Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney has no love for Montreal bell, looks to silence it

Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney isn’t afraid to admit it.

“I hate the bell, yeah, sure,” Vanney said with a smile Friday. “And I hope I don’t ever hear the bell.”

The giant North Star bell, the brainchild of the 1642 MTL supporters group, rings every time the Impact score.

It has been moved from Saputo Stadium to Olympic Stadium for Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. Former WBC light-heavyweight champion boxer Jean Pascal will be the honorary bell-ringer Tuesday.

Toronto has done a good job this season of keeping the bell quiet.

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TFC won 2-0 at Saputo Stadium in April, and tied the Impact 0-0 there in June in Amway Canadian Championship play. The bell rang twice on Oct. 16 but a late goal by Tosaint Ricketts gave Toronto a 2-2 tie.

“Everybody has their thing in their stadium and their’s is the bell,” said Vanney, who heard it three times last season when Toronto lost to Montreal in the first round of the playoffs.

The 1.12-metre-wide cast-iron bell, which weighs 715 kilograms, was moved via pickup truck.

The Canadian Press