The driver on my northbound Leaside 56 bus out of East York this morning was wearing a Toronto FC scarf.
So was the tired-looking Asian chappie, three seats back, who was nervously eyeballing his smart phone for any sudden, alarming moves.
No, it doesn’t mean Your Toronto Football Club © is front-and-centre and hype, hype, blah, blah, blah and such.
This was pretty low-key – but every bit as significant.
For the first time I remember in this town, TFC is becoming an accepted, normal part of the background.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
45,000 people aren’t coming to the SkyDome tonight because TFC is new. They’re coming because the team has been around for years, and this game tonight – this happening tonight – is interesting.
A steady roster – one that hasn’t been totally blown up since that epic win in Dallas late last fall that earned the Reds tonight’s date in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.
A fine opponent – a David Beckham who can still create lovely scoring chances from the right, feeding fan-foe Landon Donovan and the ever-dangerous Robbie Keane. The defending champs from L.A.. A “bigger-city” opponent – and there aren’t many opponents can roll into Toronto claiming that.
A big stage – Of course we all love BMO Field, but it’s good to play in the Concrete Chasm every now and then, just to sell 30,000 extra tickets and dig a little deeper into the Southern Ontario subconscious.
And who cares that TFC hasn’t had much of a preseason? They don’t. They bailed pretty much the entire first team out of the final warm-up match against Vancouver, bringing them north early to get ready for tonight.
It’s not like they’re all strangers this time. Most of these lads played together last year. And they’ve been exposed to very little inside politics and back-stabbing in the off-season. And instead of a distracted, selfish captain who couldn’t wait to blow town, they’ve got Torsten Freakin’ Frings!!
The luck of the draw helps them, too. L.A. is in pre-season mode, also. They could – much more easily – have drawn an in-form, late-season Mexican squad.
Victory isn’t even essential here, though of course it would be lovely. The Galaxy are worthy defending champs, and will be a tough tussle for the entire league in 2012.
What I want to see tonight – aside from a packed and thumping ‘Dome – is effort. Real, honest, focused, consistent, game-long effort, preferably with some useful attacking creativity lobbed in, just for yoks.
It’s Opening Day – even if the real Opening Day is seventeen days away. This is where Toronto FC claims its real spot in the local sporting scene – a young, hungry, dangerous team, with solid management, and dependable veteran leadership.
And if anyone sees former GM Mo Johnston down at the ‘Dome tonight, please just toss him an MLS video game, point him to the subway, and tell him we all said “Hi.”
Onward!