Does it seem that Vancouver’s Brazilian community swells to improbable levels around World Cup time? Perhaps it’s just me, but I suspect that many of the yellow-shirted ‘South Americans’ I’ve seen strutting around over the past couple of weeks are of questionable legitimacy.

Personally, I have a strict protocol that I follow for the World Cup, something like a royal line of succession. It has to be stringent, lest one be accused of the kind of bandwagon-jumping that seems rampant in this poser-inundated city.

First, of course, I cheer for Canada. If, by chance, they fail to make the World Cup tournament, I cheer for Scotland, as that’s the next closest family tie for me; two of my grandparents are of Scottish birth.

If, by chance, Scotland fails to qualify, I go with England. I have one grandparent of English birth. The fourth grandparent (my maternal grandfather) is also of English parentage, although he himself was born in Canada.

If...by chance...the English team is eliminated earlier in the competition than expected, I then go with France, providing they themselves are still in the running.

Why?

Well, we live in a partly French country. So there’s an official connection on that level.

But it’s largely because I’ve always liked the French soccer team. When I first started following World Cup soccer, the French had a good squad that played with a lot of pinache. They’ve had their ups and downs over the years, but they seem to be one of the most consistently watchable of the various European sides.

I was delighted when they beat Brazil on the weekend, partly because it was a nice, if wholly inadeqeuate, kick in the ass to our local fake Brazilians, but also because it epitomized what I like about ‘Les Bleus.’

Unlike almost everyone else, the French don’t seem to fear the Brazilians. They go into their games with the South Americans without any sense of awe or deference, and it seems to work.

I think there’s a lesson in there somewhere.

I've seen a fair amount of wildlife on and around Gabriola this spring. Here's brief recap:


-En route from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay in April, the ferry captain alerted the ship to a large school of dolphins travelling in a southeasterly direction, heading south down the Georgia Straight. They passed right in front of the ship.

-It's not unusual to see otters scurrying around the beach and swimming in the water off the shore during springtime. I've seen them in different places on a few occasions this year. Down at Orlebar Point, where Entrance Island lies, I actually saw a pair of otters playing/wrestling with each other in a tidepool. These are river otters, by the way, not sea otters. The latter don't come on land much, whearas the former can be found near (and in) the ocean, as well as rivers. You can tell them apart by their longer tails.

-There are deer all over the place. More than usual, it seems. On a spin around the island last weekend I spotted seven, including a mother and two fawns.

-Raccoons are not really unusual, but I never seem to see any. This year I've spotted a couple. One scurrying on a rocky, somewhat remote portion of shoreline, and then one in my own front 'yard.' Apparently Raccoons eat mice, which is good, because I'm waging a running battle with the little bastards (mice that is, not raccoons).

-There are a lot of eagles. I saw one swoop down from the treetops to have a go at what I assume was a fish, down near Drumbeg park, which is just opposite Valdez Island.

-Seals are quite common. If you're walking along any piece of coastline where there's a steepish dropoff into the water, you often see their heads pop out of the sea, catching a breath between fishing,

Entrance Island, and the area around it, is a veritable Grand Central Station of sea lions and seals. You often hear sea lions barking away out on the island, which is home to a lighthouse. I don't know how the lighthouse keepers stand it (though frankly I'd rather put up with several dozen barking sea lions than your average ferry lineup conversation).

There is another small island along the coast from Entrance--let's call it 'Willingdon Island'. It's a little closer to the shore than Entrance Island. I had my binoculars with me last weekend, and I saw a few dozen seals out on Willingdon Island. They were all lazing around until a pair of huge eagles swooped down and took a poke at one of the seals. Most of other seals paddled off into the ocean.

I noticed that the object of the Eagles' attention was a smaller seal, perhaps a baby. It appeared to be injured or sick; it could barely move, and didn't seem to react to the eagles.

The little seal made its way into a shallow ledge of water just of the island. One of the eagles flew down from a perch on a jutting ten foot-high outcrop of sandstone, reached into the water and grabbed hold of the seal just offshore. Then, huge wingspan flapping, it lifted the plump, soaking little mammal up onto the beach, kind of like that magnet-equipped helicopter that hoisted the bad guys' car in the Bond flick 'You Only Live Twice.'

Having deposited the forlorn little sea pup back on the sandstone, the eagles resumed their watch, just letting the seal lie there. At one point, the seal made it's way agonizingly back into the water a short ways, but didn't go anywhere. In its condition, I suppose it risked drowning. It then strugged back onto the shore, where the eagles just kept watching, occasionally dropping beside it and jabbing at it with their beaks.

I watched this for about 40 minutes, but figured it could go on for hours; the eagles were likely more patient than me. Plus a downpour came along, and I had no raingear.

I went back the next morning and trained the binoculars on the same spot. The tide was a bit higher, and there was no sign of the seal. The eagles, though, were still there (I assume they were the same ones). Sitting beside them on the same ridge of sandstone was a big vulture.

Still on the subject of hockey, I caught a bit of the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup 'parade' on the news. If I sat in the back of a pickup while someone drove me around a deserted street at 4am I'd get a bigger turnout.

Maybe this lack of interest helps the team when the going's tough. No pressure, no one second guessing you. It seemed to work for Tampa a couple of years ago as well.

But really, now that the salary cap's in place, and given that Gary Bettman's vision of massive U.S. television interest in the game has proven to be a bust, isn't it time these sun belt franchises folded their tents and headed back up north to where someone actually gives a shit?