multi kulti

OK, am I the only one who thinks all this flag waving, street racing, honking, yelling and hollering during the soccer World Cup is more than a little odd? Is this multiculturalism in action and should we all rejoice in its flamboyant and vociferous demonstration or is it some retrograde chauvinism that should have no place on the streets of Canada? Let me put it this way: I was born and raised in Czechoslovakia. I do some work for the Czech community in Toronto, I am proud of my roots and I love Czech literature. But that's about it. I feel way too Canadian to be running through the streets with a Czech flag when the Czech team wins a soccer game in Germany. I don't realy give a rat's arse about how the Czech team does. I am not interested in Czech politics of the day. When I go to Prague, I am a Canadian tourist who happens to speak good Czech. And why should it be any other way? I have been in Canada for 27 years. This is my home (if not my native land) When the Canadian hockey team plays the Czechs, I root for Canada. That's why it is so incredibly puzzling to me to see all these swarms of Brazilians rejoicing in a Brazilian victory or the hordes of Italians burning rubber through Toronto avenues when the Italian team scores or wins. Don't get me wrong - I am not a fuddy duddy who would deny anyone the pleasure of watching a game of soccer while playing hooky from work. But Canada is not playing in the World Cup, so what's the hoopla about? Not only that - a lot of the people I see celebrating foreign teams' victories are young folk who speak perfect Canadian English and who are apparently Toronto born and bred. Do they realy feel such fealty to Brazil, Portugal, Italy, Poland - what have you? And if they do, isn't there something slightly screwy with an educational system that doesn't inculcate strong Canadian values? Am I completely off base on this? Are there people on the streets of New York and Chicago who jump up and down and holler when "their" team wins? I don't know...but if this is what our multi-kulti stew is all about, I don't dig it.