Toronto FC fans unfurl a giant banner at BMO Field. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Soccer: John F. Molinaro
Toronto FC is the hottest ticket in town
Last Updated Friday, August 10, 2007
by John F. Molinaro
A funny thing happened at BMO Field last weekend.
David Beckham was supposed to suit up for the Los Angeles Galaxy against Toronto FC but a nagging ankle injury prevented the former England captain from making his long-awaited Major League Soccer debut.
With Beckham out of action, the chances of Toronto FC and Los Angeles putting on decent show seemed bleak, but the two teams battled to an exciting and entertaining 0-0 draw, inspired in large part by a record audience of 20,522 spectators.
Turns out the soccer world doesn't revolve around Beckham after all. Go figure.
Such was the passion of the crowd that reporters in the press box would have been forgiven for thinking they were watching an Old Firm match-up in Glasgow or the Super Clasico between Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate, instead of an MLS game between two teams fighting their way out of the league's basement.
No doubt some hardcore soccer fans were upset that the English star did not see any action, but Beckham's absence hardly spoiled the game or the mood.
Toronto FC was the show, not Beckham, a not-so-subtle reminder that an MLS game, even without one of the world's most famous athletes, is the hottest sporting event right now in Toronto.
BMO Field is a cauldron of electricity on game days, charged up by the Red Patch Boys and the U-Sector, two Toronto FC supporter groups who occupy the southeast section of the stadium and whip the rest of the crowd into a frenzy with their catalogue of witty chants and songs, and the way they shower opposing players with a flood of streamers and confetti every time they attempt to take a corner kick.
It's a raucous crowd, but it's also an intelligent one, comprised of supporters who understand soccer and take it seriously.
Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, the team's owners, recognize this and have adopted an inspired marketing strategy that doesn't try to dumb down its product like other teams in the league. No silly mascots, no cheerleaders, no promotional gimmickry during the game, no music, no light shows.
Just the game being played in an intimate stadium and letting Toronto's soccer-hungry fans take care of the rest.
The result? The best pro sports experience in Canada's largest metropolis.
The Maple Leafs are the city's most beloved team, but the fact you need to take out a second mortgage in order to afford a ticket means the average fan has been priced out of the game. Not surprisingly, the Air Canada Centre is filled to the rafters with corporate suits and resembles an insurance convention on game night.
Watching the Raptors play is more like going to a rave than a basketball game, what with the barrage of hip-hop constantly blaring over the PA during play and in between stoppages. The Blue Jays used to pack 'em in, but those days are long gone. The Argos, like the Blue Jays, play before a half-empty Rogers Centre - if they're lucky - on most nights.
Toronto FC games are special because the fans make it a spectacle.
Toronto Star reporter Cathal Kelly, who covers both Toronto FC and the Blue Jays, believes there isn't a sporting event in the city that comes close to matching the intensity and atmosphere of an MLS game at BMO Field.
"There's no comparison. A Jays game is a mausoleum compared to this. Nothing compares to this in Toronto. Nothing. Not even close," Kelly told CBCSports.ca.
MLS commissioner Don Garber told reporters at halftime Sunday he wished he "could bottle this [atmosphere] up and send it around the league," a sentiment echoed by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl.
"It would be great if this could be exported to a number of other cities in MLS," said Wahl, who attended his first Toronto FC game on Sunday.
Toronto FC set a MLS record this season with 14,500 season ticket sales and all of their home games thus far have been sold out. That's a staggering achievement for an expansion franchise that sports one of the worst records in the league. It's an even more impressive feat in a city known for its fickle sports fans who tend to only support a winner (the Raptors and Jays spring to mind).
Noting that the league hopes to increase from 13 to 16 teams by 2010 and 18 teams by 2012, Garber believes Toronto FC can serve as blueprint for future expansionist ventures.
"This is not just a model for MLS in Canada; it's a model for MLS expansion in the United States. Everything MLSE have done has been textbook perfect … It's got us thinking about what else to do in Canada," Garber said.
The Beckham travelling circus has since packed up its tents and moved on to the next city, but a vibrant passion for the game of soccer in Toronto remains, a passion that burned brightly long before Becks came to town.
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