Vol 1 Issue 4

ISSUE#4 October 2022

A YORK UNITED FAN Z IN E FOR THE FANS BY THE FANS

THE CRUST @northerncorridorsg @NrthCorridorUtd www.ncsgstore.com All Photos Courtesy of David Chant

Northern Corridor 2022

Welcome to issue four of The Crust, this will be the last issue for the year and we thank all the readers for their support over 2022. Its been a season with ups and downs for the club and the supporter groups but if anything, we move onto 2023 with a lot to build on. We want to thank the players and coaching staff for their efforts and keeping the playoff dream alive right to the end.

Bring on 2023!

COY9S Thank you for supporting The Crust

For the 2022 season you could feel a new buzz in the air around “the lot” and the supporters stand. Each game NCSG seemed to be building more and more as a group. From starting off the season with our “Save Tolka Park” campaign, which was a solidarity action with the fans of Shelbourne FC in Ireland who faced losing their beloved football ground, to hosting our first watch party at Earlscourt BBQ in Toronto for an away match during the Canadian Championship. From supporting Ukrainians, Indigenous and women’s charities to raising money for Prideraiser. From all the away trips, tifos, smoke bombs and broken drums to all the beers and pies consumed. From all the birthday parties for our members to all the fans of York City FC, our new friends (thanks again for the gin). From this very fanzine to NCTV and Stand Up For The Blue & Green our Twitter Spaces and podcast. From all the highs and all the lows to all of you, our friends, families, and community. Nine Stripes Forever.

Supporters Choice York United FC's Supporters Players of the Year 2022

by Jason Toasty

It seems obvious to say, but none of us would be football fans if it weren't for the players on the pitch, and we want to recognize the players that made a difference to us this 2022 season. The York United FC Supporters Alliance put together a vote for the second annual "Supporters Choice" Player of the Year, and Under-21 Player of the Year awards. Just like we did for inaugural winners Max Ferrari and Diyaedinne Abzi in 2021, the winners we've selected will be getting their own SCARVES. Learn more about why some of our fans in the South Stand (aka the Pie Rack) voted for their favourite POTY and Under-21 POTY below.

U21 Player of the Year Supporters Choice Nominees:

"Johnston gets my vote for being that player in the centre of the park that gutted his way through the matches, and pushed, and dribbled the whole team forward with vision ahead of his years."

- Ed J. "Boasts a combination of technical ability and second-effort grit."

- Jason K.

"Whether he was creating goals from nothing or just making his presence felt on the field with his physicality, DeRo came out of the gate flying and put the league on notice. It's a big name to wear on his back, but he looks to be a chip off the old block."

- Ian

"de Rosario was my choice for U-21 Player of the Year because his double-digit scoring was the best performance we've seen from a York United FC attacker in some time and he really kept the goals going when they otherwise dried up for YU as a whole in the mid-season."

- Jason T. "In the thick of it for league leader in goals!"

- Chris Player of the Year Supporters Choice Nominees:

"Osaze De Rosario has been a consistent bright spot within a difficult season for York United. Riddled with injury the club struggled for offensive output and was heavily reliant on the future superstar for goals. Additional support and a consistent lineup will one day show how strong of a player Osaze is. Osaze De Rosario was a key player throughout the season and very deserving of both U-21 Player Of The Year and York United Supporters Choice Player Of The Year awards."

- Jon "Scored our most important goals with very little service."

- Will (^ both voted Osaze de Rosario both for POTY and U21 POTY)

"With Ingham leaving this year Niko had to step up to the plate, and he did just that, he commands the box amazingly and has made some crucial saves throughout the season, watching him has been amazing and in my opinion the best goalie we've ever had" - Kyle

"Can score from anywhere on the pitch. He's always dangerous and has shown vision far beyond what is typical at these levels" - Ed W.

"Niko has been a commander by example for the team. Rarely does a keeper get PotY but his amazing saves and leadership kept York United with chances to get back into games at multiple critical moments."

- Ed J.

DeRo Jr is the best striker YU/Y9 has ever had. Exceptional holdup play, always able to find teammates from tight spots, with a rocket shot to add."

- Namu

"Is the reason we aren't at the bottom of the table...gives it all for the club! And who can forget him hanging out at the Pie Rack!!"

