MLS: Local lad Aird eager for BMO visit
The ink was hardly dry on the papers loaning Fraser Aird from Scotland’s Rangers FC to the Vancouver Whitecaps and already the Scarborough native had May 14 circled on his new team’s schedule.
“We don’t always play Toronto FC at home,” the 21-year-old right back told the Star over the phone from Vancouver last week. “One year it’s away, one year it’s home in the league so it was actually quite lucky this year it was away for us and home for Toronto FC.”
But visiting BMO Field is nothing new for Aird. He, dad Bill and older brother Cameron were Toronto FC season ticket holders from the club’s inaugural season in 2007.
Bill and Cameron hold their seats near midfield to this day.
Aird, though, had to give his up five years ago, when the then 16-year-old signed a professional contract with his beloved Scottish Premier League side Rangers and moved overseas.
“It was our first chance to see a professional team. It was a big thing for everyone that played soccer in the city. It was good, obviously, to get to go see professional players playing. When we were young, we’d say, ‘One day, hopefully, we can be like them.’ ”
Aird will do what eludes most soccer fans and fulfill that dream Saturday, stepping on to the pitch at BMO Field for the first time for Vancouver.
Despite making 62 appearances for Rangers’ senior squad, Aird found himself on the bench much of last season. It wasn’t ideal for the budding professional.
“Come December and January we spoke about it and said, ‘Look, you’re 20 years old going on 21, this is a time when you should be playing a lot of football. You shouldn’t be sitting on the bench. This is a development time for you,’ ” dad Bill said. “So that’s when we started looking at getting him out on loan.” Laura Armstrong