Keep Sincy Canadian
Keep Sincy Canadian
Christine Sinclair's retirement tour can't be a goodbye tour
When I think of Christine Sinclair, the memory that I go to didn’t happen on the pitch. Or, for that matter, in a public setting.
No, what I remember is her standing in the lobby of the Toronto FC training facility sometime in 2013. She was there with the national team training ahead of a friendly against the United States.
What stands out most about that moment is the reaction of the TFC u12 boys when they saw her walk through the building, on the way to the team bus. They were starstruck. Their reaction was the same as it might have been if any global football star had walked into that room. They swarmed her, wanting autographs, a moment with her.
Sinclair, always a bit shy back then when in public, was perfect and engaging. She would spend 10 minutes giving the young boys the attention they craved and she did so in a way that they likely still remember fondly a decade later.
I remember that moment because it allowed me a peak behind the curtain. She was always a little more guarded around media, but standing with those kids, she was in her element. She was a perfect ambassador for the sport.
For sport, in general, really. It was early days then, but Sinclair has transcended soccer since. She is on a very short list of the greatest Canadian athletes of all time. I’m sure many of you reading this will put her on the top of that list.
When she plays her final game in B.C. later this year, I might attempt to place her on a list like that. Today, however, I just want to be sad. And, to lament that she might not be a part of the Canadian set-up ever again, once she plays her goodbye matches.
I think I share the feeling of most that it was probably the right time to move on as a player. We saw at the World Cup that she’s no longer able to provide Canada with the clinical finishing that allowed her to score more goals than anyone in history. She might have still been able to do a job off the bench in Paris, but even that is debatable.
Canada needs more energy up front, more decisive movement off the ball. The attack is stagnant right now and that was particularly the case when Sinclair was starting. I suspect that Sinclair knew that she would have a spot on the Olympic roster if she wanted to stay on and is partly stepping aside now because she wants to open up a spot for the next generation.
One final service to the program, really. So, my sadness doesn’t have anything to do with the sport side of the equation, but rather that her presence will not be around the program any longer. She still means something to a lot of people and it is a shame to see her walk away from Canadian soccer.
I fear that’s exactly what is going to happen. The fight with the CSA makes a continued role seem unlikely, at least in the immediate future. Combine that with the fact that her home and life is in Portland and there’s a very good chance that we are about to lose Sinclair to America — her next involvement in the sport will be to the benefit of down there, not up here.
This is not set in stone, of course. Hopefully, there is movement already to keep Sinclair involved. Maybe she could be the front person for a B.C. Project 8 team? In time, maybe even a coach on the national team.
Whatever it is, we need to be working to keep Sinclair involved. She matters too much to too many people to let her just slip away.