Canadian soccer fans have long been told they have a long way to go in building a vibrant stadium culture. But columnist Patrick Johnston argues the solution is simple: pick a song everyone knows and sing it together.
Learning from Global Soccer Traditions
Videos of English fans singing Oasis, Australians belting Men at Work, and Scots chanting the Proclaimers show the power of a shared anthem. These moments become iconic not just on social media but in collective memory. Johnston points out that these are true pop songs everyone in the crowd knows and loves.
Canada, he says, is not a nation that struggles for sing-alongs. Classics like "Home for a Rest," "Life Is a Highway," "Summer of '69," "If I Had a Million Dollars," and "Bobcaygeon" are Canadian staples. Even a single Tragically Hip song could unite the crowd.
Canadian Pop Hits as Stadium Anthems
Johnston suggests wedding floor-fillers like "Mony Mony" or "Running Down a Dream" as easy options. More modern hits such as "Ironic," "Complicated," "Call Me Maybe," "Blinding Lights," "Hotline Bling," or even "How You Remind Me" could work. He even floats the idea of a stadium belting out Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
While the Voyageurs have done great work translating global soccer chants into Canadian terms, those sounds remain unfamiliar to most Canadians. What's needed are true earworms — songs heard countless times on the radio, at the doctor's office, or in the grocery store. Even if fans don't know the name, they know the tune and can sing it over and over.
A Call to Action
Johnston pleads with the Voyageurs to add one simple item to their list: pick a song everyone knows and lead the way. "Canada needs a song, we just need some fans to lead the way. Pick one and let's go," he writes.
