filled the Complex to welcome the new team—a sign that Winnipeggers are eager to get behind a local product. That momentum will only build as the club prepares for its USL Premier Development League home opener against Thunder Bay Chill on May 28. And after the first ball is kicked, soccer fans in Winnipeg will no longer have the excuse that there isn’t a top-level team to get out and support. The team will be there, as will the opportunity to create a real, atmospheric fan culture. It’s time for the Winnipeg soccer community to come together, unshackle itself from the old divisions and, in unison, get behind the local team. It’s time to start heading out on match days to enjoy a summer day outside with the family, or a pint of beer with buddies. It’s time, in other words, to ditch the old notion that Winnipeg doesn’t have a soccer product worth cheering for. That nonsense just doesn’t hold water anymore. So what can you do? Well, if you’re curious, you can come check out the exhibition matches this weekend. You can also look into WSA Winnipeg’s season ticket packages for all eight league home games by visiting the club website http://www.wsawinnipeg.com/. Tickets are very reasonably priced. Six league games will be played at the Waverley Soccer Complex (900 Waverley Street) and two league games will be held at the Indoor Soccer Complex at the University of Manitoba. But the most important thing is to embrace a shift in mentality. There IS elite soccer in this city, and it IS worth coming out and supporting. WSA Winnipeg .