TORONTO

A hoard of Toronto FC supporters set up shop at Toyota Stadium in Dallas on Saturday.

They were mostly American, numbering 50 or so, wearing red and white while dropping the blue — the colour Dallas wore in a 2-1 defeat of the Reds.

They weren’t in north Texas to see Michael Bradley or Jermain Defoe — two of the league’s highest-paid players.

They weren’t at a Major League Soccer match to see any other recognizable names, either.

The U.S.-based TFC supporters — mostly family members — had another last name etched on their backs: No. 28, Mark Bloom.

If you’re not a TFC supporter, you’re likely saying, “Who?”

“Bloom’s Army,” they call themselves, a kind of cult following that has added to the intrigue surrounding one of TFC’s unsung heroes — a guy whose entry-level budget number doesn’t reflect his role on a team that’s desperate to finally break into the post-season less than a year after the 26-year-old finally broke into the league.

Bloom, a guy who was accustomed to long bus rides and less-than-lavish hotels while playing in the NASL, is finally back to where he’s most comfortable: “Working his way up.”

“Clubs have never been overly excited to have me,” Bloom told the Toronto Sun. “That’s how I operate. It works out of me.”

He wasn’t highly recruited. Professional clubs haven’t exactly coveted him.

When a press release trickled out last summer announcing Bloom’s loan from Atlanta (NASL), most thought it was a mistake.

“It was overwhelming,” Bloom added. “That first week I was just kind of taking it all in.

“I wondered why they brought me in.”

He was hidden away at a downtown Toronto hotel, away from his wife and everything he was familiar with.

He wasn’t playing, or travelling, with Richard Eckersley holding down the right side of TFC’s defence.

“I wasn’t even in the 18,” Bloom said. “It was mixed feelings between that and the excitement for the opportunity.”

Throughout Bloom’s career, his preparation has allowed him to seize opportunity at every level, beginning when he was passed over by big NCAA schools.

“I wasn’t highly recruited,” said Bloom, who played four years at Berry College in northwest Georgia.

“I wasn’t tall, thick or that strong. Other guys are bigger and stronger. I had to rely on my skill. A lot of American universities are looking for big, strong athletes. I made the choice (to go to Berry) because I knew I’d have the opportunity to play as a freshman.

“I had the goal of being a professional soccer player. Just because I went to a small school I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Every day I trained with the goal of playing professionally in my mind.”

Those training habits caught TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen’s eye late last year.

With Eckersley raking in close to $400,000 per season, Nelsen was motivated to give his NASL import a chance to seize the position in an effort to fit more players in under the league’s salary cap.

“Through training, I played consistently,” Bloom said. “Nelsen said I’d been playing well and I was going to be getting a lot of minutes.”

He started the next game in place of Eckersley, who later admitted he was left off the trip to rest an injury he didn’t really have.

Since his first start, a solid 90-minute performance at Red Bull Arena, Bloom hasn’t relinquished his spot.

“It was insane,” Bloom said. “For me, playing in MLS is a dream come true.”

One part of the dream, that is — the genesis of Bloom’s Army being the other.

“It’s miserable and incredible at the same time,” Bloom said of his current situation, one that finds himself far away from his wife.

“As long as I’m with her, I’m happy. I want to be with her. It’s not the same just texting. We do well to stay in each others’ lives. The biggest thing is keeping the right attitude.”

Something he has done throughout his career, especially while his significant other, Emma, is down in Florida working with the U.S. Navy.

“I want to play soccer as long as I can,” Bloom said. “That’s the goal. Obviously I’d like to be in Toronto, but as a footballer it’s difficult to stay in one spot.”

For now, TFC fans will happily welcome Bloom’s Army, which might even collect an additional member along the way — the Blooms are expecting their first child this year.

“It would be nice to settle down and create a life for ourselves,” Bloom said, implying he’d like to remain at Toronto FC. “But if that’s in a different city, we’d be up for that as well.”

A testament to Bloom, most TFC fans likely wouldn’t be.

EXPANSION DRAFT LOOMS LARGE

Don’t be surprised if one of Major League Soccer’s two expansion clubs looks to steal Mark Bloom away from Toronto FC this winter.

With Orlando City and New York City FC set to enter the league in 2015, MLS clubs will only be permitted to protect 11 players ahead of the off-season expansion draft.

Due to his modest cap hit, Bloom might look appetizing to a pair of clubs looking for bargain players.

“I’ve discussed it with my wife because one of the teams is Orlando,” Bloom said. “Being in Orlando would put me a lot closer to my wife.

“In that sense, I wouldn’t mind doing it. In another sense, I don’t want to leave Toronto. I like everything about it, other than the distance from my wife.”

This winter we’ll find out which players TFC’s top brass hold in high regard.