With TicketMaster letting it slip that TFC and Liverpool are indeed (or possibly -- they removed it pretty quick...) going to play a “wankfest” at Rogers Centre this year we at CSN are forced to deal with it.
Actually, let’s give the floor up to Lisa Simpson and Ottawa’s own Paul Anka:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
<object id="dtvplayer" width="480" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.disclose.tv/swf/player.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="config=http://www.disclose.tv/videos/config/flv/54613.js" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" allowFullScreen="true" src="http://www.disclose.tv/swf/player.swf" flashvars="config=http://www.disclose.tv/videos/config/flv/54613.js"/></embed></object><br><a href="http://www.disclose.tv" title="UFO Videos Conspiracy Forum">Disclose.tv</a> - <a href="http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/54613/just_don_t_look/">just don't look</a><br>
Couldn’t have said it better...
Now that the game is (likely) happening there are two things concerned fans can do.
1) Don’t go
If we “don’t look” then the chances of MLSE (and, make no mistake, this is a MLSE decision, not a TFC one – although there might have been pressure from MLS) learning improve and we might not have to deal with this idiotic idea again.
2) Educate
There will be some that try and argue that playing these types of games are somehow good – that they reach a different fan and they are harmless fun. They are wrong. They put an unnecessary strain on the players at a time when the MLS schedule is at its most demanding, underline the league as second best to “real” football and exist solely as a marketing exercise for Soccer United Marketing.
SUM makes its money off the sport, not MLS. Make no mistake, these games are not there to promote MLS, nor is the goal to gain fans of the local team. The goal is to maximize profits from the so-called Eurosnob fan – fans highly unlikely to ever go to a MLS game. There is next to no benefit to the game locally.
If SUM wants the Toronto Eurosnobs’ money, arrange a Liverpool v Juventus (or whoever) game at Rogers Centre. Leave TFC out of it. TFC has more important things to do than give Craig Bellamy a run out.
Concerned fans need to work to ensure that there are as few fans in Rogers Centre as possible.