Meet the ‘beating heart’ of the Toronto FC

By Stella Acquisto and News Staff

“I’ve been following the team since the very first day,” says Mike Langevin – a loyal Toronto FC fan for over a decade.

He’s still basking in the glow of last night’s win — for the second year in a row the TFC is headed to the MLS Cup.

If you’ve been to a TFC game, you might have seen him, or more likely heard him.

“I’m usually with a great big drum right in the corner in section 112. We call it the beating heart of BMO Field,” says Langevin.

“The drum actually takes up three or four seats and people have basically donated their seats so the drum can be in there.”

Langevin is part of the Red Patch Boys, a group of die hard fans who come out in full force during every home game – marching through the streets, chanting and drumming along with other clubs that support the TFC.

Langevin says the supporters clubs have grown over the past ten years, thanks in part to the internet.

“Back then, ten years ago, we didn’t have social media, but we had message boards. People started to find like minded fans … and then we would chat,” he says.

Those chats led to meet-ups, game viewing parties and eventually, the creation of a massive community of dedicated TFC fans brought together by their love of the team.

 

Langevin says he’s made many friends through the club, and one that became more than just a friend – she became his wife.

“I met my wife there. She is a soccer nut and we would go back to the bar after the game and talk and we have been married for a few years now,” he says.

 

The TFC and the Red Patch Boys were also represented at Langevin’s wedding.

“We had a table for her family, my family and then the rest was all TFC friends,” he says.

And after love and marriage, the couple’s two-year-old has also been brought into the fold, making the TFC frenzy a family affair.

“He isn’t a card holding member of the Red Patch Boys Club, but he warms up on the drum for fun too,” says Langevin.

Langevin hardly ever misses a game, but on Wednesday night, he had to catch TFC forward, Jozy Altidore’s goal on TV, due to a family member having surgery for a broken hip.

But nothing is going to keep him away from the final game.

“I don’t care if I break my own hip, I’m not missing the final,” he vows.

For Langevin and club members like him, support of the team goes beyond soccer — it’s about being part of a larger, supportive community.

“It’s so much culture in supporting soccer in the city now and it’s not just that. It’s supporting with your friends, going on road trips with your friends. We’ve traveled all over supporting this club. It’s been a decade plus now and it’s been the best time of my life.”

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