MONTREAL – They like big sports spectacles in this town.
The Grey Cup. The Summer Olympics. Stanley Cup playoffs. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran. Formula One.
Montreal will add another to the long list of huge sporting events it has staged on Wednesday when the Impact host Mexico’s Club America in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch Montreal Impact vs. Club America in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final live on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World. Coverage starts at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT. || Sportsnet World NOW || Broadcast schedule
Having secured a valuable road goal in a 1-1 draw in last week’s first leg in Mexico City, the Impact are on the cusp of becoming the first MLS club to win the Champions League—a Mexican team has won each of the fix six tournaments, dating back to the first one in 2008-09.
So given this, and given the city’s love of big sports spectaculars, it isn’t so surprising that 61,004 fans are expected to jam into Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for the second leg in what will be the largest crowd ever to watch a professional soccer game in this country.
Normally, the Impact play their home games at the adjacent Stade Saputo, a modest outdoor facility seating just over 20,000. Anticipating the huge demand there’d be for tickets, the club decided to play Wednesday’s game at Olympic Stadium instead of Stade Saputo just shortly after it defeated Costa Rican club Alajuelense in last month’s semifinal.
Wednesday’s attendance mark will break the franchise record set in 2012 when 60,860 fans turned out to watch Montreal take on David Beckham and the LA Galaxy at Olympic Stadium. Two years ago, the Impact jammed 58,912 spectators into “the Big O” for their inaugural home opener in MLS against the Chicago Fire—that broke the city’s soccer attendance record from 1981 when 58,912 fans watched the Montreal Manic beat the Chicago Sting in the old North American Soccer League.
Impact coach Frank Klopas has been a part of big crowds and big games before in Montreal from the other side—he was in charge of the Chicago Fire when they played the Impact in their 2013 home opener. He’s also seen big crowds in his native Greece during his playing days.
He has one word of advice for his players ahead of Wednesday night’s clash.
“Moments like this don’t come along too often. Regardless of that, you have to put all that side and just enjoy the moment, and enjoy the way we got here,” Klopas told reporters before the team’s Tuesday training session.
In a city where the Canadiens are king—especially after they dispatched the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs—there is an unbelievable amount of buzz for the Impact, a team that ranks below the Habs and (some would say) the Alouettes in Montreal’s sports hierarchy.
“Obviously, the Montreal Canadiens are always going to be the biggest sports story in town. But after the Habs eliminated the Sens, all the focus in the city is on the Impact right now. Honestly, I’ve never seen Montreal more excited for a soccer game. The Impact are creating a huge buzz here,” said Kelly Greig, a Montreal-based reporter for Sportsnet.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
The buzz over the Montreal’s run to the final has spread across Major League Soccer, too. The digital media crew from the league’s official website are in Montreal in full force to cover this game. In a nice touch, MLS’ official twitter account features the Impact’s emblem as part of its avatar.
MLS commissioner Don Garber is expected to be attendance for Wednesday’s match, and a throng of reporters from the United States, Mexico and even Japan made the trip to Montreal to report the Impact’s practice on Tuesday, further underlining how big of an event this is in Montreal.
“The thing I love most about this city, beside how beautiful it is, is how passionate the fans are. … They’re behind us 100 percent, whether they’re hockey or soccer fans. It’s a city that’s rich in sports culture and they’re all behind us,” Klopas said.
Klopas later quipped: “If we win then I’ll get a lot of free coffees over the new few weeks.”
