The last time we stood in BMO Field was a dismal October day. The wind whipped rain into fans faces and the dreary performance on the field almost made the struggle of opening our eyes not worth it. As Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact finished scoreless, a gloom hung over the stadium of fans wanting to forget, yet still not quite comprehending what they had witnessed over the last seven months. It was a strange disbelief one gets at the end of something terrible.
Today the eyes were covered with sunglasses and the beer was refreshing, not just forced down the hatch to make the game more bearable. It was great to see the stadium filled once again. Rekindling friendships with faces that had disappeared last year gives one a sense of hope. Hope that this season will bring something new.
Today however, would provide points of déjà vu.
The first came courtesy of Robert Earnshaw, poaching another misplayed back pass and floating a chip over the Galaxy defenders’ heads, finishing Toronto’s first half-chance of the game and injecting some life into the subdued crowd. It’s hard not to go wild after an effort like that, with Earnshaw throwing his arms up, goading the crowd like he’s leading a pep rally.
The second point was late in the 90th minute, as Jose Villarreal’s spectacular scissor kick brought back painful memories. How many times has this scene unfolded? Last year, Toronto conceded 16 goals in the final 15 minutes of play.
But today nobody seemed to give up. Instead of the heads dropping, they pushed right back. Toronto threw themselves up the field in a fashion not seen since Terry Dunfield’s storied header against the Whitecaps in July. While this push didn’t provide a goal, it exemplified TFC’s new fighting attitude.
In the postgame press conference, Ryan Nelsen spoke on the organization’s approach:
“We have to be self aware. We are who we are and we’ll get better. You have to build your team on a solid foundation. If you start building it on quicksand, it falls down pretty quickly.”
While stolen back passes aren’t pretty goals, these first two home games have shown a TFC who are making it difficult for teams to come in and play. Toronto FC’s strategy right now is to not let opponents play their game. This is not where the team wants to be, but it is a necessary starting point that provides an opportunity to move forward.
This new approach doesn’t only involve tactics; it’s a whole new mentality. This is no longer the organization where the captain scores a goal and celebrates by signing a fake cheque. This is an organization where the leading goal scorer is the last to leave the pitch because he’s applauding the fans. One where the President rushes on the field to personally congratulate players after a victory. This is the team that the defending MLS champions came in and struggled to steal a point from.
Today was also the first time we stood on the seats to applaud the team after conceding in the last minute. Maybe this is the start of something new.
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