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Originally Posted by St. Pats
Really? Pretty obvious you don't have kids in sports. Rugby yes is an obvious one as there are zero opportunities here. You can't even play it at university level as it's not a varsity sport on the men's side. Volleyball has professional opportunities in Europe for men and women. Ditto Basketball with either the States or Europe providing the vast majority of chances to play. Almost entirely if we are speaking about the women's game. Pro track opportunities again are in Europe etc. as are badminton, soccer. Heck even snowboarding it's head south of the border to try and get on the Dew Tour or to Europe. Speed skaters are huge stars in Europe/Asia and virtually unknowns here. It goes on and on and on. Making a living at playing sports in Canada? Not likely. Heck even in hockey it's not likely. More likely than not playing in the States or in Europe. Baseball it's south of the border yet again. Golf--yep south/Asia/Europe.
I mean I'm hard pressed to think of any sports that Canadians actually support or where there are opportunities to play professionally. What sports are there in Canada where women can make a living playing professionally? I suppose a handful of curlers? That's half the population done for.
Men. Well if you don't mind holding down another job as well there is the CFL. If they are actually a top football player then it's south of the border they go. Curling again.
Unfortunately this is my world we are talking about. Myself and the myriads of other parents with kids who are wanting to play sports at a high level and aspire to do it professionally. What are we doing? Spending oodles of cash on sending them to the US or Europe or down to Australia etc. so they can have a shot at their dream. Trying to get them scholarships to US college's, trying to get them into academies across the world. Sending them off on trips to play their sport in countries where it's a big deal as compared to the obscure thing it is here(that covers so many sports it's not funny) Trying to give them opportunity and being almost totally unable to keep them here in Canada.
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Newsflash, it's not likely anywhere. And color me stunned that there are more opportunities in the worlds largest nations. Absolutely stunning that a nation of 30 million doesn't have the same professional sports landscape as a nation of 300 million.
And I'm sorry, if you play an obscure sport you're going to have to deal with going places to play it. I have a ton of friends who play hockey in Australia, and guess what, they have to deal with hauling their gear to remote rinks that don't have glass and barely have slush let alone ice, buying up a years supply of sock tape when they head over to Canada on vacation and generally spending a lot of money for less. But guess what? That's how it works when you play a sport that the majority of your country doesn't care about. This attitude that Canada should be accommodating every sport is ridiculous. Do you think people in Thailand bitch about not being able to find a good bobsled track?
What's your solution? Start a Canadian women's basketball league? I mean the WNBA is doing so well, I'm sure Canada could support a league of its own. We should definitely have professional badminton, the masses are just begging for that.