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<\/p>\nWalker, who said he has not missed a Whitecaps home match in 12 years, has made it his mission to increase fanfare at the games. <\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crowds are getting more educated. They\u2019re loving the team more and every year is getting a little better,\u201d he said. \u201cThe last couple of years have been fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar calls were made earlier this week by midfielder Thomas Muller, who encouraged fans to fill the lower bowl during games at BC Place.<\/p>\n
The Whitecaps faced Sporting Kansas City at BC Place on Friday, winning 3-0.<\/p>\n
An announced crowd of 21,777 fans attended the match, marking the 18th consecutive MLS game with more than 20,000 people at the stadium.<\/p>\n
Throughout the game, the crowd was engaged, gasping at a near header goal at the 2nd minute, then jumping from their seats and erupting in cheers when Emmanuel Sabbi scored a scrappy goal at the 13th minute mark.<\/p>\n
The same energy came at 23rd and 28th minutes, as the team scored two more before halftime.<\/p>\n
Fan Kevin Schachter, 42, said it is \u201chuge\u201d for him to have a local MLS team in Vancouver where he can attend games live.<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg native said he moved to Vancouver a few years ago and has become \u201cquite a significant supporter since.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI know there\u2019s a risk of losing the club and that would be devastating,\u201d he said in an interview. <\/p>\n
The team made its first MLS Cup final appearance last year, where it fell to Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami.<\/p>\n
New Whitecaps fan Lauren Bugliarisi said it is her first year with season tickets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started following closely after the end of last season when it was picking up and we were winning a lot after the playoffs,\u201d the 30-year-old said in an interview ahead of kickoff Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like the first team that I\u2019ve followed that has gone far. It\u2019s just nice to get to cheer for Vancouver and see us go far and be doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bugliarisi said she feels the excitement around the sport has continue to grow this year as the FIFA World Cup nears. Vancouver will host seven matches in June and July.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of the reason why we started following Vancouver as well,\u201d she said of the tournament. \u201cIt feels like it\u2019s going to be this next wave of sports for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alison Martin, 31, sported a Whitecaps scarf as she made her way to her seats alongside her father. <\/p>\n
They\u2019ve have seasons tickets since around 2015, she said, and have \u201cpretty much been to every game since.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love coming to these games. I find it\u2019s the best sporting experience throughout the Lower Mainland, and now that we also have the (Northern Super League\u2019s) Vancouver Rise, it is fantastic,\u201d Martin said, noting she has seasons tickets to Rise games as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt just seems like every weekend there\u2019s a soccer game.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the fan experience has grown in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always just been so electric. I always tell people like if you want to have a good sporting experience come to a Whitecaps game,\u201d Martin said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf they left the city, it would be really sad and I think there would be a huge gap in the sporting community and the energy of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some, including Schachter, it\u2019s about soaking up every minute of live professional soccer in case the end is near. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is the last time we have a top-tier team, I want be here for every moment of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Walker is doing what he can to prevent that from happening, and is encouraging other Vancouverites to do the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people should know they should come here and watch the Whitecaps. Simple as that, because it\u2019s going to help the team stay here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to get behind the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walker, who said he has not missed a Whitecaps home match in 12 years, has made it his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-612472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vancouver","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-vancouver"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}