In terms of the number of trophies won, Toronto FC is near the top of MLS. However, most of…read moreToronto's trophies are Canadian Championship trophies. Not to downplay the Canadian Championship, but only three of the current 28 MLS teams are eligible to compete for the Canadian Championship: CF Montreal (Montreal Impact), Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Other Canadian Championship participants come from lower-level leagues such as the Canadian Premier League (CPL) and League1 Ontario. Since the Canadian Championship's first year in 2008, the finalists have always included two of Canada's three aforementioned MLS teams. The only exception was in 2020 when Forge FC of Hamilton, Ontario qualified for the final against Toronto. Forge is from the CPL and won back-to-back CPL championships in 2019 and 2020. Toronto FC (7) and CF Montreal (5) have combined to win 12 of the 14 Canadian Championships so far. When it comes to MLS play, Toronto won the Supporters' Shield (best regular season record) and the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2017. It was the team's 11th season. To date, the 2017 MLS Cup is the team's only league championship, a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field in Toronto. American forward Jozy Altidore was named MLS Cup MVP. He had the opening goal. Around this time, Italian forward Sebastian Giovinco was the star of the team. Giovinco played for Toronto from 2015 to 2019. In his first year, he won three MLS awards: Newcomer of the Year, Golden Boot (most goals in the regular season with 22), and MVP. Giovinco was the team's top scorer for four straight seasons, 2015-2018. Toronto recently had another player win the MLS MVP Award in 2020: Spanish midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo. Pozuelo joined the team in 2019 and is still currently with the team. He's taken over as the leading scorer for Toronto since the departure of Giovinco. Greg Vanney was Toronto's head coach during the "championship era." It was his first head coaching job. A former LA Galaxy player, Vanney has been the Galaxy's head coach since January 2021. Conversely, Bob Bradley has been Toronto's head coach since November 2021. He came over from Galaxy rival LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club).

Went to watch Toronto FC for the first time at BMO fields and it was a fun experience. The stadium…read morewas limited in capacity due to COVID restrictions, but that made it easier to move around and enjoy the stadium. We sat in our actual seats for the first half and then walked around and were let in the beer garden area which is usually reserved for season ticket holders etc. Atmosphere was lively and make sure you join in the team spirit with the chants and noise. I can see why people often compliment the Toronto FC experience. Parking & Beer & food & water were extremely over priced as expected. The game ended up being a tie, but we had a good time!

Came to my first game in a long time. I purchased 2 tickets for the all you can eat for $40 plus…read moretaxes. It includes peameal bacon sandwiches hotdogs popcorn nachos with all the toppings and choice of bottled water or non alcoholic soft drinks. We met Megan Wilbert of food services and Ian Malcom who were both outstanding with their customer service. As the staff that directed upon entry accidentally sent us to the wrong areas for the wristbands on the 200 level. Ian took the time to walk us down the 100 level gate 3 to ensure we got our wrist bands. Mega. Was outstanding at introducing us to the all you can eat areas and what options we had. These 2 individuals were outstanding with their customer service and attention to making it an enjoyable experience. We will be back.

If you are looking for great value for your sports and entertainment dollars, look no further than…read morethe Argos. I do not know of any professional football team that offers fans season tickets for as low as $159. Been a season ticket holder for years and win or lose, they always make it worth it to go to the game (except for a few years when the staff of stadium they used to play in made Argo FANS not feel welcome)

