View the VIBE Toronto
  • Cool Vibes
    • Cool Vibes
    • Gift Guides
    • Eats+Drinks
    • Travel+Hotels
    • Health+Fitness
    • Style+Beauty
    • Life+Culture
    • Dating+Relationships
    • Events+Nightlife
    • Cannabis
  • Best in The 6ix
    • Best in The 6ix
    • Restaurants
    • Hotels
    • Things to do
    • Coffee Shops
    • Spas + Beauty
    • Barbershops
    • Retail
  • City Life
    • City Life
    • Pride
    • #TTCLife
    • #BossLife
    • #DatingLife
    • Seen+Heard
    • COVID-19
    • Quarantine Chronicles
    • Submit a Q.C. Post
  • Going Down
    • Today
    • This Week
    • This Month
    • Submit an Event
SPACES Yorkville
Join In
6K Likes
12K Followers
22K Followers
150 Followers
  • Masthead
  • Send Us A Tip
  • Advertise
Subscribe
View the VIBE Toronto
View the VIBE Toronto
  • Cool Vibes
    • Cool Vibes
    • Gift Guides
    • Eats+Drinks
    • Travel+Hotels
    • Health+Fitness
    • Style+Beauty
    • Life+Culture
    • Dating+Relationships
    • Events+Nightlife
    • Cannabis
  • Best in The 6ix
    • Best in The 6ix
    • Restaurants
    • Hotels
    • Things to do
    • Coffee Shops
    • Spas + Beauty
    • Barbershops
    • Retail
  • City Life
    • City Life
    • Pride
    • #TTCLife
    • #BossLife
    • #DatingLife
    • Seen+Heard
    • COVID-19
    • Quarantine Chronicles
    • Submit a Q.C. Post
  • Going Down
    • Today
    • This Week
    • This Month
    • Submit an Event
  • Entertainment

How Canadian Fans Made Soccer Cool Again

  • VIBE Team
  • May 5, 2020
  • 3 minute read
Soccer: BMO Field
“tfc_bmo_dark-clouds_columbus_02a_8773485653_o” by wvs is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0
0

Elite Soccer in North America and Canada has a checkered history. For many fans in the region, soccer has always been a sport that you play at school but rarely watch. For some even less open-minded individuals, it was viewed strictly as a sport for girls.

The NASL Years

There were many attempts to raise the profile of the game by throwing money at big-name players from Europe and South America. This was most notable with the advent of the North American Soccer League that operated in the USA and Canada from 1968 to 1984. Bu,t despite attracting players such as Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia, Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, Gerd Müller and George Best, the novelty wore off and the league folded. By 1985, the Minnesota Strikers and Toronto Blizzard were the only teams still interested in the league.

The Wilderness Years

Anyone who continued to follow soccer in Canada was seen as going against the grain. When they insisted on calling it “football”, it didn’t make sense to the North American audience. By the 1990s, soccer became a sport for Canadian hipsters and geeks who would speak fondly about the great leagues of Italy, Spain and England and use phrases that meant little to anyone who didn’t follow the sport. They did it all with an air of sophistication which many found irritating, to say the least.

The Soccer Hipsters Rise Up

But it later turned out that these die-hard soccer fans were way ahead of the game. Once the internet took off and the MLS (Major League Soccer) got up and running, soccer started to become cool again in Canada. The TV networks started showing hundreds of games from all the major foreign leagues and betting and casino sites in Canada starting offering wagers on global soccer games alongside their traditional casino offerings. Wagering on soccer became big business and viewing figures sky-rocketed. Suddenly, everyone soccer was a major player in Canadian sports again.

Elite Fans for Elite Canadian Teams

In true Canadian style, the fans took soccer to their hearts. When Toronto FC (yes, that stands for Football Club) was founded and joined the MLS in 2006, the fans turned out in their thousands. They broke the MLS record by selling 14,000 season tickets in 2007 (and broke it again in 2014) and followed the European tradition of setting up several individual fan groups within the stadium. They had names such as Kings in the North, the Red Patch Boys, the Original 109 and the Tribal Rhythm Nation. But the most well-known and most controversial group were known as the Inebriatti.

 

Marching on to victory for our season 14 home opener!#TFClive #RedPatchBoys #MLSisBack #PridePassionPurpose pic.twitter.com/E0ijZJejyU

— Red Patch Boys (@RedPatchBoys) March 10, 2020

After a couple of season in the MLS, the Toronto FC were praised for their fan base as well as the club’s official recognition of supporter groups. While it hasn’t always been a rosy relationship between the fans and the owners, they continue to set the standard in MLS winning the championship in 2017.

