New York Red Bulls v Toronto FC
24/10/09

Toronto’s season came to an abrupt end on Saturday night when they got completely stuffed by the last placed New York Red Bulls 5-0 in a game that had they won they’d have secured a playoff spot. Nothing like a bit of pressure to sort the men out from the boys.

That poor showing brought to an end my first full season as a fan of TFC and it’ll be a season that’ll live long in my memory, not because there was anything spectacular that happened on the field … maybe aside from the big comeback win against Montreal that I watched on my living room sofa, but because it was my first.

I went to the majority of home games through the first half of the season but then with the arrival of visitors from ‘back home’ weekend after weekend I missed a whole host of games through what some fans might call ‘The business end of the season’, when playoff positions are really won and lost. It was disappointing but I continued to keep tabs on the team as they fought bitterly to hold onto a playoff position while doing everything in their might to throw it away.

Even Danny Dichio retired before the entire thing imploded around them, calling it a day for the betterment of the team, allowing them to free up salary cap space to bring in Julian de Guzman. Dichio’s starts appeared to become limited at about the same time as my appearances at games dwindled and I had to resign myself to watching the experienced bald headed proto-typical ‘big man’ forward coming off the bench from time to time. Danny knew his time was up and called it, leaving the sport on his own terms and on good enough terms with the club that he has earned himself some roll behind the scenes.

By the weekend my only chance of seeing TFC again in 2009 was if they made the playoffs and I managed to snag myself a ticket. I got an e-mail from the club a few days before the big game telling me that since my name was on the waiting list for a season ticket that I would be given a ’secret password’ that would allow me to sign on a day or two earlier than everyone else to buy myself playoff tickets. They finished the e-mail by assuring me this wasn’t them jinxing themselves with the decisive game still to come, but rather just doing some sensible prior planning in preparation for the potential rush, if the team won.

Lucky I am not the superstitions type though following that e-mail and then the 5-0 whipping I am reconsidering my stance on superstition. I shouldn’t have believed them for a minute and should have deleted the e-mail without reading it.

I was sitting on my sofa in and around 7 p.m. watching the opening shifts of the Toronto Maple Leafs game — a real beacon of success if ever there was a model for TFC not to follow. I was keeping an eye on the GOL TV channel for the kick-off of Toronto’s game in New York ready to see if they could get the job done. I had already watched three Premier League games earlier in the day and as much I love football, only a positive game for Toronto was going to keep me zoned in on this match.

When the opening exchanges took place I seen straight away the nightmare conditions the players were facing. Not only was the rain beating down with such fury that I had to hear it confirmed by the commentators that the game was indeed taking place in New York and not some monsoon hit jungle in Malaysia, but to make matters worse the game was in Giants Stadium on a field painted in NFL markings with the MLS markings in a yellow paint on the fake turf that was hard to make out. I can only assume it was easier to understand at field level but watching on the TV was a nightmare. I know there have been some historic games played at Giants Stadium and that this was New York’s last before moving into their own ground, but the move cannot come sooner from what I seen. Besides the stadium was 90% empty.

But regardless of the conditions, the NFL markings and the empty stadium, it was the same for both teams and is no excuse for the performance that followed. By the second half I was back watching the Leafs game flicking back to the TFC game every five minutes or so to see what the latest damage was. I gave up at 4-0 and found out the next morning the embarrassment stopped at five.

So no playoff tickets for me and Toronto move into their off season. The beauty of the MLS playing their games through the summer isn’t the golden tan I picked up over the summer months from standing in the open top stand watching them, but that their off season coincides with the bulk of the Premier League season and so unlike friends at home who have to go through the Premier League off-season counting down the days until its return, my football now lasts 12 months per year.

When I started writing a few days ago Toronto’s coach John Carver was still in his job, though all reports suggested he wouldn’t be coming back. As I continue this chapter of my TFC story today he has been released with a new coach pending.

There are many positives to be taken from the season. The big win against Montreal will be the highlight, as will the big defeat to the storied Real Madrid, a game I didn’t attend, not because I couldn’t but because I wasn’t willing to shell out $140 for a seat that normally costs me $25. The biggest positive to be taken from the fans is the steady improvement of the team, they have got better year on year since their first season back in 2007 and there is no reason that will not continue into next season. Of course the biggest concern is what happens if they do not progress and fail to make the playoffs for a forth straight year. The TFC fans have been rightfully patient, giving their brand new team time to get where they want to be. They have accepted the improvements that have came each season but how long will the patience last if they do not make the jump next year?

My own biggest concern is the MLSE company that own the team. They have been a good owner to the club so far but their success stories with their other teams, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors are nothing to write home about and they are generally regarded as an ownership that, over the years, have not worried too much about the Leafs success just so long as the fans were packing into the seats and the money was coming in.

I hope that wouldn’t be the case here, but lets face it, the fans are packing into the seats. How long will that continue when the team isn’t making the playoffs? Football fans can be a fickle bunch and you have to wonder if many fans are still in the ‘new team honeymoon period’, not yet too concerned about the lack of playoff football?

From what I have seen though, I am not too concerned about fans drifting in big numbers if they do not improve, at least not in the short term, the atmosphere at games is electric to the point that it isn’t just people coming along to see what this ’soccerball’ sport is all about. Generally the fans know the game and there is enough passion in the seats to keep the place bouncing for a long time yet.

Anyway, what does it matter, I think they will improve and this time next year I’ll have my playoff ticket confirmed long before the final game of the season. Oh and they will have real grass as well.

Read more about: Danny Dichio, MLSE, My TFC Story, New York Red Bulls, TFC, Toronto Sports | ALL SUBJECTS |

............................................................................................................................................................................