BRINGING THE NOISE SINCE 2011
What started out as a small endeavour to provide a supporters club for a semi-pro soccer team has grown into something special. In 2011, the 'Capital City Supporters Group' was created, as a concept, to support the then-expansion Canadian Soccer League (CSL) franchise Capital City FC of Ottawa (CCFC). This concept, later renamed into the 'Bytown Boys Supporters Club' (BBSC), became a main-stay at the CSL club's home games, drawing rave reviews from across the league for the atmosphere it generated at CCFC games. In short, a small group of fans became organized and turned concept to reality, as the Bytown Boys Supporters Club was truly born.
By the end of 2011, after an overwhelmingly successful season which saw CCFC feature in the CSL finals, optimism was extremely high for both the club and its supporters. Capital City was looking at challenging for the CSL championship the following season, and the Bytown Boys were eager to feature at their side. Unfortunately, it may have been too good to be true...
In April 2012, Capital City FC shocked its supporters by announcing it will not participate in future CSL seasons. In a few short days, optimism turned to disarray for the supporters, as preparation's for the 2012 CSL season grinded to a disappointing halt. Fortunately, the end of the Capital City chapter of BBSC history allowed for the opening of a new chapter, one filled with as much hope and optimism which CCFC generated for the group.
As luck would have it, the region featured another advanced development team, called the Ottawa Fury. This club, which played in the fourth-division Premier Development League (PDL), was excited at the prospect of moving up to the second-division North American Soccer League (NASL) in what was, at the time, a few short years. Shortly after Capital City FC folded, both the Bytown Boys and the Ottawa Fury agreed that it was a natural fit for the supporters to feature at Fury PDL matches, thereby aiding the Fury as they prepare for NASL expansion.
As the 2012 PDL season unfolded, the Bytown Boys were unsure what to expect as they began attending Ottawa Fury home matches. What was quickly apparent, however, is that the Fury were a top-class organization with a strong commitment to winning and giving back to its community. It was only too easy for BBSC to become a mainstay at PDL matches, as the group carved its spot with the Ottawa Fury. By the 2013 PDL season, the Bytown Boys began featuring at the Ottawa Fury Women matches in the USL W-League. With this, the transition process was complete, with BBSC providing atmosphere at all Fury advanced-level matches.
As the Fury's 2014 NASL expansion drew closer, the Bytown Boys were proud to have been an integral part of the clubs resurgence. With excitement slowly building as the NASL opening day approache*ds, BBSC was proud to be a continually growing and diverse organization which provided a unique atmosphere at Fury FC professional matches.
In 2017, the wind changed as well as circumstances changed. The Ottawa Fury changed from the NASL to the USL. Even though the league changed we were still committed to our goal of "Support Local Football" and supported the team and the growth of the sport.
In January of 2018, tragedy hit our group. One of our members, Terry passed away. He was a father figure, and friend to many people in our group. He passed away in January of 2018. As a group we decided to honour his memory by naming our Player Of The Year Trophy after him. A small tradition of awarding the trophy has followed through as well. The winner is asked to wear Terry's BBSC scarf when receiving the award as a small token of remembrance
Late 2019, the hammer blow was felt the falling out of Ottawa Fury and CSA was felt. With Ottawa Fury folding, it was a feeling we haven't felt since 2012. We decided to plan group trips to Montreal for MLS, supporting Ontario League One game and planning road trips for potential Canada games (Men and Women). Our aim was was to continuing supporting local football as best as we could
2020 sounded the arrival of Atletico Ottawa. We were excited and started planning for an upcoming season in the second season of the Canpl, then the pandemic hit. We joined as many viewing parties as possible during this time.
The next year, 2021, we had a compressed home season. We saw the old supporter culture start to revitalize and grow. We were happy to see it and loved what it was bringing to the culture. We welcome the new culture and embraced the new club and we hoped for more in the following seasons
If we count 2020 as a trial, 2022 was like 2015, a trip to the finals. Even though it had a lose we still saw the club, culture and the section grow. The future was bright
As our story continues, it will feature a growing number of individuals. Anyone is welcome to join us and help as we continue to write our tale. As we do this, be sure to inquire about our past and help spread the BBSC message.
