‘Christine Sinclair: Kind of a Big Deal’ is narrated by Ryan Reynolds.
She is to soccer what Wayne Gretzky is to hockey, complete with records and benchmarks that will likely stand for generations.
But for all the accolades and recognition she’s achieved, it would appear that Christine Sinclair puts her pants on one leg at a time — which is to say, she’s a mere mortal who shares the same foibles, quirks and fears that many average folk do.
So says Eoin Duffy, the animator and director behind the newly released short film, Christine Sinclair: Kind of a Big Deal.
Released May 22 by the Knowledge Network and narrated by Ryan Reynolds, the nine-minute short represents a reflective and personal lens into Sinclair’s journey from youth soccer across Metro Vancouver to both failure and redemption on the world stage.
“We’re all the same when we’re younger, in that we look up to our heroes as these untouchable gods — all style and no flaws,” Duffy says. “But when you look behind the curtain like this, you see that even heroes have doubts and limitations. Christine’s story is all about hard work and fighting through to become an untouchable god that you can relate to.”
Conceding that it’s impossible to capture Sinclair’s life in under 10 minutes, Duffy says the plot is almost akin to a Wikipedia entry or highlight reel. It makes entry points in Sinclair’s childhood, her vast competitive exploits and accomplishments, along with a dash of the human behind the jersey.
Duffy was almost taken aback by the human part in particular. He intermittently found himself intimidated by Sinclair’s presence, but characterized the Burnaby native as almost shy at other times. Sinclair suggested she wasn’t comfortable in front of a mic, but waxed poetic once the record button went on.
Sinclair ‘a quiet kid who never saw herself ending up in a leadership role’
“She presents a different type of leadership, which may not be apparent to most. She was a quiet kid who never saw herself ending up in a leadership role,” Duffy says. “She’s the type of character that leads by example and inspires people more so than leading by an iron fist.”
Iron fist or not, her accomplishments on the pitch are iron clad: 190 goals in 331 appearances to lead the international scoring table for both men and women; a 2020-21 Olympic gold; and a 2010 CONCACAF gold for which Sinclair would net the game winner.
Off the field, her CV is in the same conversation as Gretzky’s despite being more than 20 years younger than the Great One: an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada Walk of Fame inductee and honorary degree recipient from Simon Fraser University.
Duffy suggests none of it came by way of waving a wand or being born with otherworldly talent like Leo Messi. Instead, Sinclair employed some elbow grease and put in her reps.
“She definitely has some innate skills and she was born with a good tool set, but she made some huge sacrifices in her life,” Duffy says. “In her own words, she didn’t have much of a life outside of soccer. She was always the first to show up for training and she was always the last to leave. You can tell that she just sacrificed every other facet of life for the game.”
Watch Christine Sinclair: Kind of a Big Deal via YouTube