The Power of Sport

Originally published in Corriere Canadese newspaper on July 11, 2017. Translation by Joseph Ciraco Corso Italia St. Clair Ave W Toronto 1982 In 2017 we celebrate Canada’s 150 th birthday. There are many stories to tell, one of them being from the Italians.  Immigration isn’t something new to us. We Italians have been emigrating for hundreds of years and still continue to do so. Italian-Canadians have made an enormous contribution to Canada in its 150 year history. In 2017 the Italian community is respected and admired, but it wasn’t always this way. It took a soccer game and the party of the century to convince the broader Canadian population that we belonged.  For those unfamiliar, I’m talking about Italy’s 3-1 win over West Germany in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and the subsequent celebration on St. Clair Ave West, which at the time had the largest concentration of Italians in the city of Toronto. The celebration on the stretch of road between Dufferin St. and Caledonia was a

 It’s 2:39 pm on a Tuesday afternoon in mid-September. I text a good friend of mine while I’m scrambling out of my classroom if he found us some seats. He has, there were only two left at the bar. I gather up my belongings and head outside, only a five minute walk from the school pub. The Scudetto badge on my Juventus jersey shines in the sunlight as I make my way to the building. The pub is packed to brim and why wouldn’t it be? It’s match day 1 of the new Champions League Season. I greet my friend, he’s already ordered us a pitcher of beer and a plate of nachos. I made it just in time to see beginning of the match. It’s Juventus facing Sevilla. There they were, the players walking out of the tunnel. The stadium turns into a sea of black and white, the tifo begins to assemble. The clean cut grass, 22 of the best athletes on the planet, the child mascots smiling, standing side by side with their heroes, there’s not a better sight anywhere on planet earth. Then I hear it, the Champ