By Ryan Johnston

SPORTSNET.CA

Jim Brennan knew all about the planned silent protest to start the MLS All-Star game at BMO Field, but he also knows all about the nature of the hometown supporters.

"With our fans they can't sit quiet for too long, they have to start cheering," Brennan said when asked about the noticeable silence which swept over the south end seats to begin the match.

O, those Canadian all-stars, so astute.

The pre-empted strike was directed at city officials -- and more directly Toronto Argonaut officials -- who want to turn the soccer-specific BMO Field into a dual-sport venue. The proposal will bring expansion, grid-iron markings on the FieldTurf and a general sense that the intimacy will be compromised.

"I understand what they are getting at. They want to keep a soccer-specific park and I am with them on it," Brennan explained.

It was a valiant effort by those who stood -- or rather sat -- true to their word. But in the end the urge to get the Canadian all-stars on the field was too much, and just minutes after kickoff BMO Field arrived in full voice.

The "We want Brennan" chants that reverberated around the stadium were rewarded in the 59th minute when Brennan took the field as a substitute.

"The guys were giving me a bit of stick (over the chants), saying it was all my buddies behind the net yelling," joked Brennan, clearly unable to contain an ear-to-ear grin. "Right now it is hard to describe sitting on the bench with everyone screaming for you to come on."

All-star coach Steve Nicol held out as long as he could, and joked in a post-match conference that "he was under a bit of pressure."

But that was only half the story. Brennan was joined on the touchline in the 59th minute by local boy Dwayne De Rosario, a MLS all-star regular operating on just one hour sleep.

"(Coming in with Jim Brennan) was great, you can't ask for more," De Rosario said, whose plane from Washington, D.C. landed in Toronto at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. "I was coming here tired, but (the crowd) rejuvenated me."

To be honest, the silent protest became a footnote on the event 10 minutes after the Canadian duo checked in when De Rosario went down after a challenge in the West Ham United penalty area, and the referee pointed to the spot.

Most of the capacity crowd must have thought David Beckham would step up and take the kick, but the Los Angeles Galaxy all-star would have had a difficult time prying the ball away from De Rosario.

"I wouldn't move from that ball, it would have been a long argument," De Rosario joked. "The 'keeper was talking a bit of trash before I stepped up, but I was not missing that penalty in that game in my hometown."

It was a great moment on a great night for Canadian soccer, and De Rosario capped off the spectacle with a harbinger of things to come.

"For me it is a sign of things to come for our national team," De Ro explained. "The support tonight will be with us (in August)."