Interview With The Victorian Part 2
WM: Like those rumours about you being Leelee Sobieski's new love interest?
DC: *laughs* That's the biggest crock I've ever heard! If there's one thing and one thing only that I hate about this country, it's their feckin tabloid parasites. If they don't have anything legit on you, they'll make something up, like that. Now don't get me wrong, I think Leelee is gorgeous. But she's way the feck out of my league! And when I last checked, her boyfriend's name is Frank Flowers, not DC76! *laughs*
WM: So I take it you hate the press.
DC: Only the paparazzi. There's a difference between legit press and shock talk. I like legitimate press. Actually, one of my favourite things to read is the daily newspaper.
WM: Perfect for our next question, which asks about your favourite reading material.
DC: I'm such a language geek that I'll go to the library and sign out umpteen books on varying languages and just sit and read those. I also like to sit and read my Bible. Fiction-wise, I like Christian fiction and sci-fi.
WM: Although I didn't have the question in this list, you'd be surprised how many women asked if you were single. A couple even asked what you look for in a woman!
DC: Oh, they asked? Yes, I am very surprised. I'm very single, yes. As for what I look for in a woman, that's for me to know and them to find out.
WM: You're such a party-pooper. *chuckles*
DC: *chuckles* I know. Seriously, I had such an ugly-duckling complex when I was in grade school, from being told I was ugly or treated like I was an inferior product. Guess they were wrong, huh?
WM: Cause you said wrong?
DC: *laughs* Oh that was brilliant. Nice Chevelle reference there. But yeah, I said wrong and they're all a bunch of comfortable liars. *sticks tongue out*
WM: Let's change the subject, shall we?
DC: Please, go ahead.
WM: One fan had this to ask - "which of your teammates do you get along with the best?"
DC: I don't think there's any one in particular. We're more like a brotherhood than a loosely-assembled team, and in some matches, it's like we're telepathic.
WM: Another asks - "which team would you thrill the most in beating?"
DC: In Conference, you would probably figure our local rivals Dags 'n' Reds [Dagenham & Redbridge FC], and we do have a rivalry with them, but it's tame compared to the one we have with a certain bunch from the Premiership.
WM: Ars*nal, right?
DC: I'd seriously like to line up and plow Thierry Henry with a clean challenge then turn around and tell him to shut up and play football when he inevitably fakes an injury.
WM: You realise he'll be all over that in the press, right?
DC: I don't bleedin' care what he does with the press. Truth hurts, and the more he moans about it, the more immature he proves himself to be. There are several players in the Premiership I'd love to call out on the issue of diving. Lemme tell ya, if Dan caught any of us diving, he'd tear through us like a freshly-sharpened katana through tissue paper! And rightly so, diving is ruining football, and if someone actually did something about it, it would set a good example for the kids. And I do care about the kids. Coz the grassroots level of football always starts with them.
WM: So you have a very puritanical approach to football.
DC: Absolutely. I was taught, these are the rules, so I'm going to follow them as closely as I can. If I gaffe something, I admit to it. I don't argue cards I deserve. So the refs should take notice. If I argue a call, then something's out of whack. I actually got my own certification before I came over this side of the Atlantic, so if my football career went bust, I could at least be a zebra!
WM: I can tell you'd make a good one if it ever came to that. So how 'bout the next question?
DC: I'm all ears.
WM: What are your favourite movies or TV shows?
DC: I'm actually not too big a TV guy anymore. I do watch a lot of sports, though. Football, ice hockey, tennis, Olympic sports, sometimes even a little box lacrosse!
As movies go, you know already that I'm a massive fan of Leelee Sobieski, so everything with her involved that's available on DVD has found my shelf since I started getting paid to play footy. I'm also a sci-fi nerd. I love my Star Wars. I really like the Stargate series as well, both big screen and small. Star Trek has kinda worn thin on me. You could tell they were running out of ideas.
WM: What would you say if I told you Leelee was also a fan of yours?
DC: I'd ask for proof. *chuckles* If it were true, I'd be rather flattered.
WM: One fan asks if you've ever had a fan do something nice for you.
