10 things people in Toronto get super passionate about

People from Toronto are a passionate bunch, especially when it comes to our city. We already know it's the centre of the universe and humbly boast about its virtues whenever we venture out of town. And of course, we also complain about it as much as we can. From the Red Rocket to Degrassi High's most famous alumnus, Torontonians love to obsess over the city they call home.

Here are the 10 things we're super passionate about.

Worrying about whether or not we're a world class city
Toronto's grown a lot over the past decade, so much so we regularly come out on top in various lists that rank the best places to live in the world. But we're still so worried about whether we stack up in terms of business, art and architecture. The minute we stop worrying, we'll have answered the question.

The Blue Jays
The Jays might not be having quite the season as they did last year, but our city still obsesses over them. Nearly everyone owns at least one piece of Blue Jays swag, regardless of whether or not you're just an October bandwagon jumper.

The TTC
We both love it and hate it and constantly complain about it. Even though it rarely gets us anywhere on time, we still rely on it daily.

Taking pictures of the skyline
Plenty of cities are in love with their skylines, but skyline porn hits the next level in Toronto thanks to the C.N. Tower.

Movies/TV shows filmed in Toronto
Toronto often stands in for big American cities, so it's fun to spot ourselves in Hollywood movies, like the Oscar-winning Spotlight, and TV shows such as Suits. Many of us went to see Suicide Squad, even after it got skewered in reviews.

Poutine
Poutine might be Montreal's thing, but we've kind of adopted it too. From Smoke's to Poutini's, purists can get their fill of fries, cheese curds and gravy. But it's also easy to find hybrid dishes like poutine pizza and breakfast poutine on menus across the city.

Bike Lanes
Toronto's obsession with bike lanes can likely be chalked up to a deeper source: the urban/suburban divide. Residents who live in dense downtown areas champion bike lanes like there's no tomorrow, while car owners in the former boroughs often turn their nose up at the loss of vehicular road space. In any case, there's always fierce debate.

Our real estate market
Whether it's new condos, rapidly inflating house prices, or the possibility of a foreign buyer's tax being implemented here, Toronto conversations invariably turn toward the subject of our runaway train of a real estate market.

Patios
Since it's cold and windy for so much of the year we really value our summers - and there' no better way to celebrate the warm weather than hitting up a favourite local patio.

Drake
Drake is Toronto's ambassador, and whether you like it or not, he's helped make the 6ix cool. He's given the Raptors new life and has provided our city with a pretty stellar soundtrack. And he is just, like, everywhere.

What'd we miss? Let us know in the comments.

Writing by Amy Grief and Derek Flack. Photo by Crhis Seifert in the blogTO Flickr pool.

by Staff via blogTO