After many years in the wilderness, Toronto FC, the city’s Major League Soccer franchise, finally won it all on Saturday, with a two-nothing victory over the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup. Although soccer isn’t as big a deal in Toronto as baseball, hockey or basketball, Toronto FC’s fans make up in rabidity what they lack in numbers. Today’s victory parade, which cut a path from the Air Canada Centre to Nathan Philips Square, drew a sea of red-clad supporters who were thrilled to have a real accomplishment to celebrate, at last. Here are the best things we saw.
The festivities kicked off at the ACC, where the big screen was red for the occasion:
The conquering heroes travelled by double-decker bus (red, naturally), and sprayed the crowd with champagne:
Toronto FC’s many fan clubs were out in force. Here’s U-Sector, an independent supporters’ group that sits in section 113 at BMO Field:
These guys belong to the Red Patch Boys, an official supporters’ group:
And here’s someone flying the flag of the Inebriatti (the black square in the background), who are known as the rowdiest of the fan groups:
BMO had a very legit looking float, seen previously at the Santa Claus Parade:
After about 45 minutes of marching, the parade’s participants converged on Nathan Phillips Square for a victory rally:
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