TFC fans will be able to watch their team live on Thursday, after all.
After initially posting the match to their schedule, then shuffling it off to tape-delay hell, Rogers finally decided* to stick with their original plan and show Toronto FC's group stage opener in Panama live on Setanta Sports.
The match had been shuffled around Rogers' family of networks, causing dismay amongst many TFC supporters. Last Thursday night, Setanta's website had the match listed as a live broadcast. The following morning, the match had been replaced on Setanta's grid by a UEFA Champions League re-run, instead showing up on Sportsnet ONE's schedule as a tape-delayed broadcast.
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In today's all-knowing information age, a tape delay of a Canadian team from a Canadian broadcaster was not going to cut it, and many made their displeasure known. Whether the voices made a difference will remain unknown, but in the end they got what they wanted.
As a bonus, Setanta is on free preview until mid-September, and thus should be available to most people.
* As of this writing, the Setanta online schedule still shows a re-run of Bayern v. FC Zurich during the timeslot in question.
Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.