Old Fan Groups, New Rivalries

The arrival to the MLS of the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2009 and Montreal Impact in 2010 gave rise to some great supporter rivalries that helped to boost the coolness of Canadian soccer further.

Many of the supporter’s groups such as the Ultras Montreal and the Vancouver Southsiders pre-dated the MLS and were formed by hardcore soccer fans unfazed by the lack of an elite soccer league in the country. Many watched local teams in minor soccer leagues and also followed teams in Europe. These are the fans that helped to make soccer the coolest game in Canada.

Total
0
Shares
Like 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Like 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • MLS
  • NASL
  • Soccer Hipsters
  • Toronto FC
  • Toronto FC Soccer
Avatar
VIBE Team

We strive to bring edgy content from different perceptions, opinions and viewpoints while covering the latest trends in food, travel, style, beauty, life, culture, events and more. Based in Toronto, we show you the best that this beautiful city has to offer.

Stay in the Know

Subscribe now to our new Weekly VIBE newsletter

RELATED
View Post
  • Cool Vibes
  • Entertainment
  • Life+Culture

8 Movies You Probably Didn’t Know Were Filmed in the 6ix

  • Sydnee Condon
  • March 5, 2021
BLM_merch
View Post
  • Entertainment
  • Style+Beauty

Toronto Raptors Drop Black Lives Matter Capsule Collection

  • Merrill Flynn
  • February 19, 2021
catered event
View Post
  • Entertainment

3 Tips for Hosting a Successful Catered Event

  • VIBE Team
  • December 16, 2020
Trending Posts
  • 1
    • Eats+Drinks
    Starbucks Launches New Spring Menu–Including 2 New Vegan Drinks
    • Sydnee Condon
    • 2 min
  • 2
    • City Life
    Why the Toronto Condo Market WILL Bounce Back
    • Heather Hadden
    • 2 min
  • 3
    • Eats+Drinks
    10 Tim Hortons Secret Menu Items You Have to Try
    • Sydnee Condon
    • 3 min
  • 4
    • Style+Beauty
    New Winter Beauty Product Launches To Have On Your Radar
    • Blair Stutz
    • 5 min
SPACES Yorkville
ADVERTISE WITH US
Learn about our
partnership opportunities.

Inquire Now

 

LATEST NEWS
SPACES Yorkville
GOING DOWN:
« March 2021 » loading...
M T W T F S S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
Sat 06

Story Planet: Constellation Adult Writing Workshop Series

February 13 @ 1:00 pm - March 27 @ 4:00 pm
Sat 13

Wishing Well: A Virtual Wellness Series – Cooking Class with Mark Gamasan

March 13 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Fri 19

Digital Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses

March 19 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Stay in the Know

Subscribe to our new Weekly VIBE newsletter now.

View the VIBE
View the VIBE, partially owned, and operated by STAMINA Group Inc., launched in 2010 as a video restaurant and spa guide, later evolving into a recognized digital Toronto-lifestyle authority, producing fun, edgy and informational editorial content. Establishing itself as a voice for restaurant reviews, trending stories, and excellent vibe videos.
Learn More
Partner Network

SWAGGER Magazine, North America’s
Online Men‘s Luxury Lifestyle Magazine.

Divine.ca, Canada’s Bilingual Online
Women’s Lifestyle Magazine.

WanderEater.com, leading those wandering aimlessly for food.

GTA Lifestyle Magazines, for all things GTA for the most affluent.

Part of the STAMINA Group
of brands.

Learn More

Navigation
  • Cool Vibes
    • Cool Vibes
    • Gift Guides
    • Eats+Drinks
    • Travel+Hotels
    • Health+Fitness
    • Style+Beauty
    • Life+Culture
    • Dating+Relationships
    • Events+Nightlife
    • Cannabis
  • Best in The 6ix
    • Best in The 6ix
    • Restaurants
    • Hotels
    • Things to do
    • Coffee Shops
    • Spas + Beauty
    • Barbershops
    • Retail
  • City Life
    • City Life
    • Pride
    • #TTCLife
    • #BossLife
    • #DatingLife
    • Seen+Heard
    • COVID-19
    • Quarantine Chronicles
    • Submit a Q.C. Post
  • Going Down
    • Today
    • This Week
    • This Month
    • Submit an Event
View the VIBE Toronto
  • Contact
  • Masthead
  • Subscribe
  • Send us a Tip
  • Legal
  • © 2020, STAMINA Group
The leading VIBE authority of The 6ix - Online Lifestyle Magazine

Input your search keywords and press Enter.