DC: All the time, they show up to matches, don't they? Seriously though, I appreciate the SNFC fans whether they like me in particular or not. I do remember, that the aforementioned Rhys Fulber had a gig in the area and he gave me a free ticket. So I got to hear some of his new Conjure One stuff!
WM: Here's another area you'd be surprised in - your team's celebrity fans. Tottenham Hotspur obviously have shown you a great deal of respect, but you've now got guys like Steve Nash, Fulber and Leeb, Prodigy's Maxim Reality and Liam Howlett, some guys named the Courtnalls, and even... get ready for this one... Frank Flowers, claiming to be SNFC fans.
DC: If you play it, they will come. And by "it," I mean good football.
WM: You've had your fill of that this season.
DC: This season has been nothing short of a dream come true for me. We have a talented bunch of guys, who are hungry for success and will go all out for a win.
WM: One fan notes this - you've been pointed out as a role model for people with Asperger Syndrome because of what you've done as a person and as a footballer.
DC: If you're in the public eye, even on a smaller scale, you're a role model, whether you like it or not. The big question is, are you a positive or a negative one. I try to be a positive one. I think all the guys do. And really, that's all you can do, is try to be a positive role model. It's not something for lazy people, though. Which is why certain "celebs" we hear about ad nauseum on our side of the pond fail miserably. They're lazy.
WM: You've certainly lived up to your rep as being outspoken! Some rival team fans call you "The Loudmouth."
DC: Hey, I never open "The Loudmouth" unless someone cheats or whines without cause. I don't make fun of or remarks about opposition players' families. I don't whine "OMIGOD WAAAH HE HURT ME!!" or roll around on the ground like I've been hit by a lorry doing twice the limit. There are plenty of players on their teams who do do that, and a few that are disgustingly regular about it. So I say to these "fans," make sure your own players' behaviour is up to snuff before criticising me.
The SNFC guys know I don't like gamesmanship, but more importantly, they know the staff doesn't like it, they know Dan doesn't like it, and most importantly, they know the fans don't like it. So they avoid it like the plague.
WM: I see. Next question. "Is getting Canada to the World Cup on your priorities list?"
DC: It's on every Canadian footballer's priority list. Even the internationally- retired ones like Peschi [Paul Peschisolido] and T-Rad [Tomasz Radzinski] want to see the Maple Leaf flying at a Cup. If we get to South Africa 2010, I don't think I could express how thrilled I'd be, even if I were left off the team. Like I said, I'm a patriot. So I obviously want to be a part of a push to be there. We have a new manager and new opportunities abroad - lotsa Canucks playing in England and Germany, plus one certain Canadian-obsessed Hungarian side!
WM: You mentioned them earlier, didn't you?
DC: Yup, Termal FC Lombard-Papa.
WM: Last question for now, I'll save some others for a chat session you've promised to do in the Christmas break. "Do you think you have what it takes to be the best Canadian defender ever?"
DC: Yikes. Loaded question, that. To be honest, it's hard to say who the best all-time Canuck back is. Could I become the best? That's up to you fans to decide. Dimitar Berbatov may be the best Bulgarian striker of all-time, and he may even think he is, but he doesn't come out and say it or brag about how awesome he is. So I think I'll follow his example. I might say something like "YEAH! I WAS A FECKIN BEAST!" after a match, but that's just one match. It's not my entire career. Maybe once I've retired fifteen to twenty years from now, someone can look back and make the call. The number of good Canadian defenders is on the ups, though. You look at veterans like DeVos, McKenna, Stalteri and Klukowski and lesser-experienced guys like Edgar, Hainault, Bourgault, Lacoste Lebuis, Gala, Ramalho, and Peetoom, among others, I think there's a bright future in store, as long as there are foreign teams to invest in Canadians, like the Lombard-Papas, Tottenham Hotspurs, Kaiserslauterns, 1860s, and Groningens of this world. So do I think I have what it takes to be the best? Absolutely. But will I be the best? That depends on me and on the other guys I mentioned. Am I the best now? HELLLLLLLLLLL NO. Not even close.
WM: This was thoroughly enjoyable talking to you, and all the best in the season to come.
DC: Thanks. See you around Christmastime for the web chat.
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