The inaugural season of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) kicked off in early January…read more2024. This league is also affectionately known as P-dub, which is easier to say than the acronym. The league consists of these six teams: - Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal - Minnesota - New York - Boston They were supposed to have team names. The league applied for six trademarks, which were considered leaked names. I don't know if this story is true, as you can always get trademarks for names that you think that you want, but aren't forced to use them. It would have been the Toronto Torch. I dig the alliteration. Go, Torch, go! This chant works. Instead, the teams were simply PWHL + location. It seems strange, but there is standardization. When the jerseys were unveiled, they had the location in block letters running diagonally across the front. It looked simple and kind of boring at first, but it grew on fans. I have been watching and supporting Toronto and Minnesota games throughout this season. I like that games are broadcast on YouTube for free. It sure beats my NHL subscription! PWHL Toronto plays their games at Mattamy Athletic Centre, which was formerly Maple Leaf Gardens. Yep, it's where the Toronto Maple Leafs played their games from 1931 till 1999. It's now a mix of an ice hockey rink, a Loblaws supermarket, and a venue where the Toronto Metropolitan University holds convocation and other large events. I have yet to see this team play a game at Mattamy. I suppose that taking in Minnesota Wild games in Saint Paul has torn me away from taking in a PWHL game here. I am consistent, though. I also hadn't been taking in any Toronto Marlies games (American Hockey league) for a longer period. I do love this Toronto team. The majority of the players are Canadian. Many of them recently won gold at the Women's Hockey Championship in April. I like that the PHWL halted all games so that players from this league could participate in this world event. With the Wild out of the playoffs for the first time in a few years, it was nice to check out local hockey. I squeezed in a couple of AHL games before the Marlies exited the playoffs early. PWHL Toronto was the top team in the league during the regular season. I like that the rules are different in this league. This team decided its opponent in the first playoff round. It chose Minnesota, a team that was on a ten-game losing skid. Minnesota seemed to be the easiest team to beat. I am happy to say that my first PWHL game that I attended was in Toronto, at Coca Cola Coliseum. This game was the first PWHL playoff game ever. It was a dream to see two teams that I have supported battle it out. The PWHL is so popular that Mattamy Athletic Centre was deemed too small for the crowd for the first round of the playoffs. It's the main reason why it was moved to the Coliseum. When I first saw Toronto hit the ice and warm up, I could tell that this team was ready. The team looked good. It was a best-of-five-games series. Toronto looked strong, winning the first two games at home. Minnesota proved to be a huge thorn in Toronto's side. Minnesota did a reverse series win and beat the top ranked team. I was sad that my attending PWHL Toronto games was over for this season. However, I was so proud at how great this team did. Sadly, the team lost Natalie Spooner to injury during the playoffs. She had the most goals during the regular season. Her absence affected the team's ability to win the series. I had the best seat for my first and only PWHL game at Coca Cola Coliseum. My ticket was affordable and the food at this venue is excellent. I look forward to next season and taking in at least a PWHL Toronto game at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Here's hoping that Toronto has another successful regular season and ends up hoisting the Walter Cup next year. (222)

This was my second time attending an event here, and overall the venue is very organized. There are…read moreseveral gates that are pretty evenly distributed, which helps with the large crowds. Ticket prices fluctuate depending on the game, but overall I find them pretty decent. For popular giveaway days, definitely arrive early. Our game started at 3 PM, but people were already lining up before noon. My most recent visit was for Hello Kitty Day, where they were giving away 15,000 Halloween Hello Kitty figurines with bobble arms. The gates opened at 1 PM and everyone started pushing forward to get in, but it wasn't too bad. They had cases of the figurines ready at the entrance, and I managed to get one! Once inside, we lined up for the Hello Kitty caricatures. The wait was around an hour, with seven artists working at the same time. Each artist had a different drawing style, and you couldn't really choose who you got. But it's free, and the artists really take their time to capture your details. I think this was the best booth! There were also several Hello Kitty areas throughout the venue with temporary tattoos, balloons, nails, hair clips, bow making, an apple toss, and other activities. A lot of them came with small freebies, so I managed to collect quite a few things throughout the day. There was also plenty of merch available, although it was fairly expensive. For food, there are plenty of food and drink options throughout the stadium, although most of the vendors seemed to have similar options. We had Italian sausage hot dogs this time, and they were pretty much as expected. On my first visit, I tried one of their foot-long hot dogs. The food is definitely pretty expensive, but it's part of the experience, so you do it for the culture at least once. I don't know baseball rules too well, but there's such a great vibe being there that it's still really enjoyable. The stadium is well laid out, the staff are helpful and friendly, and we had a great view of the entire game from our seats. The atmosphere was really good and everyone around us was chill. Overall, I've had a good time during both visits and would definitely come back for another game or special event.

I went weeks ago to a Blue Jays game, Astros vs Jays. I grew up with the Jays we where there for a…read moregiveaway night, too, so that was a bonus. It was coinciding with FIFA, CDN vs SUI in Vancity last June. We sat in section 214, greats seats ... They opened the dome. The mascots were featured throughout the game on the field and up in the sections during the game. It was wonderful to be there and see all the heroes from the previous World Series dream-run. Then around the 3rd inning got up and walked around and explored the new renovations. So different when we used to come to 25+ games in the '92-95 years. I was great to walk around and see the game from so many vantages: home plate, first base, left field from the 100s; up on the skydeck which has the atmosphere of a house party on the 500s ... We got back to our seats around the 8 inning with food brisket and nachos and a sandwich and they were delicious! Even those lost, was exciting and loved every minute.

