AS a North American sports columnist, I have written much about the latter, the American, and have woefully neglected the neighbours to the north, also known as Canada (not pronounced Ca-na-da-da).
There is a good reason: I don't know much about them. Then again, I don't know much about history, don't know much biology . . . sorry, I'm starting to sound like those two hippie, cartoon Dead-heads of the Musical Mindblowers in the back of the Sunday Morning Post Magazine.
But I am not alone in my ignorance. There is an informal club or organisation which specialises in ignoring, mistreating and misunderstanding Canadians, which calls itself, for a lack of a better phrase, the US of A.
Let's flashback to the 1992 World Series in Atlanta. After losing the opening game of the series, the Toronto Blue Jays stood on the field, facing the Braves just before the start of Game Two. Both teams - and a television audience around the world - listened to the Canadian national anthem and watched Canada's flag waving on the pole - upside down. Their prime minister was so outraged he passed a law, whereby all Canadians had to wear a small maple-leaf flag (preferably a pin or iron-on) when they travel outside their borders.
And the Blue Jays were so mad they won that game and went on to win the series. They didn't cool down until they won the World Series again the next year.
But we learned our lesson. This year, the Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian Football League put the maple leaf right-side up at the opening game of the season. But no. No one gives the Posse credit for getting the flag right. All the narrow-minded Canadians and the media remember is the beginning of the national anthem when professional singer Dennis Parks turned 'O Canada' into 'Uh oh Canada'.
The world of professional golf tried to make things up to the Canadians during the women's Solheim Cup team competition last month. At the flag-raising ceremony for the event - the women's version of Ryder Cup - a flag for the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was raised, right-side up.
