By the time the 2007 FIFA u-20 tournament kicked off the TFC miracle was already well underway. In 2006, the best that most people in the soccer community were hoping out of TFC was for crowds of 15,000-ish and not to have the constant fear of having the team pulled away from us. So, when 20,000 plus nutters started to show up every week it was awe inspiring to those who had watched the game domestically for many years.
Then the u-20s started to roll across the country and suddenly there are packed venues in places like Ottawa and Victoria too. All total, 1,156,187 Canadians showed up to watch during the month long event, the most in tournament history.
Maybe this isn't a sport only played by 4-year-olds in Canada. Maybe there are people here that will watch this sport. Certainly a lot of investors have stepped forward since that magical summer to suggest that might be the case.
The home team was embarrassingly awful, but the tournament was still an incredible success. The centrepiece of what was likely the most important six month period in the sport's history in Canada.
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