- Chris

"Top scorer, biggest threat" - Dan

"A constant throughout the season, always holding it down in goal. The key piece of us making it to the semis in Can Champ (and also just a great dude)" - Josh B.

"One of the best keepers in the CPL!" - Lliam

"Play big minutes, super consistent performances, had to manage a makeshift defense for the half the season. Is a good team leader."

- Ivan "Defense and shape have been our saving grace, much of which comes down to Zator’s stabilizing presence" - Jason K. "Captain Dom gets my vote for Player of the Year. He was an ironman, playing each and every minute of football (up until a few minutes into the Pacific game) and always led the defensive line for a team that was more defensive than it was attacking. Dom held strong through our worst performances as well in our late season turnaround, & with his goal-scoring/offensive output as well, he is my choice for the Player of the Year."

- Jason T. "Zator is the anchor of this defense, still solid as a rock even during our downturn in form post-Abzi" - Namu "Best football IQ of all players on the team, great defensive player."

- Logan Who will be our winners? Stay tuned to our social media for more information on the winners and how to order your own POTY scarves.

Are you a reader and want to vote in our Supporters Group Alliance fan vote?

Follow @YorkSupportersAlliance on Instagram or @YorkSupporters on Twitter for weekly Player of the Match votes and soon to come, a fan-voted Team of the Year selection, completely voted on by fans.

Come on you Nine Stripes!

2022 and YU

By Namu Yoon This seems to be the year where many of us finally confronted covid, by choice or not. With that came the full re-embrace of the full matchday experience at YLS, and it has been a memorable year for my YU experience. I feel like we’re slowly bringing back the magic from 2019, and that can only be a good thing.

This was the year where we brought back out a supporter stand, where we can chant and stomp and smoke out to our heart’s content. This was the year where we saw beer and food options come back out to the supporter section, and this was the year where we saw the emergence of all the different media forms in which we could chat about YU, including this very fanzine right here.

If you’ve heard of the hilarious shenanigans that is AFTV, then we had our own hilariousness and rowdiness on NCTV. If you’ve been a part of Twitter Spaces to chat about your favourite topic, well we had our own Twitter Spaces for YU as well. I’d never thought about reading a fanzine before, let alone write a fanzine, and here we are now. As our friend Ronan put, we’re the small mighty club that could.

I think we had a pretty damn good season overall among the supporters section, it’s been really fun and the year went by fast. Away days at the Hammer were hilarious, especially when coming out with a 1-3 away dub. But we know there’s still lots to grow and lots to build, both among the supporters section and the main stand. And you know we can’t let AO have that much fun in our house like that, we got to keep building.

On the pitch, we had a very fun cup run. It was more funny than magical, seeing as we had 3 away fixtures, with us advancing twice on pens. But it was fun to dream, and it was fun to see us at BC Place. We had a terrible luck with injuries, and I think our manager and GM figured out things as we progressed throughout the season. We must take the lessons learned this year, and make sure we keep building. This club has the potential of the GTA in there that needs to be unlocked, but everything has to be in sync for the club to do so.

We do have new exciting things to look forward to, we have the vision of Woodbine in our heads as we think of all this. We’re dreaming of CL runs, we’re dreaming of cup runs, we want our own fn microwave plate. It’s an important offseason we’re heading into.

Can’t wait to see what happens, lets go you Nine Stripes.

•2022 av YU match: the 1-3 away W at Hamilton in August •2022 matchday rituals/journey to YLS: finish as fast as I can whatever errands my wife forces me to do before the match, and arrive later than my liking, and then just diving into the songs •2022 fav YU food: I’m too hyper at the games to eat anything •2022 fav YU drink: whatever beer our buddies get us •2022 fav YU player: DeRo for always seeming so composed even when surrounded by 4 defenders

York United why do we have no fans?

By Ronnie Rollo If you have ever been to Pielands you will notice the distinct lack of crowds. In this piece I will try and throw out some of the many reasons why that main stand is not full to the rafters.

Market Share and the elephant in the room.

One of the main differences between us and our contemporaries across the country, is that we have a multi million dollar sports corporation who has a very successful Major League Soccer team, not more than 25 kilometers from our doorstep. Couple that with a popular Major League Baseball team and that's a lot of competition for a fledgling team.Yes, Halifax get the crowds but is there that much to do there other than Kitchen parties (which does sound fun maybe I'm just jealous)?

