TFC fans bask in the glory of victory
Reds’ first MLS Cup title brings diehard supporters to tears at BMO Field
A shirtless man wearing a Toronto FC hat and scarf embodied the feeling many fans at BMO Field had after winning the MLS Cup on Saturday: pure, uncontrollable bliss.
Fans hugged and high-fived apparent strangers, while others shed tears of joy for their team. TFC won 2-0 with two second-half goals, gaining revenge against the Seattle Sounders who beat them in last year’s final.
“I couldn’t be happier for the city, for the team, and for us, the fans,” said Bogdan Bunescu, a TFC fan.
“It’s more than deserved after last year’s final, after all the struggles this club has experienced in its history.”
That history, while only 10 years long, has often been difficult for TFC. They joined MLS in 2007, and never made the playoffs until 2015. But their rise has been rapid since.
Ken Baylis, a TFC supporter who managed to get a ball boy’s shirt as a souvenir, said “it was a great game” even though he wanted the Reds to play tougher.
Many fans were less picky than Baylis — they were just happy to win. They marched out of BMO Field chanting and cheering to the sound of beating drums and stadium music. Many headed to Liberty Village to celebrate the win at various bars in the neighbourhood.
Even fans watching from a distance could barely contain their excite- ment.
“(I’m) so unbelievably happy for TFC and all of our TFC family,” said Steph Gunter, a New Zealand resident. “Huge props to (Sounders goalkeeper Stefan) Frei though, (he) managed to put some grey hair onto my head with his massive saves.”
Hours before the game, a sea of red jerseys, hats and scarves flooded into the GO train at Clarkson station, full of TFC fans heading to the game. The train buzzed with discussion of key players, formations, and mistakes made on the way to the final.
Sounders fans gathered outside the field, chatted amongst themselves, before breaking out into their own chants, drowning out the ticket scalpers. “Come on Seattle!” They cheered. Toronto FC legend and now broadcaster Danny Dichio rallied his own crowd at a viewing party in Liberty Village Saturday afternoon, earning rapturous applause when he appeared.
“We’ve been through some bad times, especially in the middle of those 10 years, but (the fans) have stuck with us,” he said.
“We’ve come leaps and bounds . . . today we’re a proper football club,” Dichio said. “It’s been great because I’ve been here since Day 1 and seen how the club has matured into a powerhouse.”
Dichio said midfielder Victor Vazquez would be a key player for Toronto FC in the final, and he ended up scoring the second goal in the last minute of the game, sealing the deal for the hometown team.
On the subject of the game being a rematch of the last final, Dichio said: “It’s not revenge, they just want to put it right.”
And put it right they did, earning their first MLS Cup and achieving a domestic treble in the season, having already won the Supporter’s Shield and the Canadian Championship.