When Pat Onstad used to come to town to face Toronto FC as a goalkeeper for the Houston Dynamo, the trips would double as something of a family reunion.
The Vancouver-born Onstad’s sister lived within walking distance of BMO Field. After the game, he would slip into street clothes — sometimes a Dynamo tracksuit — and join the crowd of TFC fans heading home.
It was then that he realized pro soccer had really taken off in Canada.
“It was like, ‘OK, here we go,’ ” the 49-year-old Onstad said recently, adding that Toronto fans didn’t give him a hard time, save for the odd hiss at enemy colours.