1. TFC
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2. Roma
Away trips: 2014 - Seattle. 2015 - Montreal. 2016 - Montreal x2. Playoffs - NYCFC, Montreal. 2017 - Salt Lake, Philly, Ottawa, Montreal, Chicago, LA, Atlanta. Playoffs - NYRB, Columbus. 2018 - Monterrey, MX (Tigres) CCL, Montreal, Ottawa, Montreal. 2019 - Philly, Montreal, Seattle (MLS Cup final)
Away trips: 2014 - Seattle. 2015 - Montreal. 2016 - Montreal x2. Playoffs - NYCFC, Montreal. 2017 - Salt Lake, Philly, Ottawa, Montreal, Chicago, LA, Atlanta. Playoffs - NYRB, Columbus. 2018 - Monterrey, MX (Tigres) CCL, Montreal, Ottawa, Montreal. 2019 - Philly, Montreal, Seattle (MLS Cup final)
TFC is my only soccer team, I always liked watching the sport but had no favourites. I bought season tickets from the beginning with a friend and watching live made me a diehard fan, even though we couldn't win if our lives depended on it. Had to give up the seasons for the 2013 season onward but I was always a fan, and I expect I always will be.
Growing up in the 70's, I was a HUGE CFL Ti-Cat fan, big Habs fan and Expos fan.
All 3 of those sports have turned me off since.
Grew up with Liverpool from the 70's, which meant at the time pretty much just getting the results in the Globe on Mondays & hoping they would make the FA Cup final as that was the only soccer game on TV all year. My support for Liverpool has gone back down to about that level. I just don't enjoy watching the EPL anymore - too much hype for me.
Got sucked into supporting my parents home town team Barrow AFC non-league when it almost went bust 20 years ago but gotten away from that - again, just check out the standings.
Got interested in TFC the first season, went to the final game that year - got hooked and now its my hobby/passion. Only really watch MLS now (slightly ticked at not having MLS Live replaced yet).
Away trips: 2014 - Seattle. 2015 - Montreal. 2016 - Montreal x2. Playoffs - NYCFC, Montreal. 2017 - Salt Lake, Philly, Ottawa, Montreal, Chicago, LA, Atlanta. Playoffs - NYRB, Columbus. 2018 - Monterrey, MX (Tigres) CCL, Montreal, Ottawa, Montreal. 2019 - Philly, Montreal, Seattle (MLS Cup final)
As many of you have stated, we all had a first love that brought the interest in the game to us, for me Inter Milan and similar to many of you, it was the team my dad supported and his dad supported. My son was born in 2005, so TFC has given me the opportunity to support our local team with my son and it brings more passion knowing that I can share that with him.
For club its TFC for me and has been since 2010. I'm not a day 1 guy but I bleed red for this club and my city. I also bleed red and white for Canada and my country of birth Poland. I guess all in all red is in my blood forever!
I'm going to preface my post by stating that I am Canadian, born in Toronto, raised in Toronto, and now raising my own family in Toronto. Both parents born in Italy. And I simply love football.
Now growing up in North Scarborough in the 80s you got great exposure to a variety of cultures. My friends of Italian background were all "Juve", "Inter", "Roma" etc fans. My English friends were all "Liverpool", "Manchester" etc fans....you get the idea. Keep in mind, ALL of us were born in Canada.
And that's the one thing I couldn't understand. How could one follow or fall in love with a team that is not in a city you live (or once lived) in? I didn't live in Turin, or Liverpool or Manchester and as such felt no affiliation with them. And I played soccer at high levels in Canada in the late 80s and back then I couldn't tell you who was on top of the 1st Division, or Serie A. In fact, I really didn't care if Italy won or lost. I sure as hell wasn't going to waive another flag that wasn't a Maple Leaf, but my parents jumped in the car headed to Dufferin & St. Clair the second the final whistle was blown in the 1982 World Cup final. (I really wished we scored a goal in '86.) To this day, I can't tell you who is on top of any European league. I could do a Google search but I really have no interest.
Enter TFC in 2007. Now this is mine. In MY city. Sure the football was crap for the first 10-ish years, but it was Toronto's crap. And I've been wearing my "Support Local Football" shirt ever since despite being laughed at by those that emphatically told me that nothing good can come out of Canada or Toronto when it comes to football.
