Originally Posted by Fort York Redcoat
Remember when the badge included the boys on the field?
Remember when the badge included the boys on the field?
Right now, outside of a handful of players, not many people in this organization are getting my respect.
You are right. I over-generalized. Also I agree with those who say there is much to criticize Dero for, no matter how badly he was treated.
It just galled me how Cann got treated around here, given what we know about what happened to him.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
tough issue here. supporting a team no matter what is something i don't do. that includes managers and players.
there comes a point or two with my favorite clubs (MLS , NFL, NHL etc) where i draw a line on repeated bad performances or mismanagement.
it does not mean i am not loyal or not a fan, it means i let em have it when they earn it - or take a break all together. I wont "trash frei" for example because he is consistantly a strong player. But i will certainly give it to some on the sideline or the pitch if i've had enough rubbish. These guys are professionals. this is thier job and are fair game - unfortunate for them when things get shitty.
support is really a personal approach for each fan IMO - but there isn't one RIGHT way to do it i guess is my point.
QFFT...
Hinsight is very powerfull isn't it. Bet you weren't thinking it was impossible to catch up when Maicon scored the 2nd goal.
Substituting a goalie is not rare in Hockey, in a sport where you can make unlimited substitutions. Which is why I figured you were trying to take a hockey thing and use it in football. As someone else said, never seen a goalie getting pulled in the first half (unless it's due to injury) in all the years I've watched the sport.
Anyways, we'll just disagree on this one. I believe there was 8 players on the field that day that needed substitution before Frei did. If anyone's confidence should be shattered it should be the defenders and midfielders playing in that game.
That might be a question better asked to the boys on the field too Roogs
The badge doesn't run around on it's own. To pretend we think that is dishonest.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
Possibly, but Pete was more referring to the support from the stands. I have struggled understanding this concept of the badge in terms other than the actual people because I certainly don't support "institutions" and faceless entities unless I support the people in them too.
with all due respect, I'm sure it's 90% against MLSE and 10% for, with the exact opposite #'s behind the players........There obviously always will be "owners"...but I think the majority would like them to be more of an open book, and that we are recognized as an important part of the process, which I think we all feel we deserve and are due...........I mean no fans, no game....thats blatantly obvious......................AND for anyone without blinkers on, we have seen the dreadful history with the leafs......BTW surely you wish DeRo was out there Sat,....whatever the miscontent with him
ALL HELL'S BROKEN LOOSEhttp://gfycat.com/SharpKindArrowana
I wish De Rosario was retained. I would have even made him DP if that's what it would have taken to keep him.
And if we don't sign at least one DP in the summer window I will be pissed even more that we let De Rosario go.
But in the history of any club, players come and go. Managers come and go. Administrators come and go.
In the end the only constant is the badge. Or as Jerry Seinfeld puts it "you cheering for laundry."
Ideally the "badge" stands for something bigger than players or managers or administrators. With more historic clubs there's more to the "badge" than people. Maybe it represented a region or even a religion.
Right now that "badge" for a lack of a better term represents the city of Toronto and the supporters who helped "build" that "badge". It doesn't represent the mercenaries on the pitch or the administrators who are trying to run into the ground.
Maybe if there was ever a 2nd team in Toronto, that perhaps better represented Toronto and those who support Toronto, that club would get more support. Maybe if that club was in the suburbs it could be a suburbs vs. downtown thing.
I know people who have never gone to a game at BMO, but they want to see the team to do well because it is a reflection of the city.
The badge isn't Stefan Frei or Aron Winter, they're just here to get a paycheque. The badge is the city of Toronto, the supporters, the long suffering football community of Toronto. It's like asking what does the flag of (insert country) mean to you.
Maybe it's pie in the sky... but that's what the badge means to me.
It's pretty general but I do understand it. It's the reaosn why despite being as negative as I have been, I still count myself as a supporter, because my ultimate goal is to pressure this team to be better than they currently are, thus giving Torontonians something to be proud of.
However, in my opinion support is not merely a vocal thing. I can say I support women's rights but maybe I am a complete chauvistic pig to "chicks" and treat the women in my life poorly. Actions back up words. And right now, the personification of that "badge" is the players, management and front office. They physically represent that which we support in spirit. Therefore, you cannot say that you support the badge and yet elements within that "badge" are ignored, mistreated or addressed.
To me, support means giving management the gears when they don't perform but also supporting them when they need the tools necessary to do their jobs and ownership interferes.
To me, support means giving players the environment to perform at their best because at the end of the day, nobody represents the "badge" moreso than the actual faces of the team.
Supporting the "badge" has to be more than a vague reference to a bigger element among us, it has to also include the actual elements WITHIN the entity.
yup
I try not to be to reactionary, and even at the beginning of the year actually felt it wasn't the time to sign a DP,..(what were our actual needs)....now, however I'm totally perplexed, by some of the senior players, and quite honestly feel we have to have some sort of respectable threat on the team, cause I think we are on the verge of being a complete bottom feeder and classified as an easy 3 points IN OUR OWN STADIUM...........I really like some of the youngsters, esp those that I saw in the reserve game but 1) how they will react against seasined pros?? and 2) we need seasoned vets to show and inspire them..............man is it so hard to find a player the caliber of D.Dichio......at least for his loyalty and work effort.......btw I've backed JDG for what seems like forever......sorry it's time, $200,000 or by...AND noone has at least credited Winters for at least pulling him Sat
ALL HELL'S BROKEN LOOSEhttp://gfycat.com/SharpKindArrowana
I don't think many were confused by my vague reference of a badge.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
i like these interpretations of "the badge". they are all interesting and relevant perspectives.
The badge can develop such power that it forces fans, players, management, press and opposition alike to expect and deliver the best.
I think about the montreal canadians, man united and yankees for examples only - it seems the badge in these cases force the team and its organizations to never settle for less. its not just about the money they spend, but what im suggesting is an expectation that badge demands - and how unforgiving and unacceptable failure generally is.
That's the ultimate power of a badge. And those truly loyal fans dont take losing very well at all because they are not supposed to.
Ultimately I can get behind this.
But really demanding excellence starts at the top, when has MLSE ever demanded excellence from any of their properties? From their personnel?
Fans/supporters in essence can only do so much in terms of influencing MLSE in demanding the excellence. MLSE will only respond to one thing and in reality that's an empty stadium or the threat of an empty stadium. The fan base can demand excellence but as long as a stadium/arena is filled on a year to year basis, there is no incentive for them to provide the fans with excellence.
Having a season ticket base of 2000 will have more of an effect of a letter writing campaign. Even then, given that TFC is at the bottom of the pecking order of their properties it's as if they "as long as I'm not losing money on it, I don't care."
^ this could be a dangerous reality as well.
so how about a song for frei?
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