Get out your parkas!
Toronto FC advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals – and a possible home date as early as March 6 -- tonight with a stunning 3-0 road victory over listless FC Dallas. The loss completed a shocking fall from grace for Dallas, who became the first US-based team to beat a Mexican team in Mexico, but somehow managed to crash out of the group despite the historic win.
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For TFC, it was a desperately needed victory. One does not want to consider how cynical and, well, angry the fan base would have been if the result had gone the other way. Tonight’s game was no less than TFC’s own personal MLS Cup final. The Reds may not have the playoffs to look forward to, but they did have a focus – a singular focus – and that might have been the difference.
It’s a first-year-of-j-school cliché to suggest that TFC “wanted it more,” but it was clear that the Reds were far more aggressive and far more focused on the game than Dallas was. The team from Texas wanted it enough, but they just lacked the energy needed to compete with Toronto tonight. It was refreshing to see that TFC can turn up and be counted when it’s most needed. The last time Reds’ fans were in that position the night ended in a 5-0 humiliation at the hands of one of the worst teams in MLS history.
Although the payoff will not come for four and a half months, it’s not overstating things (that much) to suggest that tonight’s result saved the season. Optically, anyway. Sure an argument could have been made that there was progress and something to be hopeful about even if Toronto had lost tonight, but it would have been a tough sell. Now, however, fans can point to the quarterfinal berth as concrete evidence of improvement, rather than trying to argue the abstract.
The club now has a tool to use to get Torontonians excited about TFC again. The supporter’s groups have something to look forward to – not since the Columbus trips stopped will there be something that will fully focus them – I predict a very large tifo display for that CCL home date.
Also, don’t count out TFC in the CCL now. It was always a long shot for the Reds to advance through the group, but now that they are in the knock-out stage everything changes. The club will be permitted to re-register its players. Anyone they sign – say a strong centreback or two – can play. The Reds could be a much better team by the time they kick-off again in March.
There will be lots of time to focus on that though. Tonight, however, is about embracing the moment and celebrating the victory. It feels good, doesn’t it?