There is an idea that when Toronto goes into the CONCACAF Champions League it flies Major League Soccer’s flag. It doesn't. Technically, that’s the league the Reds are a part of and any success Toronto conjures up in the tournament will be associated with the U.S. domestic setup.




However, let’s remember that even if Toronto won the Supporters' Shield for finishing first in the league table and/or took MLS Cup itself, Reds still wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot on the continent.




That's because MLS is an American league in which Toronto is proud and grateful to take part, but the only teams from that competition able to represent the United States Soccer Federation in the Champions League are American-based clubs, not Canadian.

Therefore, Toronto flies its flag alone in the Champions League by virtue of winning the Nutrilite Canadian Championship as the lone-Canadian Soccer Association member in the preliminary round clashes and beyond.

This is why support for games such as the one against Motagua Tuesday night is so vitally important. The 18,891 people that did attend the game at BMO Field played an invaluable role in guiding the Reds to a 1-0 win over the Honduran visitors – the first Champions League victory in club history. It was a win for Canadian soccer and a victory for the city itself.

But just under 19,000 isn’t 20,000 – the number that Toronto supporters, players and staff see as the acceptable minimum benchmark for support this team deserves in a football-mad town. The biggest excuse made for this is that it's not an MLS match and the fans are not Champions League savvy.

I don’t believe the notion that Torontonians don’t understand what the Champions League is about.

From Tuesday-Thursday during the European football season pubs in Toronto are packed from Steeles Avenue to Lake Shore Boulevard and all parts in between. Some, yours truly included, plan their vacation days around these matches just to sit or stand in front of a television screen. The bar patrons need their UEFA Champions League and Europa fix. They know how those teams got there and the process that's unfolding in front of them.

Torontonians that watch football understand the Champions League format. Much more so than the star-crazed fans of those teams that actually carry MLS’ flag (i.e. Los Angeles, who were crushed 4-1 in their own preliminary round first leg match to Puerto Rico at home on Tuesday in front of a sparse crowd in Carson).

[inline_node:4374]The word ‘hurt’ is relative. Most MLS teams would sell their soul for 19,000 supporters and many have tried. The thing that hurt Toronto’s attendance slightly in this match is not a lack of understanding, but that a team from Central America isn’t quite as fashionable as the European stuff on TV. So, many season seat holders opted out of their own Champions League when an isolated, lone-Canadian representative, their Toronto FC needed its supporters the most. This is unfortunate but there's a silver lining.

Cue that cliché about one door closing and a new one opening.

Not wallowing over a few season seat holder rejections for a minute, the Reds were able to entice a new set of supporters into BMO Field that had yet to experience the team’s unique atmosphere. It's a selfless thirst for all things Toronto FC that’s driven boisterously and largely by the faithful in the south, southeast and northwest ends of the park. Though Tuesday it seemed that the entire stadium found its voice. And were they ever in their finest form on this night when Toronto needed them most!

The social media networks were abuzz with first-timers attending the event and then praising the team and the supporters in the aftermath. They’ll want back in for more and that will put even more pressure on seat demands.

That will happen should Toronto accomplish the difficult task of holding the Hondurans off at Tegucigalpa’s Estadio Nacional in the return leg of this early knockout stage next Tuesday August 3 (8 p.m. on GOL TV Canada).

If the Reds can hold on to their 1-0 edge or bolster it even further with a difficult away goal, then the group stage beckons for Toronto in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. It then becomes a 16-team showcase that gets more intesne with club, city and national pride at stake for every minute of action.

This would mean six more matches to Toronto's schedule (three at BMO Field) against MLS Cup Champion Real Salt Lake, Panama’s Arabe Unido and most likely, Mexican giants Cruz Azul – now leading Trinidad’s San Francisco 3-2 after their opening preliminary round match.

Toronto’s BMO Field regulars shouldn’t let this pass them by. It’s important to anticipate the next match and more importantly, regardless of what happens next Tuesday, always get up for the Champions League whenever it comes available. This is where Toronto flies its flag alone and that can only be fueled by unparalleled support.

Discuss this withAsif on Twitter