The Italians have taken over St. Clair at Dufferin. I took the Dufferin bus (and not expecting the crowds there, I expected it at College). At 10:30, cars were circling the blocks honking and waving flags. Half the licence plates that had dealer borders were "Number 7 Honda" or other dealers from Wood-a-bridge.
I'm not much of a footie fan (or a fan of any sport for that matter), but considering I'm 1/2 Italian it's sort of hard not to get drawn into this a bit.
One of my most vivid childhood memories is from July, 1982 the last time Italy won the World Cup. We watched the game from my aunt's home in Downsview and the city virtually erupted following that game. Downsview at the time was still predominantly Italian and there were people everywhere. Even many non-Italians were enjoying the win. My parents had decided after the game to try heading into the city, but it was pretty much a lost cause. We got about as far as Keelen & Eglinton, but the crowds were already too thick and the traffic was just a mess. We never made it to St. Clair, but the famous pictures and video footage from that day have always left a mark in my mind.
So it was with a real curiosity that I got on my bike last night trying to figure out if the Italians still considered St. Clair their ceremonial GTA heartland? I figured some of it may have migrated to College St as "Little Italy" has marketed itself much better than "Corso Italia" for the last 15 years. I also wondered if perhaps there'd only be a few hundred people waving flags on St. Clair as a sign of the inner city's shrinking Italian community. I guess what I was most curious about is whether or not the Italians would merely celebrate along Hwy. 7 instead (this being 2006 and all).
I didn't bike as far as Woodbridge (obviously), but from my obsevations last night, St. Clair is still the ceremonial heart of the G.T.A.'s huge Italian population. Sure there was some fans along College Street, but it was pretty modest in comparison to the bedlam up on St. Clair. From the news pictures, Woodbridge was pretty crazy, but it was hard for fans to know where to congregate as there is "no there there."
St. Clair, Dufferin, Lansdowne and Rogers Rd were all pretty crazy last night. So while many of the license plates said stuff like "Number 7 Honda" I guess it is safe to say that the Italians of the G.T.A. still consider St. Clair their heart...and that's probably a good thing.
