COLUMNS – Fan culture flourishes with Canadian Premier League side York United by Djuradj “George” Vujcic, Canadian writer and translator.
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Urban Book Circle® (UBC)
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Fan culture flourishes with Canadian Premier League side York United
York United FC (formed on May 5, 2018 as York9 FC) is a professional soccer team (based out of York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario) that began play in the inaugural 2019 Canadian Premier League season.
A supporters group called Generation IX was present at the club’s launch event and throughout the inaugural 2019 season. Prior to the team’s second season in 2020, two new supporters groups formed: a student supporters group based out of York University called The Green Lions and a female-led supporters group called Dames of York. For reasons too convoluted to explain here, none of these groups are present any longer at York Lions Stadium.
Three new supporters groups however – Centre of the Universe, The Northern Corridor, and Eastenders 416 – began supporting the club in 2021. I caught up with a member of each group to learn more.
Tibor Mate, an original member of Centre of the Universe which numbers approximately twenty people and works closely with the neighbour supporters group The Northern Corridor, shared his insight.
“Soccer teams and supporters groups go hand in hand, it’s part of the culture. It’s a way for people to feel more involved with the team while also have a community of it’s own. Originally, the group was formed to support a then-hopefully Toronto CPL team to come when the league was announced. Many outside of Toronto use the name (Centre of the Universe) as a derogatory term but we don’t take ourselves too seriously and it is meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek. When YUFC (then York9) came along, some decided to support the team and the name stuck. Dan Baldwin gets the naming credit for tossing it out there way back in 2018. The group is open to anyone that would like to join. We have a small but diverse group. We cheer on the team with chants, banners, tifos, etc. We raise funds for charity where we can and awareness for issues that effect us, players, and people in general that go beyond the game. Ultimately the goal is to do those things while maintaining a friendly community where people want to be and feel welcome.”
Namu Yoon is a member of both The Northern Corridor and Centre of the Universe (both groups totaling members in the dozens) and was willing to share his thoughts as well.
“Organized supporter groups provide that extra vocal support and noise and spectacle that really helps both the players and other fans enjoy the match that much more. It lets the players know that we support them through thick and thin for the 90 minutes. That constant support and noise that we see from the stands is something that separates football from the other sports, in a positive way, and draws fans even closer to their team. Off the pitch, having these organized groups allows fans a constant avenue for an outlet for their fandom for York United, through group chats and video calls and in-person events.”
Namu also shared a little bit more about the history of the two groups.
“Centre of the Universe was a group that predated York9 FC, as the support for an all-Canadian league has always existed in the Greater Toronto Area. Centre of the Universe specifically was originally formed as the Toronto CPL supporter group, a group focused on raising awareness for the viability of a CPL club in Toronto proper, when the CPL first became a rumour and then a reality around 2017. It eventually morphed into a supporter group for York9 FC into its present-day form. The Northern Corridor was a group that was formed around 2020 to coalesce some of the fan support that existed in the northern areas of the GTA, extending all the way to Barrie and beyond. I was a founding member of Centre of the Universe back around 2017, as I had been an enthusiastic supporter of all local footy in Canada over the decade, including the idea of a CPL. I also came to join The Northern Corridor later on, as the two groups worked together on different projects, and as I made my own move into the northern areas of the GTA.”
First and foremost, Namu plans on having fun.
“I’m a big proponent of making sure that we always have some noise going from the stands in the supporter section for our boys on the pitch, so I brought a couple cheap drums off Kijiji into the stands, and I’m one of the guys who help lead or carry the funny chants that we get going from the supporter section. With dozens in our groups, so many different people bring so much different talented work into the stand, whether scarves, or banners, or tifos, or other drums, or the best part, new hilarious chants that get our section buzzing. Our goal is to keep welcoming new and existing York United fans into our section, we are always welcoming and always enjoying ourselves. We’re definitely having fun in the stands, and we think the players feed off the enthusiasm as well, no wonder they come right to our section after a sick goal or after the match to say their thanks and hit the drums! And we always chat with them post-match, or at the official team events, or on social media or wherever, we will always strive to support the Nine Stripes and the boys the best we can.”
The newest addition is Eastenders 416. I caught up with “Slava” who founded the group in September 2021.
“When we started attending York United matches in 2021, we wanted to add more blue and green to the stands. First, I designed the blue-green-gold Canadian flag and then the banner. With the banner I wanted to represent the team and the city that I’m from. Since I have no real connections to (or particular affinity for) Vaughan or York Region, we decided to represent Toronto’s beloved East End. As a reference to The Danforth seemed too inside-football, we named the group Eastenders 416.”
Does Slava agree that it is important for York United to have organized supporters groups?
“I think that it’s only important if the groups are adding something to the atmosphere on gameday; by supporting the lads on the field, heckling the opposition, pressuring the refs and so on. Whether this support is organized or not is secondary to the atmosphere, in my opinion.”
Curiously, Eastenders 416 sit in their own section.
“To be honest with you, my years as a true ultra are behind me. I respect the, mostly young, people who live the ultra mentality to this day, but I wanted to have a good seat near centre-field. Also, as an old ultra at heart, I go to football matches for the sole purpose of supporting York United Football Club.”
What does Slava plan on achieving with the group?
“Nothing, other than to spread positive vibrations at the stadium, and for the boys on the pitch to know that they’re supported. Personally, YUFC could finish dead last every year, for me it doesn’t matter, as this club, these colours, these people are all in my heart now. If I can encourage the lads to leave their hearts on the field and have their heads held high at the end of the game, regardless of the result, then we will have achieved what was planned.”
A supporters group called Generation IX was present at the club’s launch event and throughout the inaugural 2019 season. Prior to the team’s second season in 2020, two new supporters groups formed: a student supporters group based out of York University called The Green Lions and a female-led supporters group called Dames of York. For reasons too convoluted to explain here, none of these groups are present any longer at York Lions Stadium.
