I first became a fan of Brighton and Hove Albion when I attended the University of Brighton from 2008 to 2012. I was fortunate enough to watch a football match at the Amex when it first opened in 2011. After moving back to my hometown of Toronto, Canada the passion for football continued - usually meeting with friends at the early hours of the morning to catch Premier League matches.
With the rise of steaming subscriptions and Brighton's promotion to the Premier League, following the team once again became accessible for someone on this side of the pond. Toronto is very much an international city and supporters of every club is represented. Matchdays and meetings at someone's house or pubs would be planned amongst friends that support other clubs.

When it came time to planning my stag weekend, Jamie and the group took it upon themselves to plan the whole weekend including destination as a complete surprise. With flights booked from Canada and no back up plan, Jamie rang the club at 4am local time (with a pregnant wife I may add) on the morning tickets were available to see if our group from Toronto was able to attend all of our first Premier League match against Nottingham Forest. Unbeknownst to me, I was simply told to be ready for pickup and to bring my passport.

I am incredibly proud to call myself a Seagulls supporter for not only the attractive brand of football but also the community of supporters we met on match day. As Torontonians we are blessed with almost every major sports league but we all unanimously agreed it was the best sporting atmosphere we’ve all attended. Despite the score, the unity and support in the away end, standing and chanting for the full 90 minutes converted even my non-football fan friends into Brighton supporters for life.

From "coast to coast" in Canada typically refers to traversing the almost 5000 miles from the Pacific Ocean in western Canada to the Atlantic Ocean in the east but we can now add the bond shared between Toronto nestled on Lake Ontario to the South Coast of Brighton.  

Henry Yu

Seagulls Coast to Coast

Instagram: @seagullscoasttocoast