As anyone who’s ever been there knows, BMO Field was built on the cheap. Essentially, a bunch of bleachers, anchored by some minimal brick and concrete, filled with red plastic seats.
And it’s actually quite a lovely little park. But there are two areas where the builders really punked out and went severely cheap – the elevator and the press box.
The elevator is slow and lumbering, and doesn’t come by very often. There aren’t a lot of other ways to reach the upper reaches, so those of us working the games mostly just put up with it. But the press box ….
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Because of its squared-off shape and lattice-work of window bars, most working soccer scribes watch Toronto FC from the only obstructed seats in the park. My regular assigned seat for MLS matches actually has no view of the north end of the field.
But! Where there is a nagging problem, oft is found an elegant solution. At BMO, that takes the form of a pair of open terraces – north and south – running along the top of the west grandstand. Here, you get it all. Spectacular views of the city and the lake, a not-too-high, ultra-clear scan of the entire playing field, and perfect placement to fully appreciate how loud and thrilling Toronto’s modest gem of a soccer park can be.
Faced with a significant overflow of interested ink-stained wretches flowing into town for the MLS Cup final, the league grabbed both these terraces and converted them into temporary press boxes, promising to hold off the late-evening November chill with something called “infra-red heating.”
And so it was that quite a few soccer-blog luminaries, including the entire “Soccer By Ives” team, found themselves shivering the match away, with no reliable way to connect to the internet.
As a guy who doesn’t usually bring a computer to the game, and keeps his winter hat and gloves stashed in the car until late May for just such an emergency, it was just another nifty night at the footy yard. For the hatless, gloveless working press who expected to be protected and productive throughout – well, it turned into a long and tricky night.
At halftime, reporters were crashed out in all the hallways, trying to warm up and write. The place looked for all the world like a shut-down airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
And, of course, the game went into extra time.
Some in-game observations:
- Despite what you’ve been hearing from BigSoccer, there was no fan protest. Toronto FC fans did not walk out in anger over having the MLS Cup final included in their 2011 season ticket packages.
- Despite what you’ve been hearing from BigSoccer, the fans did not abandon the match at halftime. The park was still nicely crowded when the fans launched their traditional 24th-minute song for TFC legend Danny Dichio – in the 24th minute of extra time!
- Referee Baldomero Toledo – roundly booed by the fans, as was ex-TFC striker Jeff Cunningham – had a horrendous night. At the end of the second half, he added only two minutes despite a host of late delays, and then blew the whistle before Colorado could take a corner kick. At the end of extra time, the fourth official indicated no extra minutes, which must have been a typo because Toledo let the match go on and on and on, forcing Rapids into a long and harrowing series of knife-edge goal-line stands.
Overall, though, given the lateness of the night – and the year! – it was a decent, functional little soccer match, gamely taken in by about 15,000 folks in a chilly, unlikely, but ultimately enjoyable setting.
The highlight for me was standing in the beer garden after the match, looking up at the jubilant Colorado fans as their triumphant players wandered over to share the joy of the moment. Bearded, exhausted, sweat-drenched goalie Matt Pickens – forced into a fully-extended, cup-saving late dive by both Dallas and Toledo – was transparently thankful as he applauded the small, singing section of travelling support.
I’m left with a surprisingly comfortable feeling of how cute and compact Major League Soccer really is.
This was far from the Ritz, this championship weekend, but that’s more than merely fine with me. The Big Game came to Toronto as thanks for this city’s raucous soccer culture. Yes, it was good business, as well, to toss the final north with both Vancouver and Montreal poised to join the party.
A chat with the commissioner, a ride up the CN Tower, a biting taste of the Great Lakes in November – I’ll honestly take all of that over the hype-soaked monstrosities so many of the other top-flight sports leagues have become.
Soccer north of Mexico is what it is: functional, not always pretty, but capable of producing soaring emotional moments for those who care to take the ride.
MLS Cup oh-ten had all of that – and was nice enough not to try to painfully pretend to be anything more.
Onward!