teammates signed autographs and took pictures with thousands of adoring fans at BMO Field on Friday night.

Girls, boys, young and old, some of whom had lined up hours before the gates opened, shouted the players’ names as they patiently waited for a chance to meet their heroes. Many in the lineup had bought tickets just to attend the signing and one lady and her family were off back to Niagara after her children had received their posters.

“I came back a week late from London so I didn’t see [the welcome] at the airport,” defender Rhian Wilkinson said between signing posters and autographs. “But I think I’m getting a good idea of what it must have been like for everyone.”

As game time approached and the lineup showed no sign of abating, some of the players left their enclosure to meet youngsters in the crowd. However, the crowed surge was dangerous and security personnel had to help them out. Security guards stayed with the team for the rest of the evening.

As it was, one of the Canada players was hit in the face, but not as the fault of the crowd. Unfortunately Diana Matheson jumped up and her medal smacked her face. Rhian did not show much mercy with a tweet, " still bleeding!"

One of the first in line waiting for signatures and pictures was Daniela Ledesma, who plays on an under-eight team coached by her father.

Albert Ledesma says the success in London can’t be underestimated.

“I think it was incredible what they were able to accomplish and what it meant for the country,” he said. “You see all the girls having new heroes and saying ‘I want to be Christine Sinclair, I want to be [Melissa] Tancredi, I want to be Diana Matheson.’ “I think the country will see the benefits of that (on the field) in five or 10 years.”

The women were introduced onto the field and shown on the score board to tumultuous applause.

While the Canadian women have broken through on the international stage, the men are looking to qualify for the World Cup in two years time, something a team from this country hasn’t done since 1986. They started well with a 1-0 victory over Panama this evening. “I think we’ve be waiting a long time [for success in the men’s game]. I think a World Cup berth would make the country just blow up,” Ledesma said. “We sense that we’re getting closer and closer. It would be a very special day.”

Meanwhile the women are marketing the game.