This is a review update of Raptors…read more A lot have changed since my last review which was almost 7 years ago. Building a winning team does takes years but I am just so excited that my home team finally in the 2019 NBA final even 1 game away from a Championship?! This is just unbelievable. Go Raptors Go! We the North!

Hey, I'm at 1,200 reviews! To mark this milestone, it makes sense that I write about the Toronto…read moreRaptors. The team won its first NBA Championship. We the north! We the champs! We da best in 2019! I moved away from the GTA in 1995, which happened to be the inaugural season for our beloved Raptors. I moved to Winnipeg. The Jets died that year. I got into the Raptors to fill the void. I didn't even think twice about the Grizzles. The Raptors have always been my NBA team. Raptors fans have seen a ton of amazing players come and go. Stoudamire. Curry. Bogues. Camby. McGrady. Williams. Calderon. Carter. Bosh. DeRozan. I was thrilled to see a number of them return during the finals between the Raptors and Warriors, to wave to the crowd and soak in the moment. Remember the ten-year challenge that was a hip meme a while back? Well, I can do it for the Raptors. I attended my first Raptors game ten years ago. I was with a company that invited employees to its suite box at the Air Canada Centre. There was a single spot open and I got it. Sadly, I couldn't bring anyone, but the experience was amazing. I got to see the Raptors play the Hawks. It was a tight game. I got to order food in a fancy suite. I am not fancy in comparison, but I felt at ease ordering food, and stuffing my face with pizza, a burger, fries, and a beverage to wash everything down. The Raptors lost by eight points. I was still happy to watch them and take in the experience. Thank goodness I took photos! Some habits don't die. Let's switch to the Raptors today. The Raptors formed such an amazing roster of talented guys who never said die. Leonard. Lowry. VanVleet. Gasol. Ibaka. Siakam. Green. They made the entire journey enjoyable, stressful, and worth every moment to support. There were a few games where I needed a defibrillator and felt so stressed out watching the entire game (Raptors vs. Sixers with Leonard's buzzer-beating shot comes to mind, along with game six against the Warriors to seal the deal). Hat tip to the Raptors for such an amazing achievement. As Canadians, we are incredibly proud of the Raptors. It's Canada's team. The north has spoken. (186)

Finally made it to a Wolfpack game last weekend and absolutely loved it!…read more First off, it's Rugby League and not Rugby Union. That may not clarify anything for many, but effectively Rugby League is faster pace, has generally more running and fewer stoppages and slow downs such as scrums. Anyone can have the basic rules of the game explained in a few steps and you'll be able to follow along with what's going on. It's short and sweet compared to most North American sports as it strictly follows two 40 minute halves and a short break in between. Aside from the excitement of the game, the atmosphere is terrific. There were more people than I expected as Lamport was nearly full with about 8 thousand people. I believe all games are on Saturdays at 1pm and mostly through the summer - so it's at very convenient time and generally with terrific weather. Lamport itself is situated in a great location that's super accessible, whether by streetcar (King), GO (Exhibition), car (lots nearby) and even a bikeshare stop. And if you've heard of the Wolfpack games, there's a good chance you've already heard of their wide array of craft beers. All the beer sold is from at least a dozen local craft breweries. You can get it on draught at the tents on either side of the field, and they also have vendors selling tallboy cans in the stands. The draft is currently selling for $8 for a 14 oz cup, and the tall boy cans at $9. There's also Cider, Spirit and other liquor vendors. I think food is limited to fries, burgers, hot dogs and maybe a couple other things. Make sure you check it out and tickets are cheap too. Tip: you can buy tickets through GO (just google it) so you can effectively take the GO in on a reduced rate. Tip 2: If it's a hot day, be sure to wear sunscreen and wear a hat. The stadium is totally open.

