For Alistair Johnston and many Canada supporters, Toronto took World Cup to new heights

TORONTO, ONTARIO — The police officer couldn't quite read the traffic bypass badge on the windshield of the white car with the New York plates and pushed this writer's vehicle back onto the highway to extend the commute to Toronto Stadium for Canada's World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday. That mild inconvenience had a silver lining, however, as the extra stop on the Gardiner Expressway yielded a sight unseen in 20-ish years of crossing America's northern border to cover Raptors, Leafs, Toronto FC, and even Buffalo Bills games. Four hours before kickoff, red and white smoke billowed up from the tailgaters on the street and around the railing of the elevated expressway. Canadian fans were at another level for their day playing on and hosting the big stage. MORE — Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina recap By the time the game kicked off, even a Toronto-heavy squad couldn't help but notice. "It's actually funny this World Cup being in Toronto because so many of us are from around here, grew up around here, and so many of our camps are here, too," said Canada defender Alistair Johnston, the Celtic back who played much of his youth soccer in the Greater Toronto Area. "Going to the training ground, yeah there were more media members but it was pretty easy to keep things quite normal. But obviously you come out to that stadium, it's different, a lot ouder, a lot more fans there." Johnston was one of several Canadian players to tell ProSoccerTalk that the massive environment created by the Canada-heavy crowd — I'd estimate an 85-15 split between Canada and Bosnia supporters — spurred the team out of a nervy early patch and back to level footing and the 1-1 draw that gave the nation its first point at a men's World Cup in seven tries. "That's our third World Cup and it took us that long to get one," Johnston said. "We can't turn our nose up at that, that we're still making history. But our goals are bigger than that." Both players and fans with Toronto connections electrified by display Johnston would go on to say that if Vancouver — the site of Canada's next two group stage games — can bring the same noise and energy as Toronto, it could provide a whole new edge to the team. The Canadian team has been focused on not making the World Cup too different of an emotional, high-stakes occasion, a massive challenge given that the World Cup is exactly that. "We did a great job of keeping everything really normal, which is probably one of the difficult parts of a home World Cup," he said. "There's so much more going on — tickets, fans, everything. Look, I think we did a great job and we'll continue to build on that. And to again touch on that support. If we can keep having that [in the stadium] we can have a pretty special group stage and I fancy our chances to pick up more." Walking around Toronto Stadium — normally called BMO Field when hosting Toronto FC matches — it wasn't difficult to find fans young and old who expressed a similar vibe. "We had to be a part of it," said Urania Fuentes, who traveled to Toronto from Edmonton, Alberta, with her partner Robin. "Grew up watching, playing. I played a little bit but watching him and our family play it's huge. It's a quality roster and we're expecting big things." Screenshot Nick Mendola Robin said that the team's journey already had him in a great mental space. The host nation status is icing on the cake. "Watching the program develop and watching a good team play on home soil is huge and a good thing for us," he said. Ottawa friends Bryan Williams and Dave Lozon made the trip from the capital to Toronto and each brought a kid, Milo and Wells. Lozon, too, was experiencing the next step of his Canadian fandom. "I used to live in California and saw the Women's World Cup there," Lozon said. "This is full circle and being here with my family now is very, very special." Screenshot Nick Mendola And then there was another father and son pair: Dwayne and Zachary, who wished not to disclose their last names. Zachary is an elementary school student who loves the game and was decked out in black and red Canada gear and stickers. Dwayne didn't grow up with the game but he sure grew up loving Canada and couldn't pass up the opportunity to take his son to a historic occasion. "It's amazing — I love that I can bring him up here," Dwayne said. "He loves this team. That's why we're here." Zachary added, "I'm just cheering for my home country and all that stuff." That all seems to roll into the vibe that caught Johnston off guard. Yes, he's seen sports fever grip Toronto but there's something different about this from the long-suffering Canadian men's national team getting to see a good team reach for its potential to the next generation of Canadian soccer fan blooming under the rays of a home World Cup and emerging from the red and white smoke of celebrating city. Screenshot