The Vancouver Whitecaps made the city proud.

They overcame ridiculously long preseason odds, advancing all the way to the MLS Cup Final against Inter Miami FC.

Not only that, but they were literally a post (and then another post, and maybe a third post) away from taking a second-half lead.

OH MY. Vancouver almost get another!@WhitecapsFC // MLS Cup pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com/LIC93ZzGDN

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 6, 2025

Nathan Lafayette certainly feels Emmanuel Sabbi’s pain.

Even though the Whitecaps didn’t finish their season with MLS Cup glory, they invigorated the love for soccer in Vancouver.

That was evident by a sold-out Western Semifinal win over Los Angeles FC at BC Place. It was also apparent from the fact that 20,452 fans showed up to BC Place for the MLS Cup Final watch party.

The support from Whitecaps fans is something that didn’t go unnoticed by Thomas Müller.

“It’s so nice to hear that we created, in a city like Vancouver, a hockey city, we created the buzz we wanted to create when we talked about it two or three months ago,” Müller said when he was told about the Whitecaps watch party at BC Place.

“The connections between the fans and the club and the players… it feels like it’s as close as it can get at the moment.”

He’s not wrong about that.

Müller, as he often does after games, reflected on the amazing run that the Whitecaps had with a post on social media.

What a beautiful ride so far with my team and the @WhitecapsFC family ❤️⚽️👍🏼#comebackstronger #vwfc #mls #esmuellert #mlscup #tm13 #thankfulforyoursupport pic.twitter.com/e5dAcOzYH1

— Thomas Müller (@esmuellert_) December 7, 2025

“Tough night for us, for the Whitecaps, for the City of Vancouver,” he said.

“We gave everything we had, but it was not enough.”

“I’m very happy to be a part of this run, but this run is not done yet… our journey is not done yet.”

For Whitecaps fans, even though the loss was heartbreaking, the hype surrounding this team will be higher than ever before heading into next season.

And, as Müller alluded to, the Whitecaps should be better off for their MLS Cup Finals experience.

“We will come back stronger next season,” he told reporters. “Our process, it’s not at the top right now. We have a young group, a very talented group, a very hungry group.”

“When I think too much about what happened… it hurts, but it hurts in the best way it could hurt.”