Of course Toronto FC saved that performance for the final game of the season.
Of course it was the final game of the year, long past the point of playoff contention, long past the point of meaningful soccer, that TFC decided they'd give the BMO Field faithful a fleeting, tantalizing glimpse of what they're truly capable of.
And of course it's going to mean that the diehard fans who made it out to the "national soccer stadium" on Toronto's lakeshore on an ugly Saturday afternoon will read far, far too much into things as we head into another tumultuous MLS offseason.<break>
TFC dominated the game and fully deserved the result. About this, there can be no question, even amongst bitter Impact fans.
The real question was - what the hell has happened to Montreal?
A team that seemed destined to coast into then playoffs - and may yet do so - stumbled into Toronto and made the third-worst team in the league look utterly sensational. Seriously, the final score could easily have been 3- or 4-0, if not for the fortuitous intervention of the crossbar and Troy Perkins' outstretched glove.
I'm in no real position to discuss what issues may or may not be afflicting the Impact, though. My real purpose here is to say that at least - at the very least - the Toronto FC faithful get to end yet another blighted season on a positive note.
Joe Bendik made a game-saving stop late in the second half. Stefan Frei, ever classy, took all sorts of time after the final whistle to meet with fans in what was surely his swan song in Toronto. The back line held firm - except for that Montreal goal that was notched off due to a handball call (whew).
Kyle Bekker started the game (WTF?) and acquitted himself well (double WTF?!), while the upfront duo of Robert Earnshaw and Bright Dike looked, well, dangerous.
Enjoy the moment, TFC fans. Because if history is any guide, most of the players who took the field on Saturday won't be part of the roster four months from now when the 2014 season gets underway.
No, there will be another great purge (so long and good luck, Frei and Eckersley) and there will be more artificial hopes inflated (hello, aging European "stars", whoever you may happen to be).
But what the hell. We've been through enough that we're entitled to enjoy a substantive victory over a hated rival, even if it's only for one night, and even if it's ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
The TFC brass will ultimately talk about "progress", but of course that's bullcrap. Toronto FC finished with only one more win and six more points in 3013 than they had in 2012. Yes, in the strictest sense, that qualifies as progress. But the 2012 season -- one of the most dysfunctional, horrendous seasons by any club in the league's history -- should not be used as a benchmark for anything, other than sheer ineptitude.
Even so, at least Toronto will have a lingering positive memory of the 2013 season, even if it's utterly undeserved. The reality in Toronto, despite all of the reports of the death of the city's supporter culture, is that BMO Field is still a tinder box. All the place needs (desperately) is some string of success to set things alight.
The city is aching, painfully, for a winner, and will shower no end of love and praise upon the individuals who can finally make that happen.
There's no use musing, at this point, about whether we'll see that in 2014 since, as mentioned earlier, we still haven't gotten to the great annual TFC roster purge.
But for the time being, a comprehensive victory over Montreal - one that will, if nothing else, delay and obstruct their playoff aspirations somewhat - is not a half-bad way to end a season, by any stretch of the imagination.
One would desperately hope that in future years, TFC can play its final game of the season with something on the line other than the chance to indulge in utter schadenfreude.
For the time being, though, the team is what it is. And Saturday was what it was - a sign that TFC felt it appropriate to leave the best for last.
Oh well, at least Tobias didn't show up. We've got that to be thankful for.