And of course, it’s snowing in Toronto now.
In the past week, all the snow in this part of southern Ontario essentially vanished. No crocuses yet, but spring was surely getting set to spring.
Overnight? Flumph! Right now? Significant blowing white stuff. And what is it we’re all getting together to do, just three days from now, on Saturday afternoon?
Oh, yeah. A soccer game.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
And I’m so giddily looking forward to Toronto FC’s 2011 home opener, I wish we were playing the dratted thing right now. Toss those expansion Portland Timbers out there in the white stuff, and “total football” their green-and-yellow backsides off.
Not Dutch total football; Toronto total football. Snow, howling lakeside winds, biting cold. Put Adrian Cann back at centreback, tell the defence to hoof the ball to the midfield, and then try to play total possession attacking soccer.
Let the weather scream. Who cares? It’s showtime. It’s … gametime!
Yeah, and that enthusiasm would last all of about three-point-seven seconds if we were all down at BeeMo right now. Well, I’m not sure that’s true, kids. I think – in the core of the support, and the hearts of a growing number of other season-ticket holders and walk-up wannabes, that a great and lovely amount of T! F! C! excitement is coming to a lovely, rolling boil.
So let’s be clear on a few things:
1) The games aren’t selling out right now: Who cares? That’s a business problem, not a soccer one. The hot-ticket story was great fun, but it was no problem at all getting into BMO Field for a footy match last season. Thousands of empty seats told that story every game.
2) We don’t want another roster rebuild: Tough! Mo Johnston’s last abortive bash at bringing post-season shin-kicking to Hoggtown left a gnarled and gnasty crater when it crashed. Sure, there are useful players here, but to the last man they have awkward, ill-considered contracts that we still ain’t heard the last of. I’m not even going to try to tell you that won’t affect the product on the pitch. But it’s time to cheer for the future, even if we’re not quite clear of the past.
3) The roster is thin: Yes! But you know what? Good! New boss Aron Winter is still feeling his way. This is a rebuild year whether the fans want it or not. Might as well run some academy kids, until it’s clear exactly what this odd hybrid of a soccer side really requires. If the emphasis – thank the soccer gods! – is finally on getting the right player instead of the big one, we still need some time – and patience – to let such needs (and solutions) emerge.
4) You can’t really play total football in MLS: Undoubtedly! But who in MLS can adequately defend against a strong, consistent, watered-down version of it? Vancouver, apparently, but that was one game, and this Toronto team ain’t all in yet. I’d rather have them gearing towards a running, pushing 4-3-3 even if the horses aren’t yet all in the stables. Give everyone on the roster a chance to succeed or fail in the system, then replace the ones that can’t do the job. No, it might not get anyone in the playoffs this year. But four years of Mo Johnston isn’t something you just take an aspirin for. You can’t turn your back on hospitalized friends just because they are sick.
5) The fans are tired of losing: Welcome to world soccer! Teams everywhere, with the exception of the rare, rich, ruthless minority, lose. Any struggling team in MLS will eventually benefit from the fact there will never be a great team in MLS. Big comebacks are very possible. But Winter needs to stick to his strategy, whatever happens. The challenge for the fans is to see the progress, and know the team actually has a fine chance to make wonderful things happen here, and renew the commitment to the boys on the field, regardless of what’s on the scoreboard just now.
6) It’s snowing!: Today, yes. Years ago, I was married for a while, and the ceremony was held – outdoors – in Toronto on Saturday, May 1. History records it snowed that year on Wednesday, April 28. We still had bright, warm(ish) sun for the big day. I can’t guarantee that’s going to happen again this weekend, but – heck! – that is going to happen again this weekend! And if it doesn’t, cheering, singing, stomping and swearing is a fine old way of staying warm.
In other words …
Let the worries go. Empty seats, ownership, roster, tactics, losing to expansion teams – all background. All minor details, in terms of the essential mission of cheering ourselves lungless on Saturday.
At this point, I neither know nor particularly care if this latest rebuilt version of Toronto FC is going to be anywhere near the expanded 10-team playoff dance come fall.
I
Just
Want
To
Watch
Our
Team
Play
In
Our
Park
… Our
House!!!!!
Who’s with me?
Onward!