I called bullshit on this whole heritage nonsense because it’s patently nonsense. It’s just sheer manipulation of our perceptions about the franchise (it certainly isn’t a ‘club’ in the traditional sense). It will only grow over time if we don’t raise objections now.
Look at the ridiculous amount of changes to colours and logos in the NBA. The Raptors have undergone several of them. Their playoff opponents in Cleveland look like an 11-year-old girl in her mother’s make-up kit. Do you want to see TFC look like the Vancouver Canucks in cleats? That’s where MLSE will take this notion if fans let them. It’s like they’re frustrated because they can’t screw around very much with the Leafs logo or colours.
The way this whole heritage thing is trotted out at us is ridiculous.
TFC have never worn blue – but our biggest Canadian MLS rivals do. The biggest threat to long term quality soccer – the Argos – wear blue. And MLSE were never involved with the Blizzard or Metros clubs, even if Steve Stavro dabbled in the game with his Knob Hill Farms sponsorships. If the history of soccer in Toronto really mattered to MLSE, why aren’t we seeing the team website routinely offering great stories, photos or videos – highlights, interviews - from these past teams? Really bringing this so-called ‘heritage’ to life.
Where are they presenting anything from the collective memories of past players – Bruce Wilson, Randy Ragan, Budgie Byrne, Zjelko Bilecki – coaches – Bob Houghton, Keith Eddy - or fans about great games, interesting experiences, the life and death of the North American Soccer League or the Canadian Soccer League? About anything at all about helping soccer take root in Toronto?
Where’s the love for Thundering Dale Barnes?! The bellowing voice for soccer in Canada and first (only?) commissioner of the Canadian league.
How come we don’t see TFC leaning on great historians of the game to bring this ‘heritage’ to life. Where are contributions from the likes of Colin Jose, Bob Koep, Norman Da Costa, Dick Howard, Alf De Blasis? Or historical pictures from Les Jones? All these men could present amazing stories about soccer history in this city.
But we’re not getting that from TFC are we? Fuck that action. Not when there’s wallets to be hoovered, wills to be bent and perceptions to be altered. All by tarting up the playing kit and stadium in Bullshit Blue.
We’re months into the season and all we’re seeing is beads and baubles, a load of manipulative, commercial clap-trap. You’re a sucker for buying it.
Here's a lovely picture to remember the great days of Blizzard games at Varsity.
I'm sure someone at TFC is going to tell us that the silly pre-game flight of Bitchy is an acknowledgement of Toronto soccer history. Toronto Falcons players in white:
Last edited by greatwhitenorf; 05-17-2016 at 12:49 PM.
Have you looked into what they are planning for heritage night? Sounds like you're speculating. You're also making this out to sound like a majority of people purchasing these kits are doing so for what you deem a false sense of heritage. That's not what I'm learning. The most I've heard about heritage is here and most of that talk is people that still aren't buying the kit.
And Bitchy is a hawk.
Thanks for the great pics!
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
So do we go back to the white/blue kits again for NYCFC game? Back to back games with white/blue kits? Vanney last year had his lucky salmon coloured shirt so he is a bit superstitious I would say. I think we see red on Wednesday.
Fort York,
Yeah, there's one game where they mention honoring Metros-Croatia's '76 title. With a card giveaway.
If ever there was a more obscure and uncelebrated title winner. Despite the presence of a struggling Eusebio - age, injuries, alcohol - the ethnic name gave them all the mainstream appeal of Serbian White Eagles and they did not draw well or enjoy a high media profile.
Looking at the TFC Promotional Night link on their site, there's no mention of the Blizzard. Yet that club did far more to bring soccer into the mainstream. It also provided some solid contributions to Canada's amazing team that qualified for the 1986 World Cup.
I appreciate you standing up for the franchise that you make a huge effort to support. But seeing them trim this whole heritage concept in Bullshit Blue is a specious action in my opinion because the team has never worn blue before. Which begs the question: Are we seeing TFC earnestly reference the past or simply taking a first strategic step to shape the future?
woops
I don't love the blue but whatever....clubs all around the world do this type of thing. Look at Real Madrid - white, black, green, blue, purple, red, pink
The only thing I see TFC doing is thinking they can do this type of stuff. It looks to me like an MLS / Adidas thing where they look to maximize as much shirt revenue in markets that can absorb it and MLSE are happy to go along with it.
If they would only stick to doing Red at home, I really couldn't care less what they wear away.
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
Can't believe TFC haven't opted for an alternate kit in MLSE's favourite shade of green - the colour of money.
Hey, I'm OK with alternate or away kits. They're a necessity. But seeing blue introduced in the kits and on the stadium at such a sensitive time is unwise. Using history or heritage in such a vapid manner verges on facetiousness.
To say nothing of the fact it looked dreadful on Saturday night and we saw players make uncharacteristic mistakes that suggested they weren't playing as intuitively or decisively as they did wearing red. It has to go.
As has been pointed out many times before, these kits are designed years in advance - so in this case well before the Argos. You have a group of designers that needs to come up with a new kit every single year - and there's only so much you can do with red, white and grey. We've been over-the-top red (two iterations ago), extremely simple red (the current ones) and everything in between. The "heritage" thing is a marketing person looking for an angle that lets them do something differently. There's no sinister Argos crap going on here.
And are people (or one guy at least) seriously suggesting that we played a bad defensive game because we weren't wearing red? Good grief.
