After so many years of heartbreak, suffering and embarrassment Toronto FC’s extra-time explosion threatened to blow the brand new roof of at BMO Field.

How long soccer fans old and new in Toronto had waited to let loose. It felt like an eternity.

And when the Montreal Impact levelled Wednesday’s game 2-2 in the 53rd minute, putting TFC in a precarious spot, all of the air got sucked out of the building and it appeared more sadness would be on tap.

Not this time. Finally.

Nick Hagglund forced extra time and after 2015 league MVP Sebastian Giovinco subbed off, nursing an injury, Frenchman Benoit Cheyrou nearly immediately became a hero in these parts, heading in a goal to put the Reds in front. The sellout crowd of nearly 36,000 scarf-wearing supporters went ballistic, erupting in joy. The bedlam appeared to unsettle the visitors, who promptly surrendered another one, with Canadian international Tosaint Ricketts, another substitution, diving feet-first to deposit the insurance marker past Evan Bush.

By then it was raw, unbridled elation, with fans bashing on the press box windows and stomping their feet.

With a 2-0 win (5-2 in all for the game), the Reds were through to the championship match, a home date against the Seattle Sounders.

“This is our house,” came the chant, over and over again.

And then, to the visitors from down the 401: “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”

Unbelievable.

For local product Jonathan Osorio, a 24-year-old midfielder who grew up rooting for his hometown club, but mostly seeing various iterations of TFC fail, it was an emotional aftermath.

The team let Osorio walk around clutching the Eastern Conference championship trophy.

I asked him what he was feeling.

“I can’t even explain it. It’s been a long time,” Osorio began. “This club, the supporters have been waiting for a long time for a moment like this and they deserve it. They stuck around.

“With so much pressure, for our guys to step up like this, it’s unbelievable.”

And nobody wants this run to be over.

“We know that this city has been waiting for a championship for a very long time and we want to give it to them,” Osorio said.

“We know we have the team capable of doing it. This is a great moment for this club, but, trust me, everybody in this room once one more cup, one more victory and we have one more chance to do that, we are playing at home, which is great for the city, for football. I’m just so happy for football in Canada, I want it to grow. And one day, football in Canada will be huge one day, I know it will. I don’t know if I’ll be alive during that time, but I know one day it will be big.”

Wednesday’s classic went a long way toward making that so.

FINALLY

Playing in a match of this magnitude was a welcome change for Toronto FC, considering its long and well-documented futility record. There were many times over the years when the Reds playing in a match of this caliber seemed as unfathomable as one-time head coach Preki — otherwise known as Prickly — gathering for beers with members of the media.

As Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said at halftime: “Here in Toronto, they’ve had their fits and starts, but they’ve finally gotten it right.”

Indeed. The fan-base energized the league from the start with its infusion of European soccer traditions, but had always had precious little to actually root for on the pitch.

Garber is as aware of that as anyone, and just in case he had forgotten, one reporter kindly reminded him, basically saying that Toronto FC had been terrible forever, until this run of success.

“I’ve been doing this at MLS, this is my 17th season and I’ve been in the business for 33 years and it’s hard, it really is difficult to build a successful team,” Garber said. “It was never out of lack of interest. Larry Tanenbaum and Tim (Leiweke) and now Bill (Manning) … they always really wanted this team to be successful and it all began to click. I’m happy for them … and we want to thank all of the fans who believed in this team, here in this market, through thick and thin and finally, to be able to see it pay off with a great game.”

GETTING DEFENSIVE

TFC coach Greg Vanney made the pre-game move most had anticipated, swapping out one Canadian midfielder for another in order to improve his club’s defensive shape.

Rugged veteran Will Johnson slotted in for Jonathan Osorio, the more offensive-minded player. Johnson had started 19 of his 23 regular season appearances this season, but made his first playoff start.

Vanney replaced Johnson with attacker Ricketts to start the second half and you know how that paid off.

Vanney pressed all of the right buttons, finding the Midas Touch at the perfect time.

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Garber admitted that he was no fan of the Argonauts joining TFC at BMO Field, and said he was concerned about how the field would stand up just days after the Grey Cup was played on it.

“A lot of sleepless nights. They did a wonderful job, (but) I was worried about it,” he said.

“By the way, I was worried when they put a CFL team in here. It’s no secret to anybody I run a soccer league … I’m happy for the success of the CFL, but I really was pleased with one of our first soccer specific stadiums. But the turnaround has been terrific. I watched the CFL game down in the States. I saw a lot of logos on the field and I was really worried about tonight. I got here early to see the field and we’ve had some challenges with fields up in this country and I think they’ve been ready to pull it off well.”

If you missed the reference, it was a crack at the brutal pitch at Olympic Stadium in Montreal in the first game.

SPECIAL time in T.O.

Between TFC, the Raptors, Blue Jays and prospect-laden Maple Leafs, Bradley called it a special time to be a professional athlete in Toronto.

“When it’s your turn like it is ours at the moment we are all cognizant of the opportunity to take full advantage,” Bradley said. “When the lights come on bright when everyone is watching you get a chance to move the needle. We’ve done that and we’ve got one more game that can probably move the needle more.”

AROUND THE PITCH

Don’t lose sight of just how crucial Clint Irwin’s 66th minute stop was. It kept TFC’s hopes alive. Without it, Nick Hagglund’s 3-2 goal a few minutes later, which forced extra time, is rendered meaningless … There was considerable excitement outside of BMO Field in the leadup to the big game, with a couple dozen TFC supporters chanting: “We’re going to the ‘ship,” repeatedly … The biggest collision of an extremely physical game came when man of the match Jozy Altidore smashed into Hernan Bernardello, who had to briefly leave the game before exiting for good with a shoulder injury at halftime