And my two sons who are now 11 and 13 only know only TFC, and stand with me in the south for every game and we yell and sing until we lose our voices both for TFC and for Canada matches. I'm proud to say that their football heroes play at BMO Field.
My first love was baseball, having grown up in Chicago-my forum name, the acronym dedicated to my favourite ball player: Ernie Banks 14, Mr. Cub. In my youth, I actually hated soccer and never played pickup or anything. The 1982 World Cup and the frenzy with the Italian fans in this city caught my eye but I was watching soccer only every 4 years. I would have to credit my son who got me on board when in Christmas of 2006, he suggested we get season tickets to this new team. I have not looked back and live with this team through the loooong lean years, and now the fruitful ones. Yes, I occasionally watch the other leagues of this world today, and am truly grateful that I appreciate this sport, but TFC is my team since day 1; been on many TFC road trips to the States, Montreal about 6 times. Toronto til I die.
As a kid, I grew up watching the teams of my parents and Grandparents. I am a first generation Canadian, but my parents come from Italy and Portugal. So we would follow Roma and Sporting CP.
However, as I've gotten older, and especially once I started working, that became harder and once TFC was founded, I focused more and more on TFC. Probably for the last five years, I have not regularly followed Serie A or the Primera Liga at all. I still watch games - EPL, Champions League, etc - especially on weekend mornings if I can - but I don't necessarily watch every game or follow it so religiously. I had a roommate who was a major Liverpool fan, so if someone asked, I'd say I follow them in the EPL.
TFC on the other hand? Attend basically every game and watch every away game that I can.
Last edited by wopchop; 02-23-2018 at 05:26 PM.
Soccer just works that you can have multiple favorites because of the different national leagues (ie, having a favorite of every national league).
TFC's existence however, has made it easier to not follow the other leagues as much. Just due to the time difference it's hard, but pre-TFC I'd make sure to catch morning EPL games on Sportsnet and rush home after school to watch Champions League games at 2:45. Now, with work making it hard to see those Champs league games and don't make a point of watching an EPL game first thing in the morning, unless there's a matchup I really want to see (ie, I started tuning into Leicester games during their run in the second half of their season, I'll watch some Top 4 versus Top 4 games, etc)
Grew up with no love of the game at all.
Remember being that typical North American kid with the mentality of ooooo after 90mins it’s 0-0 how exciting.
It was until the world cup was introduced to the states in 94 that I said let’s give this a shot and went down to the dome to watch the final on the jumbotron with a few thousand fans. Atmosphere was electric but again I was witness to another scoreless braincramp of a game (my North American mentality). The only highlight was witnessing Baggio roof his PK and told myself “that oughta shut them up” and watching the reactions and being neutral to the scene I thought this was amazing.
I’ve always enjoyed rooting for the underdogs and I wouldn’t say Brazil was in no ways an underdog but I loved to watch Italy lose. You would think being part Maltese I would be rooting for the country but it’s witnessing teams such as Italy, Portugal, Spain,Brazil,Germany etc (big boys on campus) lose i find satisfying. I still do so to this day as it’s healthy competition and witnessing lower seeded countries win and their raw emotions its priceless. I blame the Buffalo media back in the early 90’s with all the Bills talk and I remember just telling the TV to shut the f—k up and get what you deserve. Think they got more than enough abuse and funny enough now that I’m older this is a team I would love to see win as it’s great for the league and their religious fan base
Anyways back on track, when the World Cup was introduced to Korea in I believe 2002 the satisfaction of watching Korea knock out all the big teams was the turning point in my love for the game and I told myself that it would be amazing if the love for this game would strike a nerve close to home and when TFC was announced the rest is history.
Never looked back since and I put up with enough abuse in the early days of committing myself to the team and placing all other sports on the back burner as those whom never attend a match will never understand the effect the team has on your emotions. Something you will never get from a Leaf, jays or even Raps game.
Greatest memories I have throughout my life are the simple moments you gather from 90 mins of being completely invested in the team with all the worries from your daily life seemingly not important during this time.
