Given the current sports climate in Toronto, fans are starved for a winning team, a team they can get behind every week.
The Toronto Argonauts’ surprising performance this season has led many sports fans who, like me, were looking for a reason to unite and cheer for their city, to believe that the team might have a winning formula.
I’ll admit that it wasn’t until late in the season that I got behind the Argos. I was searching for a team that made me feel proud to cheer for Toronto. I wanted to be a part of a culture that I was beginning to wonder, even existed in this city.
I’ve since been to several CFL games, and life from the stands is every bit as exciting as it is on the field.
My latest game was round one of the eastern play-offs. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosted the Argos outdoors at Ivor Wynne Stadium on November 14. The Ti-Cats stadium gets back to basics and reminds players and fans alike just what it is that they love about football.
The stadium was 2000 spectators short of capacity, but felt packed. As one of the few Argos fans in attendance, I stuck out like a sore thumb, wearing blue in a sea of black and yellow.
Every turnover, the crowd got excited. Pigskin Pete — a die hard Ti-Cats fan who shows up to every one of his team’s home games in a customized jersey, bowler hat, and a pension for yelling the Ti-Cats cheer — got the crowd going early on.
Pete walked along the top of the wall inciting violent cheers of support, and arguing with Argos fans around me. He was especially riled up when his team scored their only touchdow of the game.
The Argos won the game 16–13, but had their work more than cut out for them in round two, traveling to Montreal to face-off against the Alouettes on November 21 at Olympic Stadium.
The Alouettes, who walked away with the Grey Cup last year after a close game against the Saskatchewan Rough Riders, took the lead at the beginning of the game and didn’t let up.
And despite losing 48–9, the Argos have climbed the ranks this year. They put on a strong showing late in the season, built up their game attendance at a rapid rate, and were just a hair away from making it to the Grey Cup final.
Will it be the Argos who finally give the down-and-slowly-fizzling-out Toronto sports scene the boost that it needs?
