The Toronto FC Fan Phenomenon

TFC Fans Are Setting New Precedents For North American Soccer

Sep 24, 2007 Catherine Solmes

Toronto FC, Canada's brand new professional soccer team has fan support unparalleled in other sports franchises. Get in on the action!

It’s argued that the Toronto sports fan is either incredibly loyal or stupid because of the passion with which they support their teams, win or lose. The prime example of this is the enormously popular Toronto Maple Leaf hockey franchise, a team whose fans have been waiting 40 years for the Stanley Cup and who celebrate in Toronto’s famed Yonge Street for hours after the team’s wins in the playoffs. Maple Leaf season tickets are such a prized commodity it’s rumoured the wait for season tickets is 20-30 years long and are often left to loved ones as an inheritance.

Soccer in Toronto

But the enthusiasm for the Maple Leafs is lacking when compared to the passion Torontonians have for soccer (or football as it is known every else). During the World Cup, Toronto’s diverse ethnic communities come together in frenzied support of their national teams. Vehicles and windows display flags and jersey and scarf-clad fans fill the neighbourhoods of Little Italy, Greektown, Little Jamaica and Little Portugal to watch games.

On April 28th of 2007, Canada’s first Major League Soccer team, Toronto FC, played its first home game in the freshly constructed 20,195-seat BMO Field in front of a sold-out crowd But TFC’s fan support had been unprecedented long before the first game and a cap had to be put on season ticket sales when they’d reached 14,000, setting an MLS record. The CEO of the company that owns the TFC franchise had been quoted as saying they’d be happy with game attendance averaging 13,000 to 15,000. However, in its first season, TFC has played for a sell-out crowd at every home game.

Toronto FC's Loyal Fans

Unquestionably establishing themselves as the most loyal and supportive in the MLS from the very start, TFC’s fans have been gaining fame and notoriety ever since. It has been suggested that rival teams dislike playing at BMO Field because of the raucous and fiercely loyal TFC fans and no wonder! Two supporters clubs – The U-Sector (formed by former Toronto Lynx supporters The Toronto Ultras) and The Red Patch Boys - share the highest profile (and the southeast corner of BMO Field) but two newly formed (and slightly less rowdy) clubs - Tribal Rhythm Elite and The Northend Elite - have also been acknowledged by TFC. These clubs provide BMO Field with an electric atmosphere, singing, chanting and cheering on their team from kick off to final whistle, win, lose or draw. Another of their (in)famous game rituals are the red and white paper streamers they toss down onto opposing players who venture close enough to the stands.

Despite multiple and ongoing attempts, soccer has never become popular in the United States, especially in comparison to the sport’s immense popularity in the rest of the world. This makes the phenomenon of Canada’s first MLS team all the more unprecedented. TFC captain Jim Brennan and star striker Danny Dichio, who have both played in England’s Premier League and TFC coach Mo Johnston, who played professionally in Scotland, have marvelled at the enthusiasm of TFC fans and compared the atmosphere at BMO Field to that of games in the UK. In fact, in the 24th minute of every home game, the stadium erupts into their Danny Dichio chant to commemorate TFC’s first ever goal, scored by Dichio at that moment in the team’s fifth game.

But with the favourable comparison to UK fans, inevitably comes the bad. The UK (as with many other countries), has a history of soccer hooliganism and though it’s not the problem it once was, a possibility of violence always hangs over every game. Whether this could someday become an issue with TFC’s fans remains to be seen but so far, soccer fans from the UK attending TFC games express awe in the comparably joyful atmosphere and in the number of female fans and children in the crowd, suggesting a calmer, less aggressive atmosphere. Whatever happens, it’s an experience long overdue for soccer fans who live in Toronto and one to be celebrated as much as possible.

The copyright of the article The Toronto FC Fan Phenomenon in Soccer is owned by Catherine Solmes. Permission to republish The Toronto FC Fan Phenomenon in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.