“We would like to invite all of you to our family.” Those were the words of the Toronto Argonauts defensive quarterback Mike O’Shea on Tuesday at the Grey Cup celebration in front of City Hall. For the 25,000 fans that showed up and cheered along Front Street, Bay Street, and at City Hall, it sure felt like something had come home-a championship.

Over the last seven years, no major Toronto franchise has won a championship until now. It was a feat last achieved by the very same Argos; however in 2004 it had much more significance. It is making people remember the CFL in this city.

The Argonauts defeated the B.C Lions 27-19 on Sunday in Ottawa to win the 2004 Grey Cup. On Tuesday they gathered at Union Station at 11:30 a.m. for a victory parade and rally that went up Bay Street to Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall.

It began as owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon led their teams out of the chartered buses. There were over 12 Ford pickup trucks waiting for them, each ready to carry four members of the Argo’s team in the back.

Fans ran up and congratulated the players, getting autographs, pictures, and even kisses. Michael “Pinball” Clemons and Damon Allen drew the biggest crowds, with repeated chants of “Pinball” and “MVP” being hurled at each of them.

At about noon the pickups began moving slowly along Bay Street toward Nathan Phillips Square. Over 30,000 people came out to cheer on the squad. They stood on either side of Bay Street and parts of Queen Street applauding the Grey Cup champs.

Numerous employees stood near windows to catch a glimpse of the parade. There an elation over a sports champion that has not been present in this city for a long time.

There were many students and youngsters among the crowd, and people often ran up and congratulated the players.

There were also several highlights during the festivities. Mike O’Shea got off the truck with the Grey Cup in his hand and rushed to the crowd to let them all touch it, much to the joy of fans, who went crazy for the chance to touch the Grey Cup. Damon Allen did the same thing twice, and was mobbed by fans.

In the trucks behind, Arland Bruce, Tony Miles, and Bashir Levingston kept waving and giving fans high-fives. They also signed autographs as their trucks moved along.

The biggest highlight occurred at City Hall: the fans cheered and chanted “Argos” while the entire team was introduced on the stage. Mayor David Miller declared the day to be Toronto Argonauts Day in Toronto. Pinball Clemons gave an uplifting speech, in which he ended by saying, “We can’t win the Grey Cup every year, but we’re going to try.”

The entire parade and rally lasted about 2 hours and ended at about 1:30 pm. The huge gathering proved that CFL football has indeed returned to Toronto. There is great optimism that the stands will be much fuller next year.

The parade proved the true beauty of the CFL-its ability to connect with fans. Not very often can fans go and get autographs as well as meet players without the hassle of security guards, and rarely do players come into crowds hosting a championship trophy.