This is going to be a challenging match. A lot of preparation and many years of dreams are on the line.

Jamaica is going to be … tough.  The drums, the songs, the ecstasy.  They come in green and yellow, black and red, bringing the pride and passion of an exultant people from a small island in a hurricane zone.  Their culture is rich – so rich. 

They speak with pride and love when they call reggae music legend Bob Marley their own.  They neatly embody the mysterious mix of fight and freedom he so generously – and brilliantly – turned loose on the world.

The last time Jamaica hit Toronto for a soccer game, they utterly conquered Varsity Stadium.  The corner of Bloor and Devonshire, usually a sleepy, windswept afterthought at the far north end of the University of Toronto campus, became a giddy one-day Caribbean jump-up jamboree.  The Canadians, loyal in their red scarves but so outnumbered – so helplessly dominated – simply had no answer. 

Home field was ringingly lost that day.  It's time to get it back.

BMO Field didn't exist then.  There was no division-one pro side in town for Canada fans to rally around.  But as Toronto FC fans have loudly and consistently proved these last 17 months or so, this is not your father's Toronto.

We all got one warm-up shot a year ago.  Costa Rica wandered in for a 1-1 draw on a chilly fall evening.

 The park was only half full.  The Costa Ricans sang all night.  The turf, the fans, this amazing multi-cultural wonder of a town … all got ripped for it.

It wasn't fair.  The tickets were vastly too expensive, and the 7 PM starting time caught far too many of the faithful in the parking lot.  Canadian fans outcheered the Costa Ricans on the night, but you didn't hear about it in the local and national media.

Ah, but these fans.  These wonderful fans. You guys are so well organized – and people are listening to you.  This time, the Canadian Soccer Association bowed to your qualifications and expertise.  The prices came down, the start time got bumped back – and Canada fans responded with a fine and effective ticket-buying binge.

On Wednesday evening, tiny cozy BMO Field, on the waterfront with the Ferris wheels, roller coasters and crown-and-anchor booths of the Canadian National Exhibition, is going to be rocked to its non-existent rafters as a new age of cheering for Canada kicks off.

A few thoughts, if a nervous, excited fellow fan from the press corps might be allowed:

• Enjoy the Jamaicans. They're a great show. 
• Meet the challenge, and exceed it.  Be ye Voyaguer, U-Sector, Red Patch, North End Elite, Red Brigade, Ultra 114, South Side Jumper, Tribal Rhythm Nation, this is show time.  This is go time.
• The players are listening.  Yeah, it was all off-the-record at practice yesterday, but they clearly want loud, pounding, thumping, percussive support.

World Cup qualifying is a brief and desperate time, where any lost points can shut the whole thing down early.  Fans can rest assured, your players are cheering for you, and they need you cheering loud and hard for them. 

On the field, this game is winnable.  In the stands, it's winnable as well.  After all this time, all these setbacks, all the grumbling put-downs, all the miracles it took to build the stadium, all the passion that has exploded in Toronto soccer in recent times, all the hopes all the fans always have for always-on-the-outside Canada, it truly comes down to four simple words:

“This … is … our … house!”

Have a great game, everyone.

Onward!