Vancouver Whitecaps set themselves three firsts that they wanted to achieve this May.
A first MLS win over Los Angeles Galaxy ✔
A first MLS win over a Cascadian rival <b>X</b>
A first Voyageurs Cup win <b>??????</b>
One has been achieved. Another was thwarted by a controversial non handball call. And the third will be decided on Wednesday evening.
The Portland draw was a sickener but if Vancouver beat Montreal and do finally win their first Voyageurs Cup final, then don't be sad. Two out of three ain't bad.
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In the land of the pig, the butcher is king. And we're ready to have some celebratory pulled pork poutine and a few drinks if the Whitecaps can finally take us to paradise.
So to achieve this cry to heaven, how do the Caps need to approach the second leg of the final?
There's been times this season where the Caps have looked like they are going nowhere fast and other times where they've looked as sharp as a razor's edge. All of the latter have been at home and that could be the saving grace for Vancouver in this one.
After all this time, the Whitecaps are finally playing for all the honours on home turf, in front of their own fans and we've all got to make the most of our one night together and bring it.
If they don't get the job done this time, then they should have no-one to blame but themselves. If it rains, then the roof will be closed. If Montreal fold and let in six, then it will be us banging them in. No excuses. They need to seize the night.
Win and the fans will love them forever for finally taking them to the promised land and you can be sure that amongst the hardcore, there will be not a dry eye in the house. Lose though and it's back to hell. It's starting to feel that the Caps are cursed in this Cup.
For me, Montreal are going in to the game as narrow favourites. Buoyed by their five goal feast at the weekend, they know they can score, the Caps know they can score, but by letting in three goals in the same game, Vancouver know that they can be breached as well.
It's going to be like a chess game, with grandmasters Rennie and Schällibaum playing a cagey opening gambit, waiting for the other to make a mistake. Poker players trying to out bluff the other and seeing who will be left to read 'em and weep.
You have to feel that Montreal are going to score at least one, so the first goal is going to be crucial, as is the timing of it.
If Vancouver score first, and Montreal equalise, you still have the feeling that the Caps can go on and add a second. If Montreal score first and Vancouver then have to chase the game and score two, it's going to be so very difficult. The Impact will shut up shop, forcing the Whitecaps to pile on the pressure and as the game enters the latter periods, they will leave gaps at the back which Montreal can certainly punish.
You also fear Vancouver heading in to the closing stages with a one goal lead. Caps fans will just be praying for the end of time, as we know that Montreal will have a great chance to batter down what can be a horribly shaky defence if we just sit back and try and see the game out. We're not as bad as previous years, but you always still have the sense that it's coming.
We can only hope that come full time on Wednesday we're not all thinking life is a lemon and I want my money back.
So do the Whitecaps go for it early? Come out of the starting blocks like a bat out of hell? I know. I know. It's not really in Martin Rennie's remit to play like that. You took the words right out of my mouth. But that could be the very ploy that catches Montreal cold. No-one is going to expect that one. It would be like the Spanish inquisition of Rennie's tactics.
No matter what happens and how it all plays out, we need to see some fight from the Caps. If the worse case scenario happens and we're going to go down, we have to go down fighting for crying out loud. Everything is permitted to bring the trophy home. The players need to leave everything on the pitch.
We need to have an experienced and potent line up out there, but also one with an eye to not leaving gaps at the back. Every single player on the Caps squad should want a piece of the action.
Montreal's danger lies on their ability to fully punish teams on the counter attack. We have to remain focussed and solid and if we do fall behind or just can't get the breakthrough, then we need to stay strong and keep driving on till we get the job done. They have to have the right attitude throughout. No bad attitudes allowed.
Substitutions could also be key. The Caps need to make sure that whoever they bring on are the right players for all eventualities and not just how the game has gone up to that point. We don't want to be leading, bring on defensive guys, then give up a goal and not have the players on the pitch that can then be attack minded and turn it back around again.
It's going to be cagey, close and maybe not a classic, but certainly a game you won't want to take your eyes off of.
So if the Caps were to lift their first Voyageurs Cup and qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, but went on to miss the playoffs, would the season be deemed as a success?
Not achieving either would be disastrous and could only be deemed as a backward step and a failure. You would also have to question the future of Martin Rennie as head coach.
I want both, but I would take only one. And we have to have at least one.
I'm happy for that one to be the Voyageurs Cup. MLS is our bread and butter, but a first Voyageurs Cup/Champions League run would be the meat loaf and potatoes of the season.
The long suffering hardcore fans that have been with the Caps through all the D2 heartaches and controversies in this tournament want it so bad. Do the general fans though? Do they care about it? If you really want to, you can argue that the North American psyche is too programmed for playoff action?
Will your average fan be happy with a Voyageurs Cup win and no playoffs?
Let me sleep on it. I'll give you my answer in the morning.
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