As a long-suffering Toronto soccer fan told me on Wednesday night, in the aftermath of TFC's improbable 2-1 road win over the L.A. Galaxy, "we're entering new territory here. We're breaking new ground."
Indeed we are -- or the team is, anyway. TFC has, of course, never made it this far in the competition; in fact, no Canadian team has ever made the semifinals of the continental tournament (the CONCACAF Champions League, or its predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, which dated back to 1962).
So while that long-suffering Toronto soccer fan, and his like-minded TFC diehards, are still reveling in the team's surprisingly awesome start to 2012, it must be asked: What do other Canadian soccer fans think?
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Sure, the comments section below will descend into immature bickering, ad hominem attacks and keyboard-hero posturing. Unfortunate, but an inevitable reality of the Internet age. But given that this is unprecedented territory for the game in this country, I think it's a question worth asking.
As the winners of the Canadian Championship, TFC is (ostensibly) our nation's representative in the tournament. And as the sole Major League Soccer side left in the competition, it's (theoretically) logical for fans of the league (and other teams therein) to support the side in order to... uh... I dunno. As a "take that!" to the Mexican league, I guess? That's what the #MLS4RSL campaign was about when Salt Lake made the final last year, right?
Still, it's tough to expect ardent fans of one club team to suddenly back another out of some supposed fealty to the league in which they play. And it's even tougher, in many cases, to find folks outside of Toronto willing to throw their support behind a Hogtown pursuit. Sure, there seemed to be a groundswell of support nationwide for Montreal's Cinderella run to the quarterfinals in 2009 -- but, for reasons too numerous to even list here, suffice to say that Toronto ain't Montreal.
But now that I've gone and broached it, remember 2009? Impact fans surely do. A marvelous, glorious evening at the Big O in the first leg ended with a 2-0 victory, as the team headed down to play Santos Laguna in the second leg. And then... well, utter disaster. No need to say much more about that.
TFC's semifinal opponent? Santos Laguna, of course. So is there any sense of a desire for redemption there, Impact fans? Is it a matter of the devil you know being better than the devil you don't? Or would you rather just see both of these teams pound each other to a pulp?
And Vancouver, Edmonton... are you, in a roundabout way, hoping for further TFC advancement in this edition of the CCL insofar as it will clog their schedule and, perhaps, make them easy pickings during a potential final in this year's Canadian Championship? Or is the idea of backing the team simply too much to bear?
And to soccer fans everywhere in the country... is Toronto FC carrying the Canadian banner in this competition? Are you linking this monumental accomplishment to greater things for the game in this country? Or is it just a nice little story about a team to which you continue to feel no sense of connection?
There's no right or wrong answer here. Everyone is entitled to their individual reaction. But it's a discussion worth having since, as we've said, this is brand new territory. There are only a few more "firsts" left in Canadian soccer, so let's make the most of each and every single one of them.
So, back to the original question... Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals. Thoughts?
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