CPL Advertising Toronto is a huge world class city and there is a lot of noise and I don't mean that in the literal sense but in a metaphorical one. Stuff gets lost here if it's not out and blatantly obvious. This is where the CanPL has missed the mark. How many people who are soccer fans even if not the hardcore are surprised to learn that there is in fact a Canadian professional league with a team in Toronto.

Location.

While we love the YLS it's more because of the good times we have had rather than the sterile university facility that it is. It's not even so much the stadium itself (the roof for when its raining or in the blazing heat of summer would be nice) but the large empty spaces around it. We class ourselves as football nerds and will come regardless of whether its an all-seater soccer specific stadium or a hole in the ground. Where we fall is that people that don’t like soccer and are just looking for a few hours of entertainment, sculling beers in a parking lot is not their idea of a pregame good time. Hopefully the move out to Woodbine will help with this.You never know, my wife might come out and join me if there is an offer of a steak dinner and a couple of hands at blackjack.

Marketing This seems to have been a mess from the jump and the club have been playing catchup since its inception. There are strong feelings either way so I will tread lightly. The York9 thing did seem gimmicky, but it did kind of grow on me. When the club change some people felt strongly and decided to walk away. Now there is a change, we are United, and the crowds really haven't rolled back in. The people I have talked to outside the hardcore are a little confused as to who the club is representing.

Success Since the very start York9 and York United have been a middling club, sometimes a little bit better, like last season making the playoffs (still only 4 out of 8). People love a good bandwagon to jump on and a microwave plate in the boardroom is worth bums on seats in the stand.

Now this all sounds like moaning and it mostly is but the one thing about the 9 stripes faithful is that they punch above their weight. From a small little stand behind a goal with a handful of nerds banging drums and screeching, comes a load of great projects. We have this very fanzine, we have a twitter spaces crew and have had on great guests from Canadian soccer like Iain Hume, and we have our beloved NCTV. So to sum it all up we may have no fans but we have good people.York United it's about quality rather than quantity in the stands. Hope to see you all in the Pierack.

How I became a part of Northern Corridor

By Kyle “Capo Supreme” Pacheco My name is Kyle, I am a supporter of York United and you can usually find me in the pierack with a lost voice. I’ve been a season seat holder for 2 seasons now but how did I get to this point.

I first heard of the CPL through an Instagram advertisement in May 2019, at the time I was in grade 10 and hearing about Canada finally having a fully professional team got me ecstatic, when I got home from school, I spent hours on google learning about the league and the teams. That’s when I learned of two team, Forge FC and York9, when I googled the distance from my house it was the same and I needed a deciding factor, the kit launch was coming up and I decided that whatever kit I liked the most I would support that team.

When I saw the York kits, I knew that they were the team I wanted to support, I begged my mom to buy me the jersey (as I wasn’t making any money at the time), and she finally folded. I ended up wining free tickets to the first CPL game off Forge’s website, I was a green spec in a sea of orange, and everyone looked at me weird when I jumped up for Telfor’s goal.

I wasn’t able to attend any game for the rest of the 2019 season, then COVID hit, fast forward a bit and it was the 2021 season and I was making money working in a bakery and thought to myself, “I should go out to a few York games this season,” I started looking into pricing and saw that season tickets were cheep and decided to buy one. After the first game against Halifax, I was enjoying myself but also found myself looking around for a supporter group thinking that a soccer game with no chants just doesn’t feel right, I proceeded to rant on discord about the lack of atmosphere when someone from Northern Corridor contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be apart of it.

I wasn’t able to attend any game for the rest of the 2019 season, then COVID hit, fast forward a bit and it was the 2021 season and I was making money working in a bakery and thought to myself, “I should go out to a few York games this season,” I started looking into pricing and saw that season tickets were cheep and decided to buy one. After the first game against Halifax, I was enjoying myself but also found myself looking around for a supporter group thinking that a soccer game with no chants just doesn’t feel right, I proceeded to rant on discord about the lack of atmosphere when someone from Northern Corridor contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be apart of it.

Without hesitation I said yes and was excited for the next home game, at first it was a bit rough as we didn’t have many chants, and we were forced into the 900 section, but we had chants and that’s all that matters. Northern Corridor has grown so much from that first game and I am so happy that I can be apart of it, I look forward to tailgating in the parking lot and screaming about balti pies and how they’re better than yours, while watching the mighty 9 stripes for 90 minutes.

