Joy Drop: Let's get hyped for Canada's men's World Cup team

As we prepare for an incredible few weeks cheering Canada's soccer team at the men's World Cup in Qatar, and following all the happenings via Chris Jones, there were some exceptional moments this week — including a thrilling 2-1 win over Japan.

This moment in the history of the sport will immortalize the heroes and provide vision and stories for generations to come. 

While we celebrate a burgeoning soccer community in Canada, let's hear it for the Canadian women's futsal team who placed second at the world championships in Colombia. Futsal is a soccer-based game that is played indoors with five a side. It is unbelievably fast-paced and seeing the Canadian women's team place so high is phenomenal. 

Here at home, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Herb Carnegie posthumously for his immeasurable contributions to hockey. And to no one's surprise, his daughter, Bernice Carnegie, wowed the audience with a wonderful tribute and an unprecedented call to action that implored the hockey community to do justice to the sport her father loved.

I hope her words ring through every arena, and boardrooms and dressing rooms alike. 

The Carnegie Initiative honoured seven people with a Trailblazer Award for doing impactful work in hockey and seeing these faces brought me happiness. Some are friends and some I haven't had a chance to meet, but their work is creating change and creating a more inclusive hockey culture. 

The only thing that makes me more excited than soccer is food. Well, maybe it goes hand in hand. And right now, soup season has begun. I saw a beautiful recipe for minestrone soup on the Dairy Farmers of Canada page and was immediately hungry. Usually my go-to is butternut squash soup, but I am always open to new things that warm my stomach and my heart and that are not overly complicated for my brain. 

I could not mention my joy, my heart and my brain without mentioning the students that I teach. I teach sports journalism and I also instruct a sport media lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. My classes are full of incredible students who enjoy the demanding courses. They challenge the status quo but create with integrity and immense effort. I am so proud of them and I learn from them every week.

This week was our last in-person class because I am headed on an adventure in Qatar for the next few weeks. We will continue online learning until the courses are finished. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much excitement I have thinking about the future of Sport Media with them engaging this way. It has never been easy for educators, but I also believe that we should remain hopeful because the calibre of these young people is phenomenal. 

Joy Drop will be on pause for a few weeks while I am fully immersed in soccer, wandering in Doha, gathering stories and experiencing new things. Yes, you will definitely hear about it.  

I leave you with one of the Canadian men's team warm-up songs Last Last by Burna Boy. LET'S GET HYPED! #WeCAN