No doubt few will be surprised by the final score, 41-3 for Team USA over Canada, at the International Federation of American Football junior world championship in Canton, Ohio.When the tournament has your country's name in it, you should be head and shoulders above the competition. A tip of the cap is due Canada for representing well under Laval coach Glen Constantin.
The U.S., which outgained our guys 480-41, got three touchdown passes from QB Bryce Petty, who's headed to Baylor in the Big 12. David Wilson, a Virginia Tech running back, gained a game-high 87 yards and scored a touchdown. Lirim Hajrullahu's 38-yard field goal was the only points the Yanks allowed in the tournament.
The Americans are pretty proud of leaving "the rest of the world at least a generation behind" in football." Of course, there was no mention that Team Canada's players had to fork out $1,000 to play on the team, or that only seven players from the country's most populous province tried out. This blurb from the Akron Beacon-Journal has to be shared:
"The score was their statement.It is, no question, but what was with saying, Let the rest of the world play rugby? Can you imagine a Canadian journalist, even with the TSN-fueled over-the-top chauvinism that you see during the world junior hockey championship, suggesting hockey's too good for other countries?
" 'This,' Petty said, 'is our sport.' "
"Let the rest of the world play rugby."
Anyway, note for Ottawa users: The Cumberland Panthers' Ron Omara had a sack in the championship game.
Japan won the bronze by beating Mexico 42-27. Yuichiro Araki threw for 354 yards and five touchdowns after throwing for 285 and 4 TDs vs. Canada last Wednesday. It's tempting to suggest tongue-in-cheek that some CIS school recruit him, language barrier be damned.
(Image of Laurier wideout Alex Anthony via Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, a fabulous Syracuse Orange blog.)
Wow, talk about manufactured outrage and insecurity. The US players and coaches were quoted over and over about their view of the rankings. Almost makes one think that, in order to get the event some attention, the US couldn't simply win the title; they had to beat the evil bureaucracy that was trying to keep them down.
ReplyDelete[naivete]Surely it wasn't done deliberately....was it? [/naivete]
I smell a straight-to-DVD-inspirational-movie!
Well, it's nice to see the Americans being so gracious in victory.
ReplyDelete"Let the rest of the world play rugby" indeed.
Never mind the fact that the overwhelming majority of the rest of the world doesn't give a flying flip over American gridiron football anyway.
Kind of reminds me of the American's celebration for winning men's basketball gold at the Beijing Olympics... in a sport they should win going away in EVERY Olympic tournament.
Well said. It was sort of reminiscent of a Thanksgiving episode of How I Met Your Mother.
ReplyDeleteRobin: "Wait, so you're not going home for Thanksgiving?"
Ted: "No, I have to work on Friday. You?"
Robin: "I'm Canadian, remember. We celebrate Thanksgiving in October."
Ted: "Oh, right, I forgot, you guys are weird. You pronounce the word 'out' 'oot.' "
Robin: "You guys are the world's leader in handgun violence, your health care system is bankrupt and your country is deeply divided on almost every important issue."
Ted: "Your cops are called Mounties."
Speaking of the world junior hockey championship and insecurity, kind of reminds me of all the chest-beating and misty-eyed patriotism that accompanies the tournament when Canada wins this third-rate event...
ReplyDeleteNote: the rest of the HOCKEY PLAYING WORLD doesn't give a flying flip over this tournament, despite an excellent job by TSN every holiday season to convince us otherwise.
Funny, I don't recall anyone here talking the WJC and our national insecurity.
ReplyDeleteWhat is considered third rate or world class certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
Soccer's World Cup is considered around the world as second only to the Olympics in scope and importance.
But in America, most people wouldn't give it a second look, especially the NASCAR types.
Let's be honest...this event rates barely a mention outside of Canton or Akron or wherever those games were played.
Despite what you think the WJCi s a far more important tournament than this, if for no other reason that it showcases the best amateur talent that year.