I've hinted at it before, but I will go on for the record to say that the two North American top-tier clubs that are dear to me are the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Los Angeles Sol.

I have never been much of a hardcore follower of the soccer clubs in Canada. Heck, I look at the Toronto Football Club (or FC) with a sheepish, indifferent demeanor that comes with being a proud citizen of the land South of the (Canadian) Border.

And for some odd reason, unbeknown to my psyche, or perhaps like the smile I get from seeing Atlante FC of Cancun—CANCUN, people, of all places—win the CONCACAF Champions League...I am happy for them.

I am actually happy for them.

All those supporters who made the trip up the 401/A-20—from the Red Patch Boys, to the U-Sector, the Ultras 114, the Firm 116, and the Yonge Street Elite—were praying for the unthinkable to happen.

Can it be done? Most importantly, WILL it be done?

Down four goals against the Vancouver Whitecaps, no one ever thought that Toronto, who have been criticized for their lackluster play in spite of their well-endowed support, would do just that at Stade Saputo in the pouring rain on June 17, 2009.

For those in red, drenched, dancing, and crying in disbelieving joy, it was a redemption that was not unlike the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship in 2009 after falling to the Celtics the year before.

But let's rewind things a little bit here to really show you why this win has been a long time coming.

The Voyageurs Cup, the symbol of Canadian soccer supremacy, has been in existence since 2002, four years before Toronto FC's inception. Originally, the Cup was reserved for Canadian teams in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division.

And in every one of those tournaments, the Impact have been the winners of the cup.

Seven consecutive years, 2002-2008. That's a lot of leaves with your name on it, Montreal.

Sure, Toronto did have a team, but either the Lynx played second fiddle, or they just were not up to snuff with the rest of the competition.

Finally, in 2006 the Toronto Lynx threw in the towel and went down to the Premier Development League, the fourth tier in the North American Soccer Pyramid.

They knew that a certain club at a place called BMO Field was rising, and they knew that they would be unable to compete with the new force in Canada called Toronto FC.

No one will forget the day Danny Dichio scored the first goal in Toronto FC history, on May 12, 2007 against the Chicago Fire.

As soon as he scored, thousands of white seat cushions were thrown onto the pitch in honor of his accomplishment. To this day, the home faithful at BMO Field chant his name during the 24th minute, in commemoration of that goal scored by one of the first cult heroes of the club.

In the first season that Toronto FC was eligible to compete in the Voyageurs Cup (now renamed the Nutrilite Canadian Championship), the fate of the cup came down to a contest at BMO on July 22, 2008.

A victory by Toronto would give them the trophy. A win or draw by Montreal would've given them another leaf on the pedestal with their name on it.

Rohan Ricketts put TFC a goal to the good in the 15th minute. But an equalizer by Roberto Brown in the 26th put the Impact on level terms.

For the next hour plus, the red fans were waiting and hoping for the game-winner.

It never came. And the opportunity to see Toronto represent Canada at the CONCACAF Champions League was replaced by the Montreal Impact celebrating on their pitch.

TFC fans who descended on a number of soccer message boards showed no intent to hide their frustrations and agitations on what would become a subpar season under then-manager John Carver. One went so far as to say, "This bites, huge and thick!"

Toronto FC finished at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference standings that year. The loss to the Impact—now TFC's biggest rival—drove the players to work hard in their attempt this season.

And to their credit, it started off on the right foot.

The third minute saw Kevin Harmse score the first goal for Toronto in the tournament as they defeated the Whitecaps 1-0 on May 6.

A week later, Chad Barrett's winner in the 35th minute gave Toronto a 1-0 victory over Montreal. Suddenly, TFC were on the fast track to redemption.

Or were they?

Vancouver showed they could beat Montreal, too, and they did. A 2-0 victory at Stade Saputo on May 20 was followed by a 1-0 victory at Swangard Stadium.

And Vancouver showed that it could also beat Toronto.

Liberian midfielder Ansu Toure scored a brace to give Vancouver a 2-0 victory over TFC at Swangard Stadium on June 2.

It seemed to be an impossible mountain to climb for new manager Chris Cummins. Even if Toronto would wrap up the tournament with a victory over Montreal, the goal differential was insurmountable.

