Ian Allison looked out into the crowd at BC Place, scanned the suites where executives generally sit and felt good about where he was standing — surrounded by a few hundred Cavalry FC supporters in general admission.



The president of Spruce Meadows Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Cavalry, couldn’t help but beam. His team had just pulled off one of the most surprising victories in Canadian soccer history. It was the evening of July 24th, and the CPL side had been playing together for fewer than three months. By taking down the Whitecaps, a team whose player budget was more than eight times larger than the Cavalry’s, the Calgary-based team had become the first non-MLS team to beat an MLS side in a two-legged playoff in Canadian Championship history. Cavalry had already won the CPL’s spring season, and they were on pace to win the fall season as well.



Boos rained down from Whitecaps fans. Allison watched as hundreds of...