Away at Home: How the Vancouver Whitecaps are making their MLS Cup moment feel at home for fans
Shayne Grimmer broke down in tears standing at the pub, singing songs he’s known since moving to Vancouver in 2012, as the Whitecaps advanced to their first MLS Cup this past weekend with a 3-1 win vs. San Diego FC in the Western Conference Final.
Now 31, Grimmer’s love for the ‘Caps has only grown since his first match. He went from a 20-year-old leading marches to the match with the Vancouver Southsiders to someone who will have several Southsiders among his wedding party next summer.
“I couldn't believe it, I was just ugly sobbing,” he told OneSoccer about celebrating at Dublin Calling, a pub down the road from BC Place, as the Whitecaps won their first Western Conference title. “I look at where we’ve come from, how far we’ve come, and how much work we put into the supporters, the culture, and everything, and now look at how good our team is.”
Grimmer will be among thousands of Whitecaps fans in Downtown Vancouver on Saturday as sporting fever floods every street in a way it hasn’t since the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
Yet, while he’s at the pub with several others seeking breakfast and early beverages, the most significant crowd will be at BC Place, where over 20,000 fans are expected to pack in for the watch party.
“The fact that they're going to get 20,000 to 25,000 in the stadium, even though the team's not there, shows how far this whole club has come,” added Grimmer. “And it’s at 11:30 am PT on Saturday, we’re not talking about the afternoon or a great time, either.”
An incredible season comes down to one last match. 🏆
— BC Place (@bcplace) December 3, 2025
Let's keep the party rolling this Saturday at the MLS Cup Watch Party at BC Place.#BCPlace #VWFC #OwnTheSummit pic.twitter.com/CEXqSBPKmX
The watch party is likely to outdraw the actual attendance at Fort Lauderdale’s Chase Stadium, which will host MLS Cup as its final match before the Herons move to Miami Freedom Park in 2026.
Making a Home Game Without the Teams
Grimmer would have loved to be at the match. However, for many supporters, including those who flocked to Mexico City for the Whitecaps’ 5–0 loss in the Concacaf Champions Cup final, travelling to the United States is a step too far.
“I'm disappointed I can't be there with everyone, but I made a deal with myself at the start of the year that I would not travel to the United States under their current state of things,” Grimmer said. “Even for the Whitecaps, I’m not breaking that.”
That’s where the Whitecaps stepped up to fill the void. With its fanbase blossoming across the province and the excitement in the wake of signing German legend Thomas Müller, the club has ensured it connects with its fans as much as possible.
“We had to move incredibly fast,” said Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vice President, Events and Fan Experience, Jon Rees, who has led the BC Place watch party plans, which drew over 8,000 for the Western Conference Final.
Watch Party at BC Place! Vancouver Whitecaps FC are the Western Conference Champions! I can’t wait for the Final on Saturday. @WhitecapsFC
— Dennis D. Cruz (@cru29416) December 2, 2025
The next watch party will be for the MLS Cup Final! Let’s come together and support our team.
Lets go Whitecaps #VWFC pic.twitter.com/uGz7qyvjkR
“We always believed there would be strong interest, but the speed and scale have exceeded even our expectations. The first party sold so quickly that we had to immediately open additional sections, and those disappeared just as fast.”
“It really speaks to the momentum around the club and how deeply this city is connected to what’s happening on the pitch.”
MLS Cup Momentum is growing
The watch parties aren’t novel ideas, but a growing trend in North American sports. The Canucks sold out nearby Rogers Arena for viewing parties during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Toronto Blue Jays had over 85,000 fans through Rogers Centre’s doors in their recent World Series run.
For the Whitecaps, though, they’ve taken it up a level.
Instead of simply showing the game, they’ve brought the full in-stadium production, including light shows, DJs, a fully hosted presentation, and player-driven content usually reserved for actual home matches.
“We wanted this to feel like an actual match day, not just a place to watch a game... The goal is for fans to walk out saying, ‘That felt like we were there,’” Rees said. “There’s a deep soccer culture here that goes back generations, all the way to 1974, including winning the [NASL] Soccer Bowl in 1979.
“That history still matters to people, and you see it in the way families pass down their love for the ‘Caps.”
Some of that historic love dates back to Grimmer’s family in Revelstoke, a small town in the Okanagan, where a photo of 1979 Soccer Bowl champion Carl Valentine has hung in their basement for years.
Shayne didn’t know much about that championship as a kid, but now he and BC’s soccer fans are hoping to see a new generation of Whitecaps immortalized with an MLS Cup win on Saturday, as the Whitecaps face Lionel Messi and the star-studded Herons.
“I'm nervous, but I feel good. We beat them twice already, and we did that without Thomas Mueller and Ryan Gauld,” Grimmer said. “I think for us to just bring home a championship in a major North American sport, and to be the first modern Vancouver team to do that, is massive.”
The party goes on! 🤩🎉🔥
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) November 30, 2025
We’re headed to our first-ever MLS Cup Final, and BC Place is about to be ELECTRIC.
The first 15,000 fans receive an exclusive MLS Cup Final t-shirt. 👏
Tickets are $15 and go on sale tomorrow! Season ticket members at 10 a.m. PT, ’Caps Insider… pic.twitter.com/fsE71Ungye
Now, while the Whitecaps won't be able to directly hear those in attendance at BC Place's watch party as they take the field at Chase Stadium thousands of kilometres away, they'll know that they have a city behind them when they do, highlighting how this run has captured the attention of a sporting market hungry for success stories.
"It's everything we hoped for. For us, it's not natural that we have this kind of support. It is not natural that this kind of hype is around the Whitecaps in the city, and we really feel that everybody's behind us,” manager Jesper Sørensen said. “Sports in general, football in general, is not just played for yourself."
"It's for creating excitement around it. It's for creating connections around it. It's some of the greatest things, I think and believe, that can make people connected.”
