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Canadians ready to take
off, eh! Come this weekend, Team USA will be once again asserting its presence on foreign soil. The defending World Cup champs travel north to Quebec, Canada where they will have to swim through a virtual pool Canadian piranhas, all of which are looking to take chomp out of Team USA - flag football's premiere team. It's the Canadian Challenge in Saint-Jean-Sur Richieu, July 14-15. And awaiting the U.S. squad at the site is the 7-Man Screen "A" Division. It's a bracket that contains an assortment of hungry teams from the host country and Team USA captain/International Flag Football President, Jim Zimolka is wary. "Canada has some impressive talent," Zimolka stated. "If there is one country that can beat us at our game it will be Canada." Add motivation to that talent and you get the feeling that Zimolka's concerns are not unfounded. "There are a lot of teams (in the tournament) who would like a shot at the U.S.," said Glen Cooper, two-way starter and captain of Montreal's Monster Gym - one of the favorites in the Challenge. Who could blame the northerners for wanting a piece of the U.S. squad? Twice in international play the Canadians have bowed to Team USA in dramatic fashion. Last year's Canadian Challenge final went to double overtime where the U.S. prevailed 12-6, and in this year's World Cup in Florida, Team USA won the championship game 10-9 only after a failed point after attempt stymied the Canucks. "We weren't even aware that we could run the ball," explained Cooper of the World Cup loss. "We had been playing in the 4-on-4 bracket where you could only pass inside the 5-yard line. After the game the officials asked us: 'Why didn't you guys run the ball in from the one?'" Despite Canada's desire to dethrone the Americans, Zimolka says this is a mostly friendly rivalry. "I have a great relationship with the Canadians," he said. "I took three (Canadian players) to Russia with me last September." Wonderful, but will this U.S. diplomacy erase the frustration of two World Cup defeats (the U.S. beat Canada 22-0 in 2000) and last year's Challenge? Will it erase the frustration of eight straight years of Stanley Cup drought in hockey's homeland? Of year after year seeing another U.S.-based city march the Holy Grail of hockey down Main Street, USA? Not hardly. Like the little brother that is always one-upped by his older sibling, Canadian flag footballers are looking for a fault. They are looking for that chance to be on top for once. The Canadians thirst at the opportunity to quell the ulcer that rips them apart from the inside out. "Losing to the U.S. eats at them," says Zimolka. When asked if the Challenge would be a gauge in determining Canada's ability to compete internationally, Cooper answered: "We're definitely using this tournament a lot from the Canadian side," For Cooper and his fellow countrymen the cures to their ills are simple: eliminate the visiting U.S. squad to set up an all-Canada final on Sunday. That would be the perfect scenario for the hosts and it would go a long way in erasing any doubts about their abilities in the sport. It would also serve as a shot heard 'round the World that the mighty U.S. does indeed have a |