So, are you nervously counting down the hours, minutes, milliseconds until Canada's road to the 2014 World Cup officially begins on Friday? Yeah, us too.
If you'll be heading down to BMO Field, don't wait for the 8 p.m. kickoff to get in the spirit. A pair of pre-game events will give you a chance to get psyched (whatever that may mean to you) and meet some of your fellow Canadian supporters.
The Voyageurs (the supporters group for Canada's national teams) will have a pre-game party at Maro (135 Liberty St.) kicking off at 5 p.m. with prizes, giveaways and (plenty of) delicious and inexpensive local beer. All are welcome, and Maro is opening its doors early especially for Canada supporters. More details on the event after the jump (click "read more").
Meanwhile, literally across the street at Lamport Stadium, Umbro Canada is hosting its own family-friendly event, featuring CanMNT veterans Adrian Cann, Jim Brennan and (I'm sure) a whole whack of excitable fans.
Ideally, everyone at both events will coalesce after 7 p.m. for a massive march down to BMO Field. Suit up in your finest red and white gear, come on down to one or both events, say hello to the CSN crew, and get ready to support the boys as Mission 2014 kicks into high gear.
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Addendum: Below is a note from Jamie MacLeod, one of the Voyageurs' behind-the-scenes heroes...
Maro is family friendly. It's a restaurant not a bar, so kids can come in. The giveaways at Maro are:
First 200 people:
- 40% discount card for the Umbro outlet store (not just Umbro, it's a big store) (e.g Canada jersey = $40)
- 10 Support Local Soccer / Voyageurs cards
- Song sheet
- Raffle ticket
First 50 People: Canada Flags
Unconfirmed: Maro may be setting up a BBQ for us, and the first 50 people might be getting a hot dog.
Please include yourself in the Facebook event for Maro
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183155491755292
On a side note, I know many people want to go to the Ex. Please find the time to to come by Maro and have a beer. They open up just for us, pay staff etc... They look after us so, please help us support them. Thank you.