Sam Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Well we've just witnessed the first ever Canadian Club Championship, what did you all think? First off before any club I am a Canadian soccer supporter. So the fact that this is happening is bigger than who wins and the results IMO. What does matter is that this tournament increase the hype for soccer in this country as well as the standard and the rivalries. We went into the tournament with very little animosity between the three clubs (with the possible exception of Vancouver vs. Montreal), and obvious rivalries grew specifically Toronto - Montreal, which is good from a soccer standpoint, but obviously has led to some problems with fan relationships between the clubs. As for the standard I think Vancouver and Montreal have shown they are class acts on the pitch and compare to what is right now a mid-lower level MLS club. Which will hopefully bode well for the Championship in the future. As for raising the hype this event failed miserably. The advertising was not evident. Toronto FC which usually sells out every single game could not sell out their very first Canadian Championship game ON CANADA DAY!?! They also didn't sell out the Montreal game, which many supporters were looking on as the biggest game in TFC history, until the day of. In Montreal they "sold out" (gave away promo tickets to youth clubs) against Toronto, but couldn't get a full house against Vancouver. Vancouver also failed to fill Swangard against Montreal in their first home game of the tournament. Every team was at fault and it was due to a lack of advertising. The tournament didn't even have a website where you could check the official table. Only a poorly designed page on the CSA website. This event was huge among the hardcore soccer supporters, but was looked over by the average sports fan who will attend the occasional game. It was not stressed to them how important this tournament was. As the games themselves they were all competitive and some very good ones took place as well (Vancouver 2:2 Toronto springs to mind). We also had a few Canadians put in quality games to help give their team the result (Sebrango was MotM against Toronto). I think the games were comparable to lower table MLS games which is an accomplishment considering US Open Cup games are nowhere near this level. Montreal were also deserving Champions, the only real game they were outplayed in was the final match at BMO, but it made up for Montreal out playing Toronto at the Saputo. Anyways I wish the best of luck to Montreal in Nicaragua. The Canadians in this tournament as well as several of the foreigners played with a lot of passion, but a large number of foreigners specifically on TFC treated this tournament as nothing. It was comparable to how some foreign players in England treat the FA Cup which is one of my favourite tournaments. They didn't understand how important it was for Toronto to be Canadian Champions. This is what disappointed me more than anything. Hopefully in the future with Toronto's academy program in place this will be a non-issue. My favourite moment of the tournament was the one game I had the opportunity to see live (Toronto-Vancouver at BMO). Watching two Canadian clubs duel it out in meaningful match in front of 18,000 red clad supporters was fantastic. It was a good game in my opinion (well the second half at least) and really showed how much the game had grown in Canada over the last few years. THis tