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  1. #1
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    Default Look how far we have come......

    I didn't know where to post this but it struck me today when I dropped my daughters off at school and today was "Jersey Day" at their elementary. There were more TFC shirts being worn by young kids at their school than any other sports team that I could see in the playground - I was shocked and happy at the same time (shappy?!) --- my older daughter who has been going to games with me since year 5 when she was 6.5 years old, was laughing at the sight saying that she can't believe all these kids who are "bandwagon" fans now of the team ---- (I brought her to Joes for the 2008 away opener when she was 2.5 --- as always, solid parenting on my part!!) --- I told her that this is what happens when a team is successful and gets "popular" with the mainstream crowd -- like the new generation of Jays fans since August 2015 that didn't exist from 1994 - July 2015) ----- then I thought about it for a while --- is TFC becoming "mainstream"? I remember trying to explain what the hell this league was to people for most of the first 8 years or so and how wearing a TFC shirt was met with looks of pity/shame or even worse bewilderment (as in WTF is that?)!

    I know that a lot of us had these sentimental feelings of the journey we have been on prior to last December (and that game that shall not be named ).....but to see it play out in the next generation choosing to wear a TFC shirt to school with their friends gives me hope for the future that a soccer loving audience and even more specifically a Toronto soccer loving audience is hopefully here to stay in some degree of consistency so that when the bad times come again (hopefully not anytime soon), that even when the "bandwagon fans" go, many more will stick around for the long haul.....it was heartening to be a part of this group and this team since year 1 and now that we have an awesome team to be proud of, I hope that we all really take the time to enjoy a season like this one where we are consistently a great team (not perfect, as no team is, but great more times than not) and winning becomes expected rather than "hoped for"......I know we all want to see this culminate the same way with a giant trophy being handed to our Reds at a cold and wintry BMO field this December - I truly hope it does happen for them, and frankly for all of us and the future generation of fans to come......

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    Had some people sitting behind me on Saturday, clearly knew their footy, and I think they were anglophiles. They were making comments along the lines of "this soccer is quite good" and "this has come a long way..." They were clearly impressed with the vision and creativity on display.

    Make no mistake, it's not that MLS has improved, so much as this team. They are converting people not just by winning, but by playing an entertaining game.

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    I'm not at all surprised....and its nice to see that the younger generation seems to be taking on TFC as "their" team, similar to how the 15+ crowd, who watched Chris Bosh and DeRozan in their childhood took the Raps as the team to follow. I don't mention the Leafs, because win or lose, they're a part of growing up with sports no matter what.

    I noticed it myself when I was watching the kids go around the neighbourhood this past Halloween and even commented here about it. I was wearing my TFC track jacket that night standing by the door, and nearly every kid who came to my house had a comment about it.
    I think part of it has to do with TFC actually becoming a respectable team, so obviously more people will follow it. I mean let's face it, many of us here have been on the ride since Day 1 because we love the SPORT, but I couldn't blame the average "Toronto sports fan" who was not interested, because I myself wouldn't follow a loser, having no other interest in the game aside from the team that plays.
    Another big reason I can see is that from the beginning, TFC's players have always been easily the most accessible athletes in the city, as far as talking to or getting an autograph after the game goes, and to a kid, its a big deal when that happens and something they don't soon forget.

    Even if the team drops off a bit performance-wise in say 5 years from now, obviously the wide-spread support will take a bit of a hit, but I think another couple years of good results will give TFC enough of a permanent following in the city.
    Seeing as soccer is the most played sport for young kids, its a natural extension that they will want to watch them as well, which helps interest.

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    nothing better than a saturday night game in the summer,best sporting experience in the city.

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    It really helps that the team has been around for a decade now.
    It means there is a generation of kids that have grown up with them,
    Unlike many of us who were already into adulthood before TFC arrived.
    For those kids, it's like they were born to it,
    whereas the rest of us adopted.

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    Quote Originally Posted by paul-collins View Post
    Make no mistake, it's not that MLS has improved, so much as this team. They are converting people not just by winning, but by playing an entertaining game.
    This team has improved astronomically, but the league has improved quite a bit, too.

    I've been watching MLS since 2005. Memory plays it's tricks, but if you pull out a recording of a match from before the last couple of years you'd be surprised how direct plays was, the lack of technical nuance, the play was mostly just high athleticism. Or if you want to REALLY see a difference, go back to the recording of the first MLS games from 1996 (available on YouTube). Besides the inane commentary explaining the very basics of how soccer is played, the game itself was almost unwatchable.

    For the first few years we had a number of people say that they only watched TFC games, and only because it was our team; the league as a whole wasn't very entertaining. That's completely changed; many people here watch the games of other teams as well as TFC. While it's not the EPL it's now quite an entertaining league.
    MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto

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    In 2007, you'd see about 1/3 passes go astray. Not anymore. The basic techniques of the league have gotten better. Part of this is the DP's but also coaching is better as is media scrutiny and expectations. What has not gotten much better is defensive work. Before Moor joined TFC and Vanney got defence into every player's head, we were pretty much brute force and ignorance back there. A lot like what DCU showed on Saturday. Positionally, our defence plays in a different realm then most of the league. Most defences are reactive. Ours is anticipatory. That's the next step to take MLS to a different level.

    As for the fans, a % of bandwagoner's come back forever, and another % come back when teams start doing better again and then stay forever. Jays showed that. Lots of support 87-92 that hung around for a few years until the strikes and then came back 2 years ago. I suspect they will stick around 30K to a a sell out level for a few years again. If we leveled off in 6 years when the DP's get older, we'd likely hold onto 25K a game for a few years. But, I also think the front office knows the expectations of TFC fans is for a pragmatic controlling competent defence and a dynamic attack that rolls on game after game after game, losing a few, but always with that identity. The base is being built to keep that going for year upon year.

    There's no reason why TFC shouldn't remain a top 5 team in this league for the next half decade - that will bring along a whole generation of fans who will drive this team forward attendance wise. And, given 2026 is likely to be played partly in Toronto, we are going to be playing in a 40K+ stadium in 10 years. Us getting 33K regularly is going to be something to behold.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Oldtimer View Post
    This team has improved astronomically, but the league has improved quite a bit, too.
    (snip)
    For the first few years we had a number of people say that they only watched TFC games, and only because it was our team; the league as a whole wasn't very entertaining. That's completely changed; many people here watch the games of other teams as well as TFC. While it's not the EPL it's now quite an entertaining league.
    I don't disagree that the league has improved, become watchable for the general soccer fan now. I'm more commenting on the specific local market change that's been reflected in the rest of this thread.

    Quote Originally Posted by OgtheDim View Post
    In 2007, you'd see about 1/3 passes go astray. Not anymore. The basic techniques of the league have gotten better. Part of this is the DP's but also coaching is better as is media scrutiny and expectations. What has not gotten much better is defensive work. Before Moor joined TFC and Vanney got defence into every player's head, we were pretty much brute force and ignorance back there. A lot like what DCU showed on Saturday. Positionally, our defence plays in a different realm then most of the league. Most defences are reactive. Ours is anticipatory. That's the next step to take MLS to a different level.
    I think this gets to the heart of Toronto's growth as a wider market. Yes, MLS is good now - but TFC are next-level, in ways that don't show up dramatically on screen, but completely change the feel of the game you're watching. Better passing, better organization, and positive defensive work. Watching the team, you can feel the inevitability of the positive outcome, because the play itself is very technically sound.

    This ain't no hoofball.

  9. #9
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    To be honest when I first started watching TFC play in 2007 I was rooting for the home team because it was our team but I was also very interested in who they were playing because sometimes I was more interested in seeing Henry with NYRB, Beckham with LA, DeRo with Houston considering how poorly I was always expecting us to play as an expansion team. I was just happy to be able to see MLS in Toronto for the most part at that time. That soon grew to me not caring who they were playing and it was all about Toronto no matter what and the heartache that went with that for so many years. These days I am there to see our team 100% and I couldn't give a shit who they are playing as long as I am watching TFC.

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    Quote Originally Posted by paul-collins View Post
    TFC are next-level, in ways that don't show up dramatically on screen, but completely change the feel of the game you're watching. Better passing, better organization, and positive defensive work. Watching the team, you can feel the inevitability of the positive outcome, because the play itself is very technically sound.

    This ain't no hoofball.
    I remember the unreal feeling watching online RSL tie CF Monterrey in Mexico on April 20, 2011. RSL at that time was the best team in MLS, and so far above TFC it was unbelievable. I remember people saying during that match it was like they weren't even in the same league as TFC. The crisp, short passing possession game was beautiful, it was the first time I had ever seen that from an MLS side. It was so disappointing when in the second half of the tie they lost by a single goal at home, they were so close to winning the CCL for MLS!

    I'd argue that TFC today is better than that 2011 RSL side, and is now one of the best teams MLS has ever seen. That doesn't guarantee victory, you still have to play the games, but it's attractive, attacking, solid, and deep. TFC is a team that is well constructed and well coached.
    Last edited by Oldtimer; 06-20-2017 at 09:52 AM.
    MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto

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    I supported TFC in the earlier years because they were Toronto's team, and the football wasn't so great because of many factors mainly the management and not the players. Now with his team through patience and environmental change, like it or nor largely started by Tim Leiweke. I feel TFC can be competitive with many teams within and outside of MLS. An associate of mine (a huge football fan) a few years back came to a TFC match with me and basically said, 'I don't know how you can watch this, but I commend you on your support', THIS TFC TEAM is why I and many of us stuck it out. There have been so many 'Fair Weather Fans' that are know perhaps feeling like the are missing something. It was those that chose to compare to teams and leagues with decades even a century of history behind them to a team and a league virtually in it's infancy. I am quite proud of myself and my family and TFC friends of outstanding support.

  12. #12
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    As much as I suffer the TFC PTSD as much as anyone else, I do think TFC is the best team in the league so far this season. Only other team that comes close to TFC is Dallas, with SKC and NYCFC just behind Dallas. Chicago is winning right now, but I'm not convinced of their depth esp in defence and GK. On the other hand, Chicago's offence is pretty scary and still somewhat underestimated.

    TFC edges Dallas because of star power, though Dallas is equal to TFC in terms of team chemistry and depth. Dallas is doing pretty good despite Diaz (who IMO is the best playmaker in the league) and Colman suffering from Chad Barrett-itis.

    I'm curious to see when NYCFC ditches Pirlo (and they are getting results without Pirlo in lineup) and get another DP. Villa IMO is the MVP so far this season and he does this without the level of support that TFC and Dallas has, though Vieira is proving to be a canny tactician who is squeezing the most out of his squad while playing a possession based soccer, which is pretty hard to do in MLS.

    Even a lot of better teams prefer to bunker and hit on the counter against TFC, esp at BMO Field. That's a lot of respect given to TFC by MLS teams.
    “Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.

    I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’

    And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”

    -Eduardo Galeano

 

 

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