Toronto FC

Toronto FC's 2007 launch was met with extraordinary enthusiasm. The club's first match at BMO Field - a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Wizards - drew a sellout crowd and launched a love affair between the city and its soccer team that would endure through years of dreadful results. The South End Supporters and other fan groups brought a European-style atmosphere to BMO Field, complete with songs, tifo displays, and a level of organized passion that was exceptional by MLS standards.

The problem was that the team was terrible. Toronto FC failed to make the playoffs in each of their first eight seasons, a stretch of futility that tested even the most devoted fans. The club cycled through coaches at an alarming rate - Mo Johnston, Preki, Aron Winter, Paul Mariner, and Ryan Nelsen all tried and failed to turn the ship around. The roster was similarly unstable, with high-profile signings like Dwayne De Rosario and Jermain Defoe producing individual moments but no collective improvement.

Despite everything, the fans kept coming. BMO Field sold out regularly even as the losses piled up, and the culture of devoted, sometimes masochistic support became one of Toronto FC's defining characteristics. The fans earned the right to celebrate when success finally arrived - they had paid their dues many times over.

The arrival of Sebastian Giovinco from Juventus in 2015, combined with the signings of U.S. national team captain Michael Bradley and striker Jozy Altidore, transformed Toronto FC from laughingstock to legitimate contender almost overnight. Giovinco, the diminutive Italian forward, was a revelation - his combination of pace, creativity, and finishing made him the most exciting player in MLS and earned him the 2015 MVP award.

Toronto made the playoffs for the first time in 2015 and reached MLS Cup in 2016, losing to the Seattle Sounders on penalties at BMO Field. The 2016 final loss was crushing, but it set the stage for what came next. The 2017 season was the most dominant campaign in MLS history: Toronto FC set the single-season points record with 69, won the Supporters' Shield, and dominated the playoffs en route to MLS Cup, where they defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in a rematch of the previous year's final.

The 2017 Treble - Supporters' Shield, Canadian Championship, and MLS Cup - was achieved with a squad that played the best soccer the league had ever seen. Giovinco and Altidore combined for devastating attacking power, Bradley controlled the midfield with metronomic precision, and head coach Greg Vanney built a system that was greater than the sum of its considerable parts. It was a season for the ages and a reward for the fans who had suffered through eight years of failure.