A four-goal victory would clinch it. The question the supporters in red were asking at Stade Saputo was: is it possible?

The fans did not notice the writing on the wall: it was possible. For these three reasons:

1. Montreal chose not to bring its best side. See, the Whitecaps (who had the unfortunate honor of watching the game from the bleachers), were praying to King Neptune that the Impact would bail them out and deny TFC the Voyageurs Cup.

And the Impact would face Vancouver in a USL First Division game later in the week.
The resulting lineup? A suicidal one, in spite of Tony Donatelli and Joey Gjertsen starting.

No Leonardo Di Lorenzo. And no Roberto Brown. The same Roberto Brown who denied Toronto their trophy.

Even worse, Marc dos Santos made the ill-advised decision of starting Srdjan Djekanovic in goal against a desperate TFC side.

2. Toronto knew that they needed to throw everything—and the kitchen sink and stilettos—at Montreal to jump past the Caps. And with the memory of last year still fresh in their minds, revenge in the pouring rain by the St. Lawrence River could not have come at a better time.

So they had the likes of Dwayne De Rosario and Amado Guevara in the lineup. The firepower that was facing Montreal was at the ready.

3. The Impact had been so dominant in the history of the Cup, that it was time that someone else hoisted it. And it could have been Vancouver. But someone other the Impact was going to have their name on it.

In the 24th minute, a penalty by Donatelli seemed to erase the writing and instead put Toronto FC in the coffin.

But that goal would be the last straw for the Reds.

Five minutes after, a overhead bicycle kick by Dwayne De Rosario off a corner equalized the score in the 34th minute. The howls of the Montreal Ultras mixed with the delight of the Toronto supporters.

It was poorly saved by Djekanovic, and it would be the beginning of a night worth forgetting for the Impact goalkeeper. His overall performance started to melt like the cake left out in rain at the famous, yet mythical, MacArthur Park.

In the 39th minute, De Rosario's first touch led to a second goal for Toronto.

At halftime, the scoreline read 2-1 Toronto. Vancouver was still on track to take the cup by a three-goal differential.

That would all vanish, along with a year of frustration for TFC, in the second.

In the 49th minute, Montreal were clamoring for an offsides call, but official Carol Anne Chenard would have none of it as De Rosario made it 3-1 Toronto.

Somewhere in British Columbia, fans donning the blue and white of the Whitecaps were in worrying disbelief, as if their own empire were crumbling before their very eyes.

In the many bars and restaurants that had the game live, there were early celebrations on Donatelli's penalty, but Dwayne De Rosario's hat trick took the air out of the province.

In the 69th minute, a free kick by Guevara sent it in the top left corner. Djekanovic had no chance of saving that. 4-1 Toronto.

And in the 82nd minute, Guevara's corner found Chad Barrett—the same Chad Barrett who scored the decisive goal at BMO Field 43 days ago—impaling both Montreal and Vancouver.

Teitur Thordarsson, manager of the Whitecaps, looked on with a stoic impression comparable to any military general on the losing end of a war. Djekanovic waved in vain to ask for something to be done from Montreal.

But every ounce of will from the embattled, bruised, empty-eyed  shell of the team from Quebec was gone. Long gone. As well as that of the team from BC.

And Guevara read the last rites for both teams in the 90th minute to make it 6-1. By that point, the Toronto supporters—shirtless, shameless, and hopelessly on the verge of greatness—were dancing on the coffins and the seats of Stade Saputo.

Toronto FC became champions of Canada, and their redemption made every Torontonian beam with pride.

The possibility of an unprecedented double of Voyageurs and MLS Cup cannot be left out of the discussion. Currently, Toronto are on the fringe of making the playoffs, sitting in the 8th spot (as of today).

Can more history be made for a team that has secured its first piece of hardware?

After what will go down as the great game in club history to date, things can only be looking up.

As for Vancouver, the Whitecaps remain as the only active team that has yet to win the Voyageurs Cup. But with the Montreal Impact's monopoly on the trophy broken, perhaps the wait for the Whitecaps could be over soon as well.

And if that should happen, chalk up another club I will be happy for as I get ready to write on the Los Angeles Sol on Sunday once again.

Source: Click Here