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Under a cloudless Alberta sky on a 23C degree Mother’s Day, the most entertaining study at the nil-nil Canadian Premier League home opener might have been FC Edmonton owner Tom Fath.

It was a superb scene in the moderately refurbished Clarke Field since the North American Soccer League folded two years ago and the only Canadian team in the league went down with the ship.

In the dying days of the NASL, you could find Fath, as often as not, sitting by himself in one of the many empty sections. But this day, he was bouncing around the slightly reconfigured bandbox of place where a near-capacity 4,238 showed up to open a new era in Canadian soccer.

“We’ve got more people here and they’re louder,” said Fath.

“It’s absolutely better than we’ve ever had it in here before. It’s just a great and exciting start to a first season in a new league.”

Fath, who along with brother Dave, is believed to have lost more than $6 million — and that doesn’t include the purchase of the temporary stands on the east side of the field a few years ago — was emotional in a dry-eyed sort of way.