Must win.
It's perhaps the most overused phrase in the history of sports. Right up there with "give it 110 per cent" and "take it one day at a time," the term "must win" has climbed atop the pantheon of sporting clichés and has been used so frequently that it barely has meaning any longer.
Despite the overusage, it always lurks around the corner.
A team finds itself in a bit of a rough patch? The next game is a must win.
The players are hearing it from unimpressed fans? Well, certainly they find themselves in a must win situation.
So rarely has the term been properly used, that most fans can be excused for not actually knowing when it's actually appropriate to break it out.
Well, TFC fans, Tuesday night's match against Tauro FC is -- sing it with me now -- a must win.
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Forget about the playoffs. As well as the league results have been going for the Reds over the past few weeks -- and victories ovder Real Salt Lake, Columbus and Colorado are very impressive, indeed -- unless a perfect storm were to occur, the current run is too little, too late where the post-season is concerned.
The weight of a terrible first half-season is the albatross pulling down any positive results now on display.
Even if Toronto were to win out (and we'd be talking about a six game winning streak, twice the existing TFC record), they'd end the MLS campaign on 42 points. A decent haul to be sure, but still only six points above the current tenth place New York Red Bulls, who have two matches in hand. Even if the Red Bulls could be caught -- and their form since June suggests that that's not a crazy suggestion in the slightest -- there are still a handful of other clubs sniffing around that final playoff spot who have banked more points and who have played less games than TFC have.
So let's put those lofty dreams to the side. It ain't happening.
What still is possible is for the CONCACAF Champions League to be the high note for TFC that the supporters have been clamouring for.
Sure, the embarrassing 4-0 loss in Mexico City last week threw a rather sizable monkey wrench into what was looking like a relatively easy road to some February football in Southern Ontario. It's unfortunate that Pumas chose their home match against the Reds to finally take the CCL seriously, and what ensued was some of the ugliest scenes Toronto fans have watched this year, which is saying a lot.
But Aron Winter cannot let his players hang their heads low. Three points against the scrappy Panamanian vistors, plus a positive result the next night in Texas (a win for either Dallas or Pumas, depending on which way the final two matchdays go), and TFC may be able to look back on Tuesday night as the game in which they salvaged the season.
The Mexico City debacle is in the past. All TFC can do now is try to beat the opponents in front of them and hope that other results go well. Of course, other results won't mean anything if the Reds don't take care of business on their own end.
It's a self-fulfilling cycle that starts with a (must) win.
Toronto FC v. Tauro FC
Tuesday, September 20, 2011. 8:00pm EDT.
BMO Field. Toronto, ON.
Watch: Rogers Sportsnet ONE, CONCACAF TV (requires registration)
Listen: FAN590.com
Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.