TORONTO — Canada’s Queen City has had a storied history in sports with the Maple Leafs (NHL), the Raptors (NBA), the Blue Jays (MLB) and even the Argonauts (CFL) each carrying a huge following. Toronto FC is no different.
The club’s fan base has made it known from the very beginning that it will be a loyal and rowdy crowd by setting a then-league record of 14,000 season tickets sold in 2007, TFC’s inaugural season.
Since then, there have been plenty of ups and downs on and off the pitch. Through several failed big-name signings, nine different head coaches and eight seasons of postseason drought — which is the longest in MLS history, the Reds supporters continued to show up week after week to BMO Field, which holds a capacity north of 30,000.
“When we signed onto this project here at TFC, we were promised and told that when we turn the franchise around, or if we were able to turn the franchise around, we would be amazed of the following, the crowd and the support we would get, and we saw that the other night,” said head coach Greg Vanney.
By bringing in guys like Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco shortly after taking over the helm in 2014, Vanney quickly installed a winning culture into the club, which made its first postseason appearance last season before topping the Montreal Impact last Wednesday to become the first Canadian club to earn a berth in the MLS Cup Final.
This journey, tumultuous it may have been, was nevertheless a rewarding experience for Jonathan Osorio, who is a native of Toronto and the longest-tenured player on the club currently.
“It’s been tough, but now that we are in the good times, it’s all worth it,” Osorio said. “I think now that we’ve gone through that, we’ve learned from that and this club has come a long way, it makes it that much more special.”
That sense of pride and loyalty to the city of Toronto and the TFC fan base seeped into even Michael Bradley, the captain of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
“The sports landscape in Toronto is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Bradley said. “It’s an unbelievable sports city and there are a lot of things that go into that… I’ve been here three years, I’ve become a big Raptors fan, I’ve become a big Leafs fan… I think what it means to represent Toronto and to represent this city, I think that’s been driven home time and time again.”
Both Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders will be seeking catharsis on Saturday night by lifting the MLS Cup, but the home fans will undoubtedly provide their team the emotional push they need to make the game one to remember.
“If we can make Saturday the most special night yet, then I think everybody is going to be amazed by what we see,” Bradley said.