Three new supporters groups however – Centre of the Universe, The Northern Corridor, and Eastenders 416 – began supporting the club in 2021. I caught up with a member of each group to learn more.
Tibor Mate, an original member of Centre of the Universe which numbers approximately twenty people and works closely with the neighbour supporters group The Northern Corridor, shared his insight.
“Soccer teams and supporters groups go hand in hand, it’s part of the culture. It’s a way for people to feel more involved with the team while also have a community of it’s own. Originally, the group was formed to support a then-hopefully Toronto CPL team to come when the league was announced. Many outside of Toronto use the name (Centre of the Universe) as a derogatory term but we don’t take ourselves too seriously and it is meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek. When YUFC (then York9) came along, some decided to support the team and the name stuck. Dan Baldwin gets the naming credit for tossing it out there way back in 2018. The group is open to anyone that would like to join. We have a small but diverse group. We cheer on the team with chants, banners, tifos, etc. We raise funds for charity where we can and awareness for issues that effect us, players, and people in general that go beyond the game. Ultimately the goal is to do those things while maintaining a friendly community where people want to be and feel welcome.”
Namu Yoon is a member of both The Northern Corridor and Centre of the Universe (both groups totaling members in the dozens) and was willing to share his thoughts as well.
“Organized supporter groups provide that extra vocal support and noise and spectacle that really helps both the players and other fans enjoy the match that much more. It lets the players know that we support them through thick and thin for the 90 minutes. That constant support and noise that we see from the stands is something that separates football from the other sports, in a positive way, and draws fans even closer to their team. Off the pitch, having these organized groups allows fans a constant avenue for an outlet for their fandom for York United, through group chats and video calls and in-person events.”
Namu also shared a little bit more about the history of the two groups.
“Centre of the Universe was a group that predated York9 FC, as the support for an all-Canadian league has always existed in the Greater Toronto Area. Centre of the Universe specifically was originally formed as the Toronto CPL supporter group, a group focused on raising awareness for the viability of a CPL club in Toronto proper, when the CPL first became a rumour and then a reality around 2017. It eventually morphed into a supporter group for York9 FC into its present-day form. The Northern Corridor was a group that was formed around 2020 to coalesce some of the fan support that existed in the northern areas of the GTA, extending all the way to Barrie and beyond. I was a founding member of Centre of the Universe back around 2017, as I had been an enthusiastic supporter of all local footy in Canada over the decade, including the idea of a CPL. I also came to join The Northern Corridor later on, as the two groups worked together on different projects, and as I made my own move into the northern areas of the GTA.”
First and foremost, Namu plans on having fun.
“I’m a big proponent of making sure that we always have some noise going from the stands in the supporter section for our boys on the pitch, so I brought a couple cheap drums off Kijiji into the stands, and I’m one of the guys who help lead or carry the funny chants that we get going from the supporter section. With dozens in our groups, so many different people bring so much different talented work into the stand, whether scarves, or banners, or tifos, or other drums, or the best part, new hilarious chants that get our section buzzing. Our goal is to keep welcoming new and existing York United fans into our section, we are always welcoming and always enjoying ourselves. We’re definitely having fun in the stands, and we think the players feed off the enthusiasm as well, no wonder they come right to our section after a sick goal or after the match to say their thanks and hit the drums! And we always chat with them post-match, or at the official team events, or on social media or wherever, we will always strive to support the Nine Stripes and the boys the best we can.”
The newest addition is Eastenders 416. I caught up with “Slava” who founded the group in September 2021.
“When we started attending York United matches in 2021, we wanted to add more blue and green to the stands. First, I designed the blue-green-gold Canadian flag and then the banner. With the banner I wanted to represent the team and the city that I’m from. Since I have no real connections to (or particular affinity for) Vaughan or York Region, we decided to represent Toronto’s beloved East End. As a reference to The Danforth seemed too inside-football, we named the group Eastenders 416.”
Does Slava agree that it is important for York United to have organized supporters groups?
“I think that it’s only important if the groups are adding something to the atmosphere on gameday; by supporting the lads on the field, heckling the opposition, pressuring the refs and so on. Whether this support is organized or not is secondary to the atmosphere, in my opinion.”
Curiously, Eastenders 416 sit in their own section.
“To be honest with you, my years as a true ultra are behind me. I respect the, mostly young, people who live the ultra mentality to this day, but I wanted to have a good seat near centre-field. Also, as an old ultra at heart, I go to football matches for the sole purpose of supporting York United Football Club.”
What does Slava plan on achieving with the group?
“Nothing, other than to spread positive vibrations at the stadium, and for the boys on the pitch to know that they’re supported. Personally, YUFC could finish dead last every year, for me it doesn’t matter, as this club, these colours, these people are all in my heart now. If I can encourage the lads to leave their hearts on the field and have their heads held high at the end of the game, regardless of the result, then we will have achieved what was planned.”
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Fan culture flourishes with Canadian Premier League side York United
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Last updated on July 13, 2022.
Published by Urban Book Circle on July 13, 2022 Urban Book Circle® (UBC) |
· Edited by Djuradj “George” Vujcic, Danijela Kovacevic Mikic and Prvoslav “Pearse” Vujcic ·
· Design & Artwork by Prvoslav “Pearse” Vujcic and Djuradj “George” Vujcic ·
· Illustrated by Jefimija “Mia” Vujcic ·
All rights reserved. Copyright © Urban Book Circle®
· Design & Artwork by Prvoslav “Pearse” Vujcic and Djuradj “George” Vujcic ·
· Illustrated by Jefimija “Mia” Vujcic ·
All rights reserved. Copyright © Urban Book Circle®
