“It’s Not Just Fabric on a Stick”
It wasn’t hard for Tristan Verboven to decide which country to support in the 2008 Euro Cup soccer championship.
“Both my parents are Dutch and I’m a Dutch citizen, too,” the Montrealer said last week while sipping juice in a Park Ave. café. “I guess the idea of nationalism is kind of stupid because you can’t decide which country (you are from), but people in this neighbourhood are really proud, and they put out a lot of flags, so I decided to be a part of it.”
That’s why Verboven, who lives in Mile End, decided to fly a Dutch flag from his fourth-floor balcony.
“When I was tying it to the balcony some guy walking past looked up and shouted: ‘You’re gonna lose!’ I guess there’s a little part of it where you just want to be the one that stands out from the crowd.”
In Montreal, every important athletic, political and cultural event seems to inspire a fit of flag-waving. When the Canadiens make the playoffs – as Montrealers experienced this spring – flags bearing the Habs logo flutter from apartment windows and cars. In June, a sudden explosion of the fleur-de-lys welcomes St. Jean Baptiste Day.
Also this month, Montrealers have embraced soccer fever. In neighbourhoods across the city, this year’s Euro Cup has inspired the enthusiastic flag-waving from fans of every competing nation. Some are more visible than others, by virtue of Montreal’s ethnic mix – French, Italian, Greek and Portuguese flags are particularly well-represented – but the tournament also gives fans of other countries a chance to show their colours.
Verboven said his show of support is sort of like joining a conversation. “My flag is almost like a protest: ‘There’s actually Dutch people here!’ I’m putting my voice out in the crowd.”
“Sports have always been a vehicle for people to express nationalism,” said Morton Weinfeld, director of Canadian ethnic studies at McGill University. “A flag is just one manifestation of this greater passion that people have. They treat it symbolically in many ways, but the real issue is not the flag, it’s the passions that simmer beneath the surface.
“In some places, soccer leads to violence,” Weinfeld added. “Here, people are a little more restrained – they put flags on their cars. It’s always preferable to have those passions expressed through sports instead of bombs and bullets.”
Bill Karidogiannis, who has transformed his family’s dry-cleaning business into a flag retailer, sees in flags something nearly sacred.
“You don’t mess with a person’s flag. I’ve had people come in saying they’re going to buy a flag so that they can burn it. I ask them to leave the store,” he said. “The flags change the whole vibe of the city. It brings the community together. When people are celebrating, everyone’s happy.”
Karidogiannis and his family got into the flag business less than four years ago, after Greece surprised many by taking home the 2004 Euro Cup. Seeing how much pent-up demand there was for flags, they began selling them from their two Park Ave. shops. Recently, they opened a third store in Laval.
“It’s been very educational. You learn about the flag etiquette, design, symbolism of different countries. People come in and buy a flag and explain it to you,” Karidogiannis said. “I didn’t care much about flags before, but now I know it’s not just fabric on a stick. There’s more to it. It brings out the passion, it symbolizes something.”
This article appeared in the Montreal Gazette on June 21, 2008
Tags: Celebrations, Mile End, Montreal, Park Avenue
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Cedric says:
My Hong Kong flag will be flying on July 1st!
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 pm