Toronto Tourism Magazine 2009 - (Page 25) T hey come by the thousands waving their red-andwhite Toronto FC scarves. Some are card-carrying members of the Red Patch Boys, a fan club. Others belong to the North End Elite, the Tribal Rhythm Nation and the Voyageurs. They use their cellphones to start stadium-wide chants. It’s no wonder they’re so enthused. All of them, no matter where they sit at BMO Field, are diehard contributors to one of the most remarkable success stories in North American sports — the rise of professional soccer in a city normally reserved for the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, major league baseball, the National Basketball Association and Canadian three-down football. Never before has ‘the beautiful game’ looked so vital and necessary in Canada’s greater metropolis. Then again, never has Toronto been so ready to embrace soccer in all its glory. From day one, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC (Football Club) has been a howling triumph — an idea whose time has come. Fans don’t merely attend games, they celebrate them. There is singing and chanting, the most popular being, “This is our house,” although last season, when a squirrel ran onto the pitch during live action, many in the crowd of 20,000 began shouting, “Sign the squirrel. Sign the squirrel.” “I’ve been to Giants Stadium (in New Jersey) to see Manchester United play Juventus,” said Toronto FC season-ticket holder Jake Doodnath. “And to create the same mood at BMO Field is quite something.” Doodnath is a typical Toronto FC supporter. He was born abroad (Trinidad), came of age in Toronto and now earns his keep as president of an IT company while coaching youth soccer. What he likes about Toronto’s professional soccer experience resonates with what others have said: that BMO Field is ideally situated at the city’s easily accessible Exhibition Place and that the stadium is small enough to be intimate while big enough to be financially viable. Even the name, Toronto FC, is the right touch, pulling a multicultural fan base together under a common banner. “The name appeals to everyone and they can take ownership of the team,” said Doodnath. “The city was quite ready to have something like this.” Toronto had never been a soccer hotbed prior to FC, at least not professionally. The game had been played in the Ontario provincial capital in the past, but the Falcons, Metros, Blizzard, Rockets and Lynx were never able to last long enough to garner much of a fan base. But when the better-run MLS announced in 2006 it was granting a Toronto franchise to its North American lineup, the timing was spot on since attending major sports games was becoming more costly. The city, too, had changed. According to Toronto’s information bureau, 43 percent of the city’s nearly 2.5 million residents described themselves as a visible minority, many of whom were born elsewhere. Soccer’s appeal has always been greater abroad than in North America, but once fans like Doodnath migrated to Canada they needed an outlet for their passion, a team to call their own. It explains why Toronto FC was so instantly embraced, selling 14,000 season tickets at reasonable prices and drawing more than 500,000 fans in year one. In the second year, the season-ticket count jumped to 16,000 and the MLS made international noise by signing English superstar David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy, who starred in the MLS All-Star Game in Toronto in the summer of 2008. Meanwhile, BMO Field hosted the FIFA Under-20 World Championship and various other Canadian national team matches. People came; they cheered. Toronto FC received regular coverage in the mainstream media, and the MLS, happily noting what was happening in Canada, entertained talks of further expansion, most notably in Vancouver where Canadian pro basketball star Steve Nash has expressed interest in becoming an owner. ames, attend ginging merely ans don’trate them with s F they celeb ing t and chan Under its current plans, the MLS will have 16 teams by 2010 and perhaps two more by 2012. No doubt, Toronto FC will serve as the blueprint for the MLS’s next franchise. As for FC, there is talk of expanding BMO Field by another 10,000 seats and introducing more kids to a game that has become uniquely Toronto, proudly Canadian — and if you doubt that, take Doodnath’s advice and go to a game. “People are chanting, stomping the floor of the stadium. It’s phenomenal. It’s quite a diverse group of fans.” Fans united by a common love. Allan Maki is an award-winning sports writer with The Globe and Mail newspaper. TORONTO 2009 | 25
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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