Less than 1 week to go and the worries will again seem to fade away
Even if it’s for only 90 mins
For me it's all TFC... I'll watch Chile (father's birth country), Mexico (mother's birth country) and Canada games and used to watch more La Liga and Premier League games but not so much anymore.
TFC absorbs most of my sporting viewing for sure... keeps me more than busy.
Couldn't agree more.
They really milked the love and support and drove away thousands of hardcore supporters with their tactics.
This team would be four or five years ahead if it was managed this way from day one.
I wouldn't have the patience to go through that again, I almost gave up on the club if it weren't for the friendships with fellow season ticket holders in my area that were developed.
But yeah, it's "transactional" now for me as well.
I watch matches from other leagues, but only care mildly if at all which team wins. So I guess I'm pretty pure.
As far as soccer goes, 100% TFC. Hasnt been since the mid 90's when soccer saturday exposed me to Arsenal (Bergkamp in particular), but so hard to follow or really care about something you're so detached from overseas. At a glance, I do care about MLS as a whole.
I use to be a Bills season ticket holder for years, and large swaths of Leafs tickets over the years, but all other sports have fallen by the wayside, excluding traveling the continent to attend ball games in the MLB stadiums and otherwise glancing at standings for a few random events.
TFC really has become the only team that I pay attention to on a somewhat daily frequency. Attention has turned to my kids and stocks over the past several years.
im a reds fan both here and across the pond.
TFC Allez. My one and only soccer love.
I played house-league soccer as a kid in the 80s and 90s. My only exposure to the professional game was reading the boxscores and the tables in the back page of the Saturday sports section of the newspaper. The Deportivos and Milans and Manchesters sounded so foreign and fascinating to me. ("what's the difference between United and City? AC and Internazionale? why is one team united/international and not the other?" my eight-year-old self would ask.)
The 94 world cup was the first time I saw professional soccer on TV. After that, I watched Soccer Saturday on TSN every weekend, but that was the extent of it. I never formed allegiances with any club until my first TFC match - the CCL game versus Cruz Azul a bunch of years ago. Saw Mista score.
I follow EPL and La Liga but haven't supported a particular team in those leagues. Have a soft spot for Arsenal because my great-grandparents lived around the corner from Highbury until my great-grandad was killed in WW1. But I wouldn't call myself a Gunner supporter.
Beautifully put! Same here. 2007 was when I REALLY started following football with a passion and through TFC it peaked my interest in the CMNT. I was born in Etobicoke (Toronto) and had parents that followed the sport passively through there Latin American ancestry which rubbed off on me and intrigued me to watch other leagues. But when TFC was announced that changed everything for my love of the game. I had a local team to support!
I will add one caveat though, and maybe a slight disagreement, but I do follow Chile and Mexico and wear their jerseys and support them as well as Canada. Those countries are still fundamentally a part of me even though I am 100% Canadian.
My father is Hungarian, and remembers the incredible "Golden Team" of the 1950's. I've played and coached and love the game.
I've had teams I've followed in the past, especially the French team that my son was in the academy of when we lived in France. I also had a favourite EPL team. These days I mostly just follow TFC, it's enough of an "obsession."
Well, while the rest of the country was watching hockey this morning, I was busy searching the web to see if TFC would be streaming the Aketxe press conference live...
Soccer is by far my favourite sport, and TFC and the league it plays in captures my interest the most. Growing up, I followed a team and league in Europe based on my cultural background, but I don't anymore (for reasons unrelated to TFC), although I do try to watch as many Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A matches as I can (thank you DAZN).
Basketball is the only other team sport that I follow as closely as soccer. I don't think I've watched a total of 5 minutes of the winter olympics this year.
Edit: Forgot to mention that although Toronto is the only soccer club I really care about, the team that has historically made my palms sweat the most is our MNT.
Last edited by Mike_S; 02-24-2018 at 12:16 AM.
I love hearing and reading about how things used to be with soccer in this city back in the 70s and 80s. IIRC, the FA Cup Final was carried by CFMT every year, right? It is the earliest memory I have of watching soccer on Canadian TV; that and the famous Canada-Honduras qualifier in St. John's on CBC.