When Lionel Messi visits Vancouver, the world will stop for Argentines

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It’s Canada Day, 2000. Wayne Gretzky has returned to the Edmonton Oilers, and they’re set to take on the Vancouver Canucks in a long weekend matchup. He’s got all his buddies with him — Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier and Esa Tikkanen — and they’re barnstorming through the NHL for one final hurrah.

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But it’s such a massive deal, the Canada Day celebrations are postponed, pushed 24 hours later, so everyone in Vancouver can enjoy the brilliance of hockey’s greatest player — The Great One — one final time.

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Of course, that never happened. And never would happen. As great as the Great One was, he was never bigger than a national holiday.

Well, May 25 is a national holiday in Argentina, their version of Canada Day, commemorating what’s considered the birth of the modern nation in 1810. It’s an immutable date, always the 25th of May, no matter what day of the week it falls on. It’s a time of BBQs and family parties, and for the expat community in the Lower Mainland, a big communal picnic.

Not this Saturday. May 26 will be their Primer Gobierno Patriótico, pushed 24 hours later.

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That immutable date has met an irresistible force: Lionel Messi.

Messi and Inter Miami will travel to B.C. Place Saturday to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in a regular-season Major League Soccer game. It’s expected to be the biggest crowd in the Caps’ MLS history, a max-capacity affair with tickets going for thousands of dollars.

Messi and his buddies from Barcelona are barnstorming through MLS, his career in its final chapter, just enjoying the ride. He’s a global soccer icon, but to Argentines, he’s beyond that.

“You don’t get the chance to listen to Mozart live. Or to see Michael Jordan play. This is genius, live. It’s a one-time opportunity,” said Argentine expat Mariana Martinez. “This is history happening in Vancouver, really.”

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“Our soccer stars and those that make the national team — which is the aspiration of virtually every single boy that plays football (in Argentina) — are perceived as national heroes,” said Maple Ridge’s Ricardo Churchill-Browne, who came to Canada from Buenos Aires as a teen.

“To be able to get to that level is a great achievement in itself. But we have some people (in our own and other countries) that over time have surpassed even our own expectations … and the rest of the world. We see that with people like Pele, for Brazil. You see that with Cristiano Ronaldo (for Portugal). You see that with Argentina and Maradona. Those are those are names that kind of carry more than just their own.

“(With Messi), it’s all the wonder, all the desire, all the passion, all the emotion of 40 million people wrapped up in a single individual. So when he runs, we all feel that it’s us running. It’s us getting to be able to experience that. We lived that with Maradona in the (’86) World Cup. We did that with (Messi) this World Cup where he finally managed to get the Cup. So to see him over here, it’s a chance to experience that emotion. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

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The Messi effect was immediate and seismic the moment the ink on his contract with Miami and MLS was dry. His 2.5-year deal, signed last July, launched a series of stadium sellouts and surge in subscriptions to Apple TV’s MLS season pass. Inter Miami’s Instagram page jumped by seven million followers in two weeks; Spanish language viewership of Messi’s games rocketed past 50 per cent in less than two months. Merchandise has flown off the shelves, and it’s not surprising even locally to see young soccer players in full-blown pink and black Messi Miami kit.

Before the start of the season, Fortune reported that season ticket sales were up 15 per cent from the same time a year before, season ticket revenue was up 25 per cent, and 83 per cent of teams were before their 2023 numbers.

“What he’s doing for football here in Canada and MLS … I mean, clubs have seen record turnout, record sales, record participation in season passes, even when he hasn’t even shown up,” said Churchill-Browne. “People are buying season passes (for just for one game). Nobody’s had that impact.”

Everywhere he goes, it’s massive crowds — in the stadium, outside the hotel, and along streets heading to the game — as soccer fans crane to get a glimpse of for the 5-foot-7 giant.

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Vancouver won’t be any different, with a sellout all but assured. The biggest crowd for a sporting event in the renovated B.C. Place — its capacity is smaller since the Whitecaps drew 60,342 for their inaugural game there in June 1983 — was the 54,798 who showed for Canada’s World Cup qualifier against Mexico in 2016. More than 55K are expected Saturday.

“For Argentine people, soccer is like religion for us. We are crazy. This is something that’s in our blood,” said Gustavo Zadunaisky, who is also flying to Atlanta to see Argentina take on Canada in the Copa America tournament later this summer.

“The passion the Argentines have for football … it’s something that I don’t think that even the European countries, Brazil, have. And I’m not saying this because I’m Argentine. It’s something else.

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“We are very very passionate about the game and then having Messi here is a very big deal for us. It’s something you never expect to happen. Having Messi here … it doesn’t sound real. It’s like a dream. Many years ago, would you expect Messi in Vancouver, playing here in the MLS and against the Whitecaps?

“Not only for the Argentine, but also for the Canadians … you don’t expect this to happen. It’s something very special, and that’s why (the stadium) is full. There are not many Argentines in Vancouver; not even 2,000. But there’s going to be 60,000 in the stadium. It’s going to be packed.”

Zadunaisky, Martinez and Churchill-Browne were all born in Buenos Aires and came to Canada when they were younger, and have become entrenched in the local soccer community. Shortly after he arrived, Ricardo even had a friend who played for the Vancouver 86ers invite him to Swangard for a tryout with the Whitecaps, only to be curtly rebuffed by then-coach Bobby Lenarduzzi: ‘Come back when you’re playing for a pro team.’ He took the snub in stride, even opening a soccer academy for a spell — Canadian advanced Soccer Academy (CASA) — after getting his CSA coaching certification.

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All have children now, whom they’ve passed on their blue and white heritage to, and all purchased tickets for Saturday’s game the second it appeared on the schedule. Maria and her family of five are close to the ground by the players’ tunnel, with more friends close behind, Ricardo close by in section 248 and Gustavo watching from on high in the upper bowl.

“Oh my god. Please say it twice. I want to believe it. We are not sleeping (this week),” she said, laughing. “I’m really look forward to this. This is therapy to me. I’m a therapist, and this is my therapy.”

Churchill-Browne watched Maradona play live as a youth growing up in Argentina. He’s also seen Messi play live before, as he — like Gustavo a host of other compatriots — drove to Seattle to see Argentina play in the 2016 Copa America in Seattle. He likens the experience to an absence of other sensations; the world melts away.

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“Everything else will get quiet. When he plays, it’s almost like … all the noise just disappears,” he said. “To have him come out here and play … it’s a chance to experience all the years of Argentine soccer that we’ve missed while being here. As long as he’s on (the field), every step is going to account for all the days that we miss all the matches we’ve missed.

“I have a pride in seeing him get to the level that he has, just because we’ve got the same colour blood — which is blue and white. To watch him … and for people here to be able to see him and witness it, I think it’s going to change people’s perception of the sport. It’s going to change people’s minds.”

jadams@postmedia.com

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