Arsenal Canada

Just like her neighbor to the south, Canada is chock full of Arsenal supporters. But unlike Arsenal America, Arsenal Canada operates as a single group.

You can find Gooners in just about every corner of the country.

 

But as you might expect from a nation so vast that it spans five time zones, things operate quite differently in Vancouver than they do in Halifax – cities that are 2,750 miles (4,500 km) apart. But through a shared passion for Arsenal, and with a little help from the Internet and social media, fans throughout Canada keep in touch and support their Club together on each and every match day.

We caught up with a four Arsenal supporters from across Canada to provide a glimpse of how they support the Club so passionately and how they became fans from across an ocean – and a continent.

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Vancouver, British Columbia

Ashley Mofrad

@VancouverArse

The place to be

Unless I am away for work, I am there for every match. I do not miss many matches. We watch at “Library Square”.

On average you will find 20 of us at the pub but, for the bigger games we have upwards of 50 supporters in attendance (not bad for our first season).

Checking the time

We’re eight hours behind London and the time change can certainly be a challenge. It means that lunchtime kickoffs in the UK start at 4:30am for us here in Vancouver -- a late kickoff of 9:00am is a real treat. There certainly is something to be said for watching The Arsenal with a big breakfast and an early morning pint. During the week games start at 11:45am which is great for taking extended lunches.

School boy Gooner

I grew up in London and as a school boy I was invited to take part in a youth training session at Arsenal; after which I was taken on a tour of Highbury by David Platt. I have been a Gooner ever since.

The Arsenal in person

Personally, I have been to dozens of matches at Highbury but, am yet to make a trip to the Emirates. There is a chance I will be in the UK this summer and am planning to check out a few pre-season Emirates Cup matches.

Rick Breese

@CalgaryArsenal

New headquarters

When I first moved to Calgary, I met a fellow Arsenal supporter and we soon got fed up having to go to a pub that didn't open early and was run by Spurs fans. So we found our own neighbourhood pub --  The Station. It's been a popular spot for locals for more than 20 years. And most importantly, it will be opening for all Arsenal games live regardless of kick off time. Be prepared to see some sleepy heads at 5:45 a.m. cheering on the team!

Great White North (London)

Along with Jake Surrey, I set up a branch of Arsenal Canada in Calgary. Both of us are from North London originally, so we are longtime supporters. There are about 20-30 core members of which most will go to the pub. But there are many, many others who will go if we put ourselves out there - which Jake and I are good at doing! 

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Toronto, Ontario

Jonathan Fieldhouse – Co-founder of the T-dot Gooners

@TdotGooners1886

Founded in 2008, the T-dot Gooners are Toronto's Official Arsenal Supporters Branch.

Over the years, they have hosted Gooners from all over the world at their dedicated home, The Midtown Gastrohub (which is conveniently located in the central core of the city, close to public transit and with ample parking). It's not often that a supporters group can count the ownership of their favourite pub as members, but the entire leadership team at The Midtown are Gooners through and through. On matchdays, you will routinely find the entire pub packed with enthusiastic supporters no matter the kickoff time, and you will often hear your favourite songs and chants (both new and old) being sung throughout. Did we mention discounts? Arsenal Canada members even receive 10% off their food orders (just show your active membership card to your server and you're all set!)

Since its inception, the mandate of this dedicated group of Gooners has been to help grow the fan base of Arsenal Football Club in not only Toronto but also across the great country of Canada. You will routinely find healthy and heated debate on the group's Facebook message boards, as well as in person on any game day. Known to be a friendly bunch, they are not shy about showing their love for their beloved club.

If you're ever in Toronto and looking for a great place to watch the match, please join your friends from the T-dot Gooners for fun banter and even better times!

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Madeline Kircher

Halifax, Nova Scotia

@_MaddyKay

Friendly rivals

There aren't many Gooners making their presence known around Halifax, so my Tottenham and Chelsea-supporting friends and I generally watch matches at each others' houses. Champions Leagues matches, however, are usually watched at the pub, as they usually draw a bigger crown than my core group of friends, and they take place later on in the day. Pubs are never open here for early, 8:30 matches.

Passion at the pub

The pub is special because - and I am sure the beverages have something to do with it - everyone seems to turn up their passion for the game by a notch or two (at least!). It also makes friends (and friendly rivals) out of complete strangers when everyone is there for a common love of footy.

Halifax does not have a designated Arsenal pub, so there will usually be a very diverse crowd supporting very diverse clubs. That has its benefits in that it can be amusing to taunt and make fun of each other, though it would be great to see more Gooners out and about to put up a united front!

Relative proximity

I'm on the East Coast, so I'm not overly bothered by time change. The earliest matches are at 8:30, so it's not hard to be up in time. Midweek games usually start at 3:45, before my workday ends, but I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can sneak out early and watch matches in the pub on the first floor of my office building. Failing that, I have dual monitors at my desk, so I will sometimes stream a match on one screen while I work on the other. I swear it doesn't affect my productivity!

Thanks to Arsenal Canada, I was able to attend my first two games this past fall: a Premier League match against Chelsea and a Champions League match against Olympiakos. It was so much fun, and I cannot wait to go again! I have to juggle finances and family commitments to go to Germany, but I hope to get back to the UK and Emirates by the 2014/2015 season.

Arsenal convert

Honestly, I haven't been a life-long Gooner. Coming from a German family, I had traditionally followed the Bundesliga. Because I had a habit of boasting about the superiority of German keepers, I was drawn to watching a few Arsenal matches because of Mad Jens Lehmann. It didn't take long before I was fully captivated by Thierry Henry, and a Gooner convert. Now I always say that Bayern was my first love, but Arsenal is my true love.

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If you are in Canada and want to join members of Arsenal Canada at one of the pubs, check out our forum at www.arsenalcanada.ca or contact us on Facebook at Arsenal Canada, Calgary Arsenal, Montreal Arsenal Supporters, Vancouver Arsenal, or Arsenal Toronto.