As we all know, Toronto FC is the last MLS team standing in the CONCACAF Champions League. As such, they now fly the flag of MLS against the Mexicans, with the hopes and dreams of the (North) American soccer fan hanging on Ashtone Morgan and company.
Across the league supporters of all clubs will surely throw their loyalty to Toronto. From Colorado to Columbus, the MLS fan knows that what’s good for Toronto is good for them.
Ok, maybe not. One has a hard time picturing the Hudson Street Hooligans gathering at their local watering hole to cheer their Canadian brethren on (while wearing their precious, matching t-shirts). Columbus is an extreme example, but there will surely be fans in every MLS city that would rather stick a fork in their eye than to see the Reds win.
And that’s to say nothing of the fans of Montreal and Vancouver. Their ambivalence is deeper rooted and was covered by Squizz yesterday.
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We saw this same discussion last year when MLS attempted to convince fans across the league that they should get behind Salt Lake in the final. The Twitter hashtag #MLS4RSL was subject to widespread discussion with more than a few fans loudly telling the league that they were not interested in getting behind the Utah club.
There were many that did support the initiative – probably a majority, actually – but the message remained clear. Deciding to back SLC should have been a personal choice, not something the league tried to guilt you into.
The issue is even more complicated this year. TFC, of course, wears two hats in the CCL – one official and one not. Although they are a MLS team they do not represent MLS in this competition (technically no one represents MLS in the competition as the American teams are competing under the USSF umbrella). Rather, Toronto is Canada’s team.
As such, many American fans that did get behind RSL last year are less inclined to do so with Toronto. They simply don’t feel the same connection to TFC as they would an American team. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if MLSSoccer.com pushes #MLS4TFC, or if they take a lower key approach.
Hopefully it’s the latter. As mentioned, the connection isn’t as strong with TFC and that feeling goes both ways. Call it a chip on our shoulder if you wish, but Reds fans have always felt like outsiders in the MLS family. Five years of anti-Canadian chants and banners, over the top criticism from well known American bloggers and a small but loud minority of MLS fans that still openly call for the Canadian clubs to be booted out of the league have created that.
Additionally, if you spend any time around league officials you quickly realize that Canada is an afterthought. During meetings at MLS Cup weekend in Toronto references to the importance of “this country” winning the 2022 World Cup bid were commonplace.
Fair enough. We are guests in the league. The outsider status is legitimate. However, it stands to reason that Canadian fans would be less attached to the league as they are their team. Clearly, that’s the case. There are a lot of TFC fans that outright dislike MLS – a strange oxymoron, but nevertheless true.
There will be plenty of American fans that chose to support TFC against Santos and that’s fine. However, you won’t likely see TFC fans asking for that support. It’s not personal, it’s just that when you’re an outsider you should never rely on the support of others. Besides, TFC fans aren’t really that interested in sharing glory with those that normally ignore them.
Forget #MLS4TFC. For the rest of the CCL it’s all about #TFC4TFC.