Where the streetcars should have been, the merry band of reds rolled west on King Street in a double-decker.
Stopping at one pub after another, the bus filled with fans en route to the soccer match.
Some tipsy, almost all dressed in Toronto FC colours, they shouted their appreciation for a team that did for them what the TTC could not.
“This is our bus,” they chanted, then, with their hands, smacked a staccato on the side of the bus. “This is our bus!”
Drivers of cars and SUVs on King St. honked in response.
“We think this is wonderful that the club will do this,” said fan Arnaz Jasumani, sitting in the upper deck. “When you look at a cashier who stands for five or six hours getting $8 an hour, and then at the (TTC) booth collector making $30 an hour ..... it’s disgusting.”
Asif Rashid, 31, a season ticket holder, said he was grateful for the bus.
“We were walking toward the field. Normally we take the subway, then grab the streetcar. I’m so annoyed at the TTC,” he said. “We saw this bus full of fans. They made the day brighter.”
Brett Kane, 25, who described himself as a “superfan” and volunteer working on behalf of the team, said TFC asked him to help organize the bus tour and to run into each pub along the route to gather up fans needing a lift.
The stops included: Jack Astors. Elephant & Castle. The Wheat Sheaf. Foggy Dew.
“(The team) knew there’s a lot of people who take public transit to go to the game. TFC wanted to make sure they could go,” said Kane, who was wearing a Danny Dichio jersey.
Then, cued by a raucous fan sitting at the front of upper deck, the fans start singing “When the reds go marching in” as people shopping and walking in and out of cafés on King St. W. stopped to watch.
Retirees John Hampton and Tony Hull, who went to the same university in England 40 years ago, were giddy.
“We happened to be sitting in the pub. Someone said ‘Free bus.’ Fabulous!” said Hampton, bedecked in a red hat, scarf and jersey. “What happened (Friday) night was disgusting. Originally the (TTC workers) were going to give 48-hours notice. They gave no notice.”
As the bus approached the next pub, fans stood up while keeping their heads low to avoid the streetcar wires, and started shouting, “Free bus!”
Others started singing “Oh, Danny Dichio -”
“He scored the (club’s) first goal at home in the 24th minute,” Hampton explained. “We can make a song for anything.”
Then the crowd started chanting, “This is our bus! This is our bus!”
David Bruser
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