MY FIRST YORK GAME By: Ronan Cordelle

My first game was back in August of last year. I contacted a friend of mine who was a York 9iner day 1 and said I was looking to watch some live football and he hooked me up with a free ticket.

I thought I could grab the train and go down a bit early and grab a few pints and a bite to eat somewhere local to the stadium. I jumped on the train and headed down towards the university. Once down there and after a quick google I headed to the closest bar which was just a 5min walk from the stadium. I had found it odd that all the time I was walking from the train I hadn't seen one other person. I have been to a lot of football in a few places but it was the first time on a matchday, half a km from the stadium, that I had seen anyone. When I got to the bar, I discovered it was shut. This was getting stranger, maybe I had gotten the date wrong. I called my friend who assured me it was the right date and came and collected me and brought me to the famous "lot". He gave me the ins and outs and we sunk a few cans while propped up on his truck ‘til some other fans came along.

This were the first 9 stripes fans I saw and we had been in the area for a while.

We made our way down to the stadium, where now there were a small number of people milling around.

We entered the stadium and the first thing I noticed was it was a nice stand, only one of them. It looked nice and new and not what I was used to back home. I was still starving and was eagerly directed to the pie stand. We took our place in with the York United supporters groups numbering about 15 and looking lonely in the largely empty stand. My pie was brilliant, the football was good even though the crowd and atmosphere were lacking. Masters FC the League1 team were the opposition that day and they brought a small crowd who did their best at the far end of the stand.

There were 5 goals that day but the biggest thing I can remember about the game was turning to my friend and saying, "this is shit, but I love it" and I have loved going ever since. I think I have missed 3 home games since then and have loved the ups and downs. The lads, the chants and the buzz of a matchday. The supporters groups have come on leaps and bounds and really try for 90 mins to make some noise. Its not easy being a York United fan and that's a badge of honor for us all.

This was my first game but is far from being my last. Up the 9 stripes!!!!!

MY BIRTHDAY AT PIELANDS It was awesome.

Got piss drunk.

Threw up in the stadium for the first time.

Thanks NCSG. For bringing the party, cookies, and gifts.

Can’t wait to do it all again next year.

Love, Marci

OPEN LETTER FROM RogueStreetlite SG

Dear York United Supporters, Fans and Front Office,

Soccer isn't just a game. It's so much more than that. In order to be great, you have to want it and never give up.

If you get pushed, push back twice as hard. Always strive to be better because all the blood, sweat and tears leave their mark on the field. Make it known across to the CPL, and all teams at away or at home, that you are a force to be reckoned with. Don’t allow you or ANY opponents to forget that! Remember the number you carry and badge on that jersey is HOME! People ask us why do you love soccer/footy so much? You can't perfectly explain what the sport does to you. You can't perfectly explain the amount of happiness that you feel knowing your club is about to play! You can't perfectly explain the chills & adrenaline that runs through your body when your club steps onto that pitch, you can't perfectly explain the amount of passion and pain that goes into this thing called supporting day-in-day-out! You can't perfectly explain how the sweat, blood, and tears of pain outweigh the laughter, memories, and tears of joy. You can't truly explain why we supporters love this beautiful game because at the end of the day there's no perfect explanation to it or nothing like it.

All for a love of a local football/soccer club. We may be new this year coming into the whole CPL area, but doesn't mean we hadn't watched matches before on OneSoccer.

RogueStreetElite is a supporters group that originally followed League1 Ontario matches. We were based out of Mississauga. We follow North Sauga so we want to give our all to your club and bring on a thrilling and crazy fun supporter experience, the likes of which was in your stands at the start of 2019. We will bring it back for every game! We as RogueStreetElite,” RSE” for short, will give it our all for 90mins, bring it to every home and away games. We welcome all fans and supporters who come from all walks of life to join us in the stands next to the Northern Corridor SG and the Centre of the Universe SG, as well to chant, sing, or wave a flag. Let’s make noise for 90 minutes for the Nine Stripes! Next year we want RSE to be part of the York United family by doing that we hope to become official supporters group in the eyes of the fans, the players, and front office. We want to stand proudly along side with theses two other supporters groups and to grow build along the way. This is just a start for the crazy fun and supporters atmosphere that this club deserves. By uniting, we rise as one!

Sincerely -Mike Toth & the whole ¬RogueStreetElite SG