How the Vancouver 86ers built the doundation for Whitecaps' MLS success

To understand the present, you must know the past. In the case of the Vancouver Whitecaps, the story of the 90s when the club was named the Vancouver 86ers is an important chapter. You just can't talk about the growth of soccer in the city and not mention team 86ers, which put them on a path to shape the local sports scene and laid a way to success for the club as it is now in Major League Soccer.

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The rise of the Vancouver 86ers

The Vancouver 86ers did not simply play soccer back in the 90s; they dominated Canadian soccer. Guided by the coaching skills of Carl Valentine and several other noted names, between 1987 and 1999, the 86ers proved that soccer could indeed be played with passion and finesse. "Our team was stacked," remembers Nick Dasovic, one of the key players of that era. And he isn't exaggerating it. This team won a few titles, building into a powerhouse in North American soccer, more so in the Canadian Soccer League or CSL.

Clad in singular jerseys of red, black, and white, the 86ers were indeed an intimidating sight to behold on the pitch, playing some captivating soccer at that. "Those black-and-red kits were powerful for us," Valentine says, the hint of reminiscence in his tone thick with accomplishment after accomplishment. Among those wins, the team won four back-to-back CSL titles from 1988 to 1991, which spoke volumes about the quality and determination in the squad.

Moments of glory and uncertainty

But for the 86ers, it wasn't all about soccer. In 1990, the team won the North American Championship, a tournament that pitted the CSL champion against the winner of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). The final was against the Maryland Bays and the 86ers won an exciting 3-2 match with Domenic Mobilio scoring in overtime, before a boisterous crowd at Swangard Stadium.

Of course, there were bumps in the road: when the CSL ran into financial difficulties and folded in 1992, the 86ers found themselves without a league. It was a gray area, but not for long: the club adjusted and eventually found its slot with the APSL-a league that "had a lot of quality, especially with no MLS around at the time," according to Paul Dolan.

The quest for excellence

By 1996, soccer in North America was undergoing a sea of change. MLS kicked off in the U.S. as the 86ers continued their pursuit for excellence in the A-League. For Carl Valentine and his teammates, it was well-defined: "We wanted to be the best small franchise in the world," he says, the same passion propelling his career.

Even when MLS stole every headline, the 86ers never lost focus on how to be in a sober competition at the highest levels and continued the tradition of a strong, competitive team-even though not in the top league. As the MLS teams commanded the attention, they were quietly doing much hard work in the background to ensure they distinguished themselves in the A-League.

The fanbase and lasting impact

What really set the 86ers apart wasn't just the soccer they played, but the support they got from the fans. "Playing at Swangard was magic," Valentine remembers. "The fans were incredible, the atmosphere special." And Dolan agrees: "We had a crowd that made a difference, and for me, being a local player, playing for my hometown team with that support was phenomenal."

That was the connection with the fans that laid the seeds for what would become impassioned MLS support for the Whitecaps. Most evident is perhaps the rise of the Southsiders, the team's main supporters' group. "They started with 20 or 30 people behind the goal in the 90s," Valentine relates, "and today they're one of the most vibrant fanbases in MLS."

Without the impact of the 86ers in the 90s, soccer would not have been as successful in the city, and the arrival of the Vancouver Whitecaps to MLS would never have occurred. They were the roots for everything that would follow. In Valentine's words, "When the Whitecaps came into MLS and saw 21,000 people in the stands, it was clear soccer had grown in Vancouver, and a lot of that is thanks to that era."

The Legacy of the 86ers

The impact the Vancouver 86ers had on soccer in Vancouver cannot be undermined. Perhaps without them, the Whitecaps would not have assumed the shape they have now. Valentine, Dolan, Dasovic, and many more who worked at that particular time helped keep the spirit of soccer alive within the city during those times of uncertainty.