AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Being an underdog in sports is the perfect metaphor for America’s trade war with Canada

As America’s tariff war shows no signs of letting up, I think sport can offer an uplifting allegory to the struggle we as a nation are facing as the most economically and militarily powerful country on earth actively seeks to harm us and take away our independence.

Everyone who has ever participated in sports can relate to being a massive underdog playing against a heavily-favoured team.

It’s not an enviable position to be in sports and it most certainly is not a great situation in the real world of geopolitics.

And yet, it’s this context of the huge imbalance in strength between Canada and the U.S. where sport can provide a fitting metaphor.

In sport, there are games where one team is a massive favourite while the other team is a gigantic underdog. On paper the game shouldn’t even be close. The underdog – it is assumed – doesn’t have a chance of winning.

America is a superpower, Canada is not. Their economy is 13 times bigger than ours. This game, this fight, shouldn’t even be close.

But as every sports fan knows, underdogs can coalesce, play the game of their lives and surprise the heavy favourites. That’s how Team USA beat the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics and how Team Canada defeated Team USA at the 1999 Pan Am Games in baseball.

Underdogs in sport know how tough the challenge is when they face a heavily-favoured team, and when it comes to this tariff war, Canadians need to brace ourselves for the fight ahead. It will be very hard and we all have to support each other, just like teammates have to pull for each other when facing a vastly superior team.

In sports, when a heavy underdog gets beaten despite their valiant and courageous efforts, the teammates take great solace knowing they did their very best, played their hearts out, they take great pride in the effort they put forward, and can live with the outcome, because they know they gave it their all.

That same underdog mentality applies to Canadians in criminal Trump’s tariff war.

Canadians know we’re in the game of our lives. We understand that there will be immense pain and suffering in this fight. We accept that for us to have any chance, we need to be unified and steadfast. We acknowledge that we have to give everything we’ve got to even have a hope. We realize we may not win, but as teammates we will do our level best to do everything in our power to try and win. If we lose, we’ll go down swinging. We realize there is profound nobility in rising to the moment that we now face, where our southern friend and neighbour inexplicably considers us an enemy.

There are no delusions that this will be an easy game. In sport, the underdog always has an element of fear when taking on the heavy favourite. There will be severe economic pain that Canadians will have to endure. Given that official U.S. foreign policy is to take full control of our natural resources, Canadians understand we are in an existential battle against a Trump regime that enjoys harming us and wants to make us their 51st state.

To stick with the sporting analogy, Canadians know we are massive underdogs in America’s attack on our sovereignty. We also know that a deranged and increasingly unhinged Trump called our ‘coach’ – Prime Minister Carney – “governor” and continues to mock us.

By insulting us and our ‘coach,’ Trump has motivated and united all of Canada to play the best game we’ve ever played.

Trump and his sycophants continue to ridicule our true north strong and free.

But they don’t know our unconquerable Canadian spirit; our unwavering national resolve.

Just like an underdog team in sport can summon unforeseen courage and determination to play the game of their lives, Canadians are united in the trade battle against the U.S. We will summon the bravery and effort that is required to fight the good fight.

Canadians know that underdogs can pull off miracles, in sport and in life. Heavy favourites can be beaten.

We are ready.

Buy Canada. Bye America.