Just wear Red. And bring back the Onyx.
Message: GET RID OFF TH3 BLUE!!
@FluSH_RPB / IG: @Flush.rpb
The Legendary
RED PATCH BOYS
The first part of this is not true.
We knew about the Argo's 4 years ago and flew the no Argo's banner 3 years ago.
It doesn't take 2 years to design and print a shirt.
If only one of these is true that is still enough time for them to think about it and hold off or cancel.
When the new kits came out this winter, MLS posted a few discussions with designers who indicated that the 2017 shirt was already designed and just waiting for approval. They would be working on 2018 right now.
The League sets a broad marketing approach and teams are free to link into that as they want, or not. 2016 is about relationship to the city. Thus the city colours disaster in CBus.
I don't doubt it could have been cancelled, but then you are really stuck with production issues and real time concerns. This thing was conceptualized and put into a pre production mode at least 2 years out. Its why Bradley started wearing the Toronto blue captain armband last season. Adidas is well known for their production lateness and shortage issues. They are on an incredibly tight schedule and MLS kits are the first product line to use the new templates.
Making a banner about the Argos (it is commendable) 3 years ago doesn't change the fact that the argo deal was off and on again umpteen times in that 4 years and it was very last minute that the deal got completed at all. Despite the narrative, its not a giant conspiracy - just really poor timing and a forgettable alternate kit that will go into the pile with the 'supporters kit'.
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
What Phil said plus:
Do we believe they have the vision to create a multi team conspiracy? The Argos deal was not a DEAL in the sense there was a proactive plan at all. It was all reaction to no one caring enough to do anything better.
I firmly believe the Argos had (and were) no concrete part in the initial reno vision. Heritage/Winter Classics by MLSE are sufficient to justify the reno.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
Heck, I would go one step further FYR...
Tim L wanted to get this reno done because his focus is and was soccer in North America. If we as a team continued to operate in that 'little' stadium then we would always be viewed as the poor brother to the Leafs and Raptors. Lets face it, MLSE are focused on those 2 top franchises.
Now we have what appears to be one of the more impressive stadiums in the league and Tim L gets the glory and credit for it. It also checks off the winter classic boxes. Overall MLSE invested $100 million on a stadium they were given, now they stand a chance of returning that investment quicker than ever.
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
if you don't like the kits, don't buy them.
if you haven't bought them, then you've pretty much said all you needed to and are just waxing poetic on here.
can we close down the thread now?
We got a point out of tonight's game because we wore red
Go for it.
History, heritage. It's all much of nothing with TFC and a great many of their fans anyway.
It's all about beer and hashtags. Halftime hype and product placement. And a lot of instant gratification.
My general impression these days is that most people - even season ticket holders - only really care about TFC if they win. The bland, blind acceptance of these ridiculous heritage kits clearly shows history isn't worth a flying farthing.
If it did, the franchise would bring onto the pitch each and every surviving member of the Toronto Croatia fan base who visited the church basement headquarters to donate money to pay the players salaries that glorious, title-winning season.
And for one game, there'd be a gate entry giveaway of curly, blond Randy Ragan wigs, Roberto Bettega ankle socks, Sam Lenarduzzi mustaches or Jimmy Nichol mullets.
But that would just confuse people.
Last edited by greatwhitenorf; 05-20-2016 at 12:53 PM.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
I'll be honest, I bought three, I like them... not with the blue shirts though...
Newf, what you need to understand is that not everyone that supports Toronto FC is as in the "know" with the History of Football in Toronto as you.
Moving from British Columbia 12 years ago and following the Whitecaps blindly as long as I could remember, I was stoked about the news of Professional Football in Toronto, did it instill the excitement to learn everything about the history in Toronto, no, but my knowledge is with this club, 10 seasons, If they want to release a new kit, if it's slick I'll buy it. From my understanding it's an alternate kit, just like the white ones from a few years ago and the original grey or onyx from last year... The only "Heritage" is the Series they have planned for various nights at the field.
Correct me if I'm wrong. http://www.torontofc.ca/post/2016/04...g-10-years-mls
Hah! You make that sound like a bad thing.
The season has been going on for - as D. Beckham so quaintly phrases it - mumphs, mate. That's many, many weeks into a season that the team would have us believe - based on demanding and time-sensitive uniform tailoring requirements - has been YEARS in the making.
But the team is yet to grace us with this vaunted history and heritage of soccer in Toronto having any sort of meaningful presence on it's website. In relative terms, it would cost MLSE buttons to hire a few qualified people to put something worthwhile together and have it up where fans can read about it FROM THE GET-GO! It's not something to be distilled into a shabby gate giveaway and a three-minute video.
I called bullshit on this whole process and said the whole concept of this presentation of heritage was wasted on many TFC fans. Thanks for proving the point.
I don't like them, and I hope they never wear them again. Beyond that simple pronouncement, I really can't summon up any outrage.
History is littered with teams coming up with godawful special kits. One that tries to be a minor nod to the Toronto's soccer past? Sure, whaaaatever. They aren't getting my money for one, leaving it as a minor irritant at worst.
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
My brother and I were talking about it too. We believe it represents th colours of Toronto (flag is few, blue and white). But neither of us really like them wearing them, our thought of how they could have done it properly if they wanted to pay homage to the city is to wear them only during Canadian Championships and CCL matches. Many teams in Europe to the same thing where their cup matches feature completely different colours than their traditional ones