Toronto Tourism Magazine 2009 - (Page 14) Cityscapes around town The Sporting City Outside the gates of the Rogers Centre, Rick Donaldson — better known as “the Blue Jays’ Drummer” — warms up the city’s baseball fans. “Let’s go!” he yells, and then points a drumstick at the crowd, his enthusiasm so infectious even the fair-weather among them can’t help but respond — “Blue Jays!” With five major teams, sports lovers in Toronto have a lot to cheer about. If the Toronto Argonauts are the city’s veterans — founded in 1873, the CFL team is North America’s oldest professional football club — the rookies are Toronto FC, the Major League Soccer franchise that debuted here in 2007 to resounding success (see page 24 for more). Add the Jays, the Raptors, the city’s NBA team, and the Leafs, Toronto’s venerated hockey squad — though they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967 — and Toronto has one full roster. “The great cities of the world are socially, culturally and athletically complete,” says Paul Godfrey, former CEO and president of the Blue Jays. A long-time fixture on the city’s sports scene, Godfrey also knows the importance of world-class venues: while chairman of Metropolitan Toronto, he pushed for the construction of the Rogers Centre, then called the SkyDome, which currently provides the Jays and Argos with their home turf. A distinguishing feature of the city’s skyline since 1989, the stadium sports a fully retractable roof — one of the first in the world. Toronto also boasts the Air Canada Centre, home to the Leafs, Raptors and the Toronto Rock, of the National Lacrosse League, and BMO Field, the first soccerspecific stadium in Canada. “Sports cross all language [barriers],” Godfrey explains, when asked why athletics are such a popular — and unifying — force in a multicultural metropolis like Toronto. As Donaldson demonstrates, the crowd that surrounds him is a mosaic of individual, laughing faces, and absolutely anyone can cheer. — Andrea Grant 14 | www.SeeTorontoNow.com Photo: Kazuyoshi Ehara http://www.seetorontonow.com
Contributors
Welcome
Cityscapes
Toast of the Town
In the Night Garden
Gooooal!
Take a Moment
Faces of Toronto
Red Rocket
Past Perfection
Water Lust
The Artist’s City
Living the Green Dream
York Region and North Toronto
Mississauga Marvels
Vine Country
Discovery Walks
Neighbourhoods of Greater Toronto
Listings
Visitor Resources
2009 Event Calendar
Parting Shot
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