SPORTY CASUAL FASHION

As a proud Torontonian, I am a bit embarrassed to say that I haven’t been to a TFC game in nearly 10-years.

So when the opportunity arose to go to a game and sit in the designated cheering-section with a boy you’re newly dating, how can a girl say no. 😉

Now, you may not know this, but I’m not exactly a sports fan. But, I’m all about dressing up appropriately for any kind of event. So I did a bit of research and asked a few questions and discovered that TFC colours were: RED, BLACK and WHITE.

Basic colour staples in any girls wardrobe – especially in mine. But instead of wearing something I already had, I chose to go the DIY route and get crafty!

TA-DAH!!! Here you see a custom, one of a kind, Irene creation. This tank top was on sale at Eddie Bauer for $10. Perfect TFC colour combos as the white fades into red.

The morning of the game, I had the bright idea to cut out felt letters and affix them on to the shirt, creating the be-all-and-end-all outfit requirements for any and all sporting event invitations in my life: GO SPORTS!

WHAT I WORE: Tank top, Eddie Bauer; Leggings with mesh calves, JoeFresh; R2D2 socks from Torrid; Sneakers (not seen here) and Lettering by moi 🙂

With unpredictable weather, I wrote a white checkered fleece zip-up (Old Navy), just in case and wore my gold-studded cross-body bag (Aldo) so that nothing would have to be place on the ground of a crowded and likely beer-covered floors of BMO Field’s stadium.

See that gifted scarf around my neck…completing my sporty-fan-girl outfit? That’s the 10th anniversary TFC scarf.

The soccer scarf phenomenon began in the early 1900s. This trend originated in the United Kingdom where fans needed a way to stay warm without sacrificing their team spirit. It was here that the idea of ‘team scarves’ was born.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that one of the fringe on each side of this scarf is made of blue wool. That’s meant to be a nod to the pre-Toronto FC history of soccer in the city. Specifically it was part of the colours worn by the Toronto Blizzards and Toronto Metros Croatia, who were both teams in North American Soccer League. See the things you learn when you date a soccer dude :p

Today, the team itself has simply been called “TFC” and “the Reds” by the media and the club.

Have you ever been to a TFC game? Here are some things you can do to participate:

Visually.

Wear Red. Black. White. Or a combination of the three.
People don’t really make banners or anything. But if you wanna make one and if you got TFC swag like a flag or scarf… bring them and wave them proudly. 🙂

Verbally.

There were SOOOOO many chants you can participate in. Sadly, I was too into it myself during the game, that I didn’t record any myself from the enthusiastic fans around me calling themselves THE U-SECTORS (fans sitting in the U section of BMO Field, I was told later). THE U-Sector vocally leads the entire south stand, and has also contributed to the highly visual nature of TFC support.

But here’s a clip of what goes down among these chanting fans:

There were many more creative chants sung to the tune of many well known songs. One of my personal favourites was done to the Jesus Christ Superstar tune:

T-O-R…. O-N-T …Oooooooh….. T-F-C! ❤

IF you’re the type that needs to know the lyrics before confidently yelling them to a tune among a stadium full of day-drinking fans…here’s one for you along with its YouTube vid so you can study up 🙂

Just Cant Get Enough
(this one is usually sung after a goal)
When I see Toronto, I go out of my head
I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough
All the things you do to me and all the things you said
I just can’t get enough, I just cant get enough
We slip and slide when we fall in love
and I just can’t seem to get enough of…
(Repeat with Doo’s and jumping)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUwshjBY3hk&feature=related