Last week, my manager and I were having a talk. We got on the topic of hockey…read more He told me that Mats Sundin, our former Toronto Maple Leafs captain, used to live in the same condominium as he. He mentioned early 90's. We then had this conversation: "Wasn't Sundin with the Nordiques then?" I asked. "We'll need to check," he said. I checked. I was right. Sundin joined the Leafs in 1994. He started his career with the Quebec Nordiques in 1990. Although I don't talk about the Leafs as much as I do the Minnesota Wild (season ticket holder of a handful of tickets) or Winnipeg Jets (first set of live games attended), the Leafs are near and dear to me. It is tough being a Leafs fan for a variety of reasons. I grew up watching the Leafs on television. My dad often had Hockey Night in Canada on after dinner on Saturdays. I'd watch the the team play. The puck moving around ice made this little kid curious and happy. I only heard their names as a kid. Sittler. McDonald. Salming. Palmateer. I'd learn about how important they are and were to the Leafs and hockey later on as I became a huge hockey fan. I got into the Leafs when I was an undergraduate student. The Leafs were in the playoffs. Fans were hoping that the team would hoist another Stanley Cup. There was hope. We still don't have a repeat cup. The team back then was magical. Doug Gilmour and Dave Andreychuk were the dynamic duo. They were wonderful together. Add into the mix Borschevsky, Potvin, Clark, and more and you got an exciting team to watch. I loved catching the team's playoff runs while I was taking summer math courses, trying to balancing studying, and either listening or watching games on the radio or TV, respectively. You then had a changing of the guards with Mats Sundin. He was a tall, skillful player who eventually wore the C. We had more Swedes on our team. It was such a change compared to when Salming joined the NHL and many players weren't used to seeing a European player on the ice. I remember a couple of colleagues from our Karlskrona office visiting ours for a week nearly a decade ago. I took them around Toronto and the suburbs, not that I was forced to, but I liked doing it. I took them to a hockey game after work. They got to see Sundin, Modin, and more at Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena). They were ecstatic! I also recommended that they go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which they did the following evening. It was nice that hockey strengthened our relationship. They appreciated the fact that I was aware of Swedish hockey players and didn't simply narrow it down to Canadians. Like them, I was a hockey fan. The Leafs these days have a strong team. The core four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares seem unstoppable scoring machines. Ryan Reaves, formerly of the Wild, is now in a Leafs jersey. It's weird, but he injects a lot of much needed swagger to this club. I removed a star in my rating because it's super expensive seeing a Leafs game at Scotiabank Arena. Getting season tickets is also difficult and expensive. The food isn't as good or affordable as the Xcel Energy Center. One positive is that you can use debit and credit cards for 50/50 draws at Leafs games. I do hope that I can see the Leafs win the cup again in my lifetime. Never say never. (93)

Went to the game vs the Senators. Well I give it three stars since we expected better for the…read morevenue. We got seats by the aisle and it was hard standing and sitting every few minutes. It didn't help that there were about 30 seats per section vs the 20 or less that is typical and the railing slightly blocked our view. Maybe everyone was going around and enjoying their great food and drink since the team sucks and it's a shame they have for so long with it being the only team in Canada's largest metro area by far. No wonder our best friend, a Bruins fan, calls them "The Make Me Laughs" and he actually saw them beat the Capitals in DC the next day. One fan said "maybe I should just become a Sens fan" after they beat them at home. Carlton the polar bear is adorable though.

The Brampton Beast are probably one of the most under-utilized sources of affordable fun -…read moreespecially for families. Though they're in a lower-tier of minor league hockey, the games are usually fairly entertaining and what sets the Beast apart in terms of experience is that they really make a huge effort to bring an entertaining experience when you come. Take a look at their schedule, and you'll see theme nights such as Star Wars, 90's and just about everything else. They make sure kids are engaged with the theme, along with the very good chance the kids will get on the big screen, meet the mascot and even win a prize. Coming to games is extremely accessible based on the inexpensive tickets. Also, though some in the GTA may hear "Brampton" and assume it's too far, bear in mind they're located a few hundred metres from Mississauga and a couple minutes away from the Derry Rd/410 exit. Most people could make it here in 20 minutes or less for a weekend game. Parking is free too.

Seems like a great family night outing. There is free parking and the ticket prices are affordable…read more The hockey is competitive, but it's visible that it's not as competitive or highly skilled as ahl or nhl. They have box seats which are great for parties. Their pizza and nachos tastes pretty good. The arena's size allows for great views throughout. Kids seem to really enjoy the mascot, music and the hotdog bazooka. They have 50/50 but didn't announce the winning number during the game. At the end of the game I went to check for the winning number and staff was unsure where to go. I went to aisle 11 they told me to go to aisle 3 and vice versa. The staff made me wait to text each other what the number was and where to go. Finally saying someone had claimed it without giving the number. Overall, very relaxing, nice views, music and light show does hype you up. There are tons of families watching with their small children. Affordable entertainment.