Politics continues by other means as Toronto Blue Jays face LA Dodgers

"Over the last year, Canada has been locked in a diplomatic and economic standoff with its longtime ally, biggest trading partner and, increasingly, its largest foe. On Friday, the country's lone major league baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, will face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a confrontation Canadians see as both an assertion of its growing dominance in baseball and a statement of national pride."

"At the height of Trump's provocations, Canada defeated the US at the Four Nations ice hockey tournament, when fans booed each other's national anthem in a departure in decorum that underscored the rawness of the mood. After Canada emerged victorious in an overtime win, former prime minister Justin Trudeau captured the nation's mood in a social media post: You can't take our country and you can't take our game."

"Friday's match, played in Toronto, comes after the Blue Jays dispatched the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners to reach the World Series. It also marks the first high-stakes professional sports final for the two countries since last year's hockey matchup. Bilateral tensions have eased in recent months as the prime minister, Mark Carney, seeks to strike a trade deal with his unpredictable counterpart, but many ordinary Canadians are still maintaining their boycotts of the US and US products."

Clausewitz's idea that war is politics by other means frames a new view of sports as an arena for national rivalry. Canada faces a highly symbolic baseball final as the Toronto Blue Jays play the Los Angeles Dodgers, which many Canadians view as an assertion of sporting and national standing. Rising tensions followed provocative remarks by Donald Trump, fueling boycotts and intense public reactions at international hockey tournaments. A landmark hockey victory and a Trudeau comment crystallized public sentiment. Official relations have softened with trade talks led by Mark Carney, but grassroots grievances and symbolic contests persist.

Read at www.theguardian.com