One big block party Toronto is ready to explode as World Cup fever tightens its grip on the city By ROB LONGLEY -- Toronto Sun Thu, June 8, 2006

It starts at the Dollar Store, of all places, where a vivid mix of soccer jerseys and flags of a dozen nations blend together, colorfully fluttering in the breeze.

There is a similar presentation at Ralph's Hardware just up the block and countless other businesses crowding the main strip of one of Toronto's more renowned neighbourhoods.

Then there are the bars and bistros on both sides of St. Clair Avenue where the action will get hot then hotter over the next month.

Here, in the time it takes to walk the length of a soccer field, you can wander into a joint and watch the World Cup among fans of Italy, Portugal and all teams from South America.

Should one of those win, get ready to be swept up in the party that spills out into the street, joining the honking horns of cars decked out with the appropriate flags.

The cultural diversity of Toronto has long been celebrated as the heartbeat of the city. When it comes to a major international soccer event such as the World Cup, the pulse quickens as the neighbourhoods come alive.

In fact, there may not be another city in the world that has such a wide range of rooting interests among the 32 nations taking part in the Cup, which begins tomorrow in Munich and concludes with the final July 9th in Berlin.

"No (there isn't)" Toronto mayor David Miller said with conviction. "We're unique in that way and I'm very proud of it. That's such a wonderful thing about our city.

"We're all Torontonians but we're allowed to remember and celebrate our heritage and soccer is a great way of doing that."

In that sense, we are a soccer nation like no other, a population that embraces the World Cup even though there is barely a rumour of a Canadian national team.

On that stretch of St. Clair alone, supporters of a handful of teams will have a place to go Cup crazy.

Of course ,when the Italians and Portuguese play, the revelry goes off the dial. But the bedlam spreads to many other areas in the city, as well.

The modern Little Italy on College Street is one. Ukrainian fans gather at community halls throughout the suburbs and Caribbean communities will unite under the flag of Trinidad and Tobago.

Various sections of Yonge Street also get swept up in the action. Then there is an area sometimes referred to as Portugal Village along College and Dundas, where huge factions of Brazilian and Portuguese fans can be found.

The burgeoning Korean community, meanwhile, will pick up where it left off after a run to the semi-finals four years ago when the tournament was held in South Korea and Japan.

As the World Cup has risen in popularity in the past two decades, so too has Toronto's unvarnished affection for it.

So what is the genesis of this craziness? John DeBenedictis, who owns a chain of soccer specialty supply stores across the GTA, shares the belief of many that the cultural craze got its legs in the aftermath of the 1982 Cup.

When the great Paulo Rossi led the Azzurri to victory, those in the Italian community along St. Clair could barely contain themselves as hundreds of thousands of jubilant fans erupted in the first major spontaneous street party in the city. It was a scene that has been copied often since.

"I think that in 1982, for the first time the city experienced a little of what soccer is all about," said DeBenedictis, an avid Italian supporter. "When the Italians won, there was a huge party on St. Clair.

"That kind of got the ball rolling. Every event after, it seemed like you were either cheering for the Italians or against them. Eventually, the other communities got in on the act. It was almost like 'let's show (the Italians) that we can do it as well.' It's been great for the city."

Jeff May owns the Toronto pub Scallywags, a haven for all soccer fans, but especially those from Great Britain. But as May says, virtually any result of the final on July 9 will trigger a celebration somewhere in the city.

"One thing you can say about Toronto, it doesn't matter who wins, somewhere in the city there is going to be a party," May said. "If England wins, this place is going to go bananas. But if it's someone else, there's another place where people are going to be losing their minds.

"I think that's one thing we should be proud of. People in other parts of Canada like to knock Toronto, but that's what makes us great."

It is also part of the reason that in 1998, when municipal politicians were pondering an official city motto, they settled on "Diversity Our Strength."

In fact, the City of Toronto claims that virtually all of the world's cultural groups are represented here and that more than 100 languages or dialects are spoken in the GTA.

By definition, "ethnicity" describes an area in which more than a third of the population is of an immigrant descent and Toronto more than qualifies. Depending on which study you believe, Toronto's population consists of 60-70% of people that are either immigrants or descendants of a strong ethnic community. Most of them love their soccer, albeit in a deliberate, particular way.

If there is a knock on fans in the city, it is that they are too closely tied to their roots, preferring to cheer on their father's or grandfather's team rather than support anything Canadian.

As noted Canadian soccer analyst Dick Howard put it recently, we are a city of "indoor fans," meaning we will watch anything European or South American on the tube but shrug off the live, domestic product.

That oft-debated premise may be a story for another day, but there is no debate that the city's affection for the game spills out in all its glory every four years.

So what makes normally sedate people content in being known as a Torontonian break out in patriotic fever, not to mention all manner of garb in support of their team?

"The funny thing about football is that you may not be overly nationalistic most of the time, but the moment your country plays, it just pops into your blood," said Bob Sorenson, a native of the Netherlands who runs the Dutch Treat social club and will be organizing outings for Holland's games this month.

"You wear that jersey or put that flag on your shoulders and just jump up and shout. For some reason, when you are watching on the other side of the world, it just brings you that much closer. At these moments we all become very Dutch."

Mayor Miller is an avid soccer fan, just old enough to remember growing up in England in 1966, the now infamous year in which they last won the World Cup.

Never one to miss a chance to be out stumping, Miller soaked up the final of Euro 2004 by watching the first half at a Portuguese restaurant and the second half at a Greek establishment.

"Fortunately I picked it in the right order," said Miller with a laugh, referring to the wild party that ensued after Greece finished off the upset. "Within two minutes of the victory, there were a half million people out on the Danforth. I think that tells you the passion people in Toronto have for soccer."

Miller was instrumental in helping arrange for Rogers Communications to have this year's final shown on the big screen at the Rogers Centre with free admission for all.

It's one of many celebrations that will go on in the city during the World Cup. The party fever can be caught as simply as getting involved in the pool at your local watering hole or something grander such as St. Clair Kick-It, a community festival in the St. Clair area.

Every World Cup, it seems, brings out a new group of revellers. Four years ago it was the South Koreans who took their part of the city by storm. This year, watch for Trinidad and Tobago, the new Caribbean team on the block and among others, Ghana, the African nation which is making its first appearance in the Cup tournament.

"Now that people know we are going to the World Cup, interest is starting to show up," said Michael Addo-Yobo, a sports commentator for a local internet-based Ghanian radio station.

"People who normally wouldn't be interested in football are showing the enthusiasm. The adrenaline is flowing."

And the rest of the city says: Welcome to the party.