It was a great end of the beginning for the NSL, with more hard work ahead

On the Northern Super League’s Final day, I woke up before my alarm was set to go off. I couldn’t believe that after an incredible seven months of beginnings, it was time to wrap up the inaugural season.

My enthusiasm for the championship game between Vancouver Rise and AFC Toronto was not matching the grey skies outside, but no amount of threatening clouds would spoil my mood. A few days earlier I had attended the second leg of the semifinal between AFC Toronto and Montreal Roses played in the snow. I joked with some friends that the Rise would be fine because they’re from “Raincouver” and Toronto had just played in a snow globe. The NSL had teams that essentially  competed in all four Canadian seasons. 

There have been masterful performances on the pitch, exceptional media coverage (admittedly, I may be biased) and a lot of content creation from players and teams's communications departments. There has even been a documentary film titled The Pitch chronicling the creation of the NSL by former Canadian national team player Diana Matheson and her business partner, Thomas Gilbert.

The buzz around the league has been plentiful and necessary as the league, and each team, continue to build themselves up. Although, perhaps not given as much attention from women’s soccer media in the U.S. —aside from one ridiculous comment from American pundit McCall Zerboni who claimed that Halifax was an “island you can only get to by ferry.”

Despite this tomfoolery, one of the most heartening aspects of the first season has been to visit different NSL markets and meet with supporter groups from Halifax to Vancouver. At this week's media day ahead of the championship game, I arranged to speak with a few members of the Crow Collective,