The story behind the snowbank celebration
Adekugbe recounts the "Canadian Heritage Moment," one year later
When I look back at Canada’s World Cup qualifying campaign, I think of moments.
Jonathan Osorio’s side-footed finish at the Azteca.
Alphonso Davies putting on the jets against Panama and somehow controlling that ball along the sideline. Not to mention what happened next.
Milan Borjan’s sweatpants and goalline save against Mexico.
Jonathan David and Liam Fraser combining for a golazo in Honduras.
The raw emotion at the final whistle after Canada beat Jamaica to secure qualification.
Regardless of what happens in Qatar, these are moments – memories – that will last a lifetime. It just so happened that Sam Adekugbe delivered two of the best ones. There was his stoppage-time clincher against the U.S. in Hamilton, and of course, his snowbank celebration at the “Iceteca” in Edmonton.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of that memorable night at Commonwealth Stadium. Outside of Davies’ goal, Adekugbe’s celebration was probably the most “viral” moment from qualifying.
A Canadian Heritage Moment, as they say.
So, how exactly did it come about?
“I didn’t plan it at all,” Adekugbe recently told me. “That was probably one of the hardest games I’ve ever played in my career, because it was super cold and Mexico is such a good team. It was the second goal, in the second half, when Cyle [Larin] scored, I was just so happy because it was 2-0 in that moment, it just created a little bit of comfort having two goals. It’s like when you’re a kid and you’re just so happy, you do things you don’t expect.”
Adekugbe said he didn’t expect a camera to be there, considering he was a few yards away from where Larin was celebrating. And he didn’t want to “fall over on the ice running up to him.”
So when he saw the big pile of snow, he didn’t think twice.
“When you’re so present, you’re not really thinking of shit you’re going to do,” Adekugbe said. “You just do it. Even just with that, if you see that celebration with everyone, it was probably one of the most passionate celebrations I’ve been a part of. To see Cyle on the ground yelling at the top of his voice, you see everyone around him jumping, with the fans, it was such an indescribable feeling.”
When Adekugbe got back to the locker room after the game, which Canada ended up winning 2-1, Mark Anthony-Kaye showed him a clip of the celebration.
“Yo Sam, do you realize what you did?” Kaye asked.
Adekugbe had no idea it had gone viral. But after watching the video for the first time, he could see why it did.
“I was like, ‘Oh shit, that kind of looks crazy,’” he laughed.
Prior to those two games in Edmonton, Adekugbe was in and out of Canada’s starting lineup. But his performances there, against both Costa Rica and Mexico, solidified his place as John Herdman’s first choice left back/wingback. He ended up starting and playing the full 90 minutes in seven of Canada’s final eight qualifiers, only missing one game due to suspension.
At this point, it’d be more of a surprise if he doesn’t start in Qatar.
Good luck finding any snowbanks there.
Farhan Devji is a multiplatform storyteller who’s worked in professional sports for close to a decade and been published in some of Canada’s biggest newspapers. His book, Alphonso Davies: A New Hope, is available for pre-order now and scheduled for release in May 2023.