If you're a diehard sports fan of any variety, you're already very well experienced with cognitive dissonance.
Intellectually, you recognize -- or at least, you should -- that sports are ultimately just pieces of diversionary entertainment, with no intrinsic value beyond what consumers decide to assign them. Emotionally, though, you care. You have a profound, visceral vested interest in the teams, players and issues with which you identify.
With this dichotomy in mind, it's time to ask: Should Toronto FC fans simply accept the seemingly inevitable reality that, in the not too distant future, BMO Field will also be home to the CFL's Toronto Argonauts?
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The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but recent reports from TSN's Dave Naylor and the Star's Zoe McKnight make it clear that MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke has his eyes on a stadium-sharing arrangement for "the house on Lakeshore". And as Leiweke has shown during his time in L.A. and his tenure in Toronto thus far, when he sets his mind to something, it tends to come to fruition.
Now, to his credit, Leiweke has said all along -- including to Sportsnet's John Molinaro earlier this month -- that any massive changes to BMO Field would be done with Toronto FC in mind, and preceded by consultations with the club's supporters, many of whom hold passionate opinions on the matter.
The potential destruction of the intimate, soccer-specific stadium experience is one big concern. The potential damage done to the playing surface (and the deleterious impact on the sport of soccer) is another.
But underpinning much of the opposition is another issue: the idea that after decades of neglect and disrepsect in this country, soccer fans deserve -- and must protect -- the one little piece of real estate they can call their own. The cries of "this is our house!" that rang out in the halcyon days of the late 2000s weren't mere contrived marketing fodder; they represented a genuine sense of ownership of the facility.
Intellectually, TFC fans realize the stadium is publicly-owned and that the team is owned by two gigantic telecom conglomerates and one exceptionally wealthy construction magnate.
But emotionally, it's difficult to fully accept our little team, our little stadium, becoming fully interchangeable widgets within the grander MLSE empire (even if, of course, this is what they've been all along).
Now, the flip side of being part of that grander empire (and having a man like Leiweke at the helm) is the possibility of an unprecedented off-season transformation, like the one TFC has just undergone. That all came together thanks to Leiweke's vision and connections (brilliantly laid out by the Star's Cathal Kelly), and his belief that splashing the cash on Defoe, Bradley et al. now would ultimately pay off for the club and the organization.
Clearly, Leiweke's next bold move includes expanding BMO Field and bringing aboard the Double Blue as a tenant (and perhaps, as Naylor's report suggests, even as a sister club under the MLSE umbrella).
Which brings us back to the original question: For TFC fans, is this something worth fighting about, given that it's seemingly a fait accompli at this point?
Intellectually, surely most TFC fans realize that however sincere Leiweke may be about wanting to garner input from TFC fans prior to any stadium deal, ultimately the man -- as is his mandate -- will act in the best interests of the entire MLSE empire, of which TFC is just one piece (albeit a piece for which Leiweke appears to have an authentic affinity). And if Leiweke believes bringing the Argos to BMO fits that description, well, then that's what's going to happen.
But emotionally?
Hey, supporting an unpopular cause -- even when there is seemingly no hope left to be found -- is nothing new for anyone who's supported Toronto FC for years. Now that TFC finally looks poised to have some on-field success, perhaps waging a likely-futile war against the CFL interlopers is the best way for fans to stay connected to that feelings of comforting hopelessness that's characterized the team for so long.
Whether or not any of the arguments against bringing the Argos to BMO Field are "rational" (in some big-picture, general sense) is irrelevant; as we've established, everyone involved understands that sports fandom is, at its core, irrational. Supporting TFC for the past seven years is especially irrational. So what's wrong with a little bit more irrationality sprinkled on top?
It's the devoted passion of those who care about the club that built and sustained it through these dark years, and Leiweke knows this. If anything, he'd likely welcome disagreement and reasoned arguments about why BMO Field is -- and should forever remain -- the exclusive domain of TFC.
What are the chances that his mind will be changed on the matter? Not especially great.
But as anyone who's watched Toronto FC carry a lead into the final 10 minutes of an MLS match knows, it's not over until it's over. That's why you keep watching, keep fighting... keep caring.
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