This is the final part (for now) of a series of brief interviews with members of Canadian Premier League supporters’ groups across the country. Each supporters group was asked the same basic questions, in an attempt to get a proper feeling for the similarities and differences that we’ll see from supporters across the country when the league officially kicks off in 2019. In addition, supporters groups were asked to provide a local beer, or a beer that best represents their group. As a result, these articles will have two parts: The Interview and The Beer.

The Interview

Tell us a little bit about yourself (Dan Baldwin) and the group.

Myself? I’m boring, I only moved to Canada 4 years ago so am somewhat new to all of this. But the group we have are made up of whole range of people from around the GTA/Country/World, that now live in the Centre of the Universe. The group includes many people that are part of The Voyageurs, that a have been, or are, part of a Toronto based SG with some complete newbies sprinkled in as well. But all have the same goal of growing soccer in Canada and wanting a CPL team for Toronto proper.

What brought you to Toronto CPL and soccer, in general?

It kind of all fell into my lap. Growing up in England I have always loved soccer (football 😉). I would play every day at school and at home with neighbours in the street out side. On the many rainy English days, my brother and I would use pairs of socks, or balloons in our living room, causing untold amounts of damage to my parent’s ornaments. Through family I would go to watch West Ham when I could, or if not, the lower league teams that were in my area, Leyton Orient, Southend, Romford, Billericay.

I’ve been following TFC in the 4 years I’ve been here, which happened to coincide with them becoming actually quite good, which is nice. I have been following League1 Ontario for a couple years, disclaimer, I write about L1O for this site, so I have been involved in local soccer for as well a bit. But I was introduced to the Toronto CPL group by my girlfriends workmate who invited me in and its been a bit of a whirlwind over the last year getting to know a lot of people involved in Toronto soccer in that time.

Are there any values and support vision attached to the group?

Not really, I guess our values are, ‘just don’t be a prick’, but that’s about it. We take ourselves seriously without being too serious, hence the name/slogan, ‘Centre of the Universe’. As mentioned before, we have people from all over that may have different visions and values, and we aim to allow anyone to express their support how they want….within reason of course.

Tell us about some of the initiatives the group is involved in?

There’s no real initiatives right now. As your readers will know, despite always being mentioned as a possibility, there is no concrete information about a Toronto team. We know this won’t happen in the next couple of years minimum, so we will continue to keep plugging away, keeping the thought out there that we should get a team here until it happens.

With no Toronto Canadian Premier League teams playing in 2018 or 2019, is there another team that your group has been supporting?

Different people will do different things. Some of the guys that live in the north will be following York9, some will follow Hamilton (I still find it weird saying Forge, so they will remain Hamilton). We also still have a lot of people that will continue with TFC. As a group we also want to support the local League1 teams based in Toronto, so Sanjaxx, Skillz and Masters (TFCIII leave the league this year) so you may see some of us out at those games.

What does your supporters group plan to do on game day to make it a more exciting match?

Well we need a team first before we really know this, but we encourage people to find like minded people within the group and support how they want. CotU is more like an umbrella with potential splinter groups that we can support with the wealth of knowledge among us.

Without a current CanPL team, how do you explain your passion to other people who may not understand the time and resources you dedicate to Toronto CPL?

It’s all for the greater good. Canada needed its own league, it’s got it, and we will continue to support the league regardless of whether we have a team or not. But we will continue to push for a team of our own as the more professional teams there are in the country the more opportunities there are at grassroots level to play soccer with good facilities and coaching which will only help the national team in the long run. It will also keep TFC on their toes and not rest on their laurels.

One of the big question marks is where will they play. If CanPL launches a team in Toronto, in your opinion where would be an ideal venue, (or venue location if you think something new needs to be built)?

Ideally, I’d love a new stadium to be built. Unfortunately, there are not a huge amount of options in the city for this. The obvious answer is Lamport Stadium, but Wolfpack and TFCII play there already which might cause problems. There are other options downtown like Varsity or Monarch Park but they would require work.

When I contacted you, I asked that you send a local beer, or a beer that best represents the supporters of Toronto. You chose to give me some beer from Northern Maverick Brewing Company. Why was this your pick and where could our readers go to try some?

Well, long answer, I was searching the isles at the LCBO and very few of the beers were actually from Toronto. But on the way home I walked past Northern Maverick bar at King and Bathurst, and it’s brewed right there so I chose a few from there for you.

Short answer, it’s the place 30 seconds from my front door, and I’m lazy…..

Let’s face it, bars and pubs are definitely big for local and visiting supporters. Tell us a little about the pub or bar that Toronto CPL prefer, and a place where you might recommend a visiting supporter to try out.

Every time we have met it has been in a different location. Fortunately, there are so many good choices in Toronto, there is a bar for anyone so couldn’t possibly recommend one particular place. Though if anyone wants me to promote a bar then get in touch, I take e-transfers or free beer.

Besides the home supporters section during a match, is there a place that visiting supporters may be tempted to visit, but should actually avoid. Why?

BMO Field lol

Finally, how can people join your group?

You can find us on all the social media platforms, but I guess Facebook would be the main one to join to learn about meet ups etc

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TorontoCPLSG/

Insta: TorontoCPLSG

Twitter: TorontoCPLSG

Or if you’re really desperate I’m @Danbaldwin87

The Beer When I met up with Dan at the match in Canadian Women’s match against Germany in Hamilton, he gave me a couple of beers from Maverick Brewing Company, including Tart of Darkness. This is a dark sour. Sour beers have an intentionally acidic, tart or sour taste, with most of them being variations upon Belgian lambics, gueuze and Flanders red ale. This particular sour, although never spelled out, seems more like an American Wild Ale. This style of beer has barnyard, Band-Aid, animal or earthy characteristics, and some varieties include mild fruits, such as apricots, to balance the acidity and sourness. In this case, Maverick claims there is apple spiciness alongside chocolate maltiness. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t tend to enjoy sours. The Tart of Darkness was a welcome surprise. The chocolate malt was thick and welcoming, helping to balance the sour undertones. This led to a surprisingly well balanced drink that I would not mind enjoying more often. As the beer leaves the mouth, it feels a lot like after drinking a dry wine, with a sharp bite that doesn’t linger long. This sour earned a 3.25/5.00 from me on Untapped, but sits at 3.48/5.00 overall on the beer drinker’s social network. Are you from Toronto and have different suggestions for visiting supporters? Let us know in the comments If you think a different brew would better represent the area, feel free to message the author for his mailing information and send him a can. I hope to pick up this article series again in the future. If you’re a part of a Canadian-team’s supporter’s group, feel free to drop me a line. I’ll be looking for 2 cans of beer and 2 scarves.

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Shawn Gray Shawn Gray, father of two, has had a varied background, reflecting a life dedicated to learning and exploration. Having spent time living in 7 distinct cities of various sizes and character, Shawn adapts to his location and always aims to make the best of any situation. While in Ottawa, Shawn fell in love with Ottawa Fury FC, which led to him writing soccer-related articles for Northern Starting Eleven. A brief relocation to Victoria, British Columbia, gave him the opportunity to cheer on Victoria Highlanders FC. He stepped in to acquire NSXI in October 2016 and recruited additional authors from across the country to write about the soccer teams they love. Recently, Shawn returned to Greater Sudbury, Ontario. Employed as an Administrative Assistant, he continues to own & edit articles on the NSXI Network while cheering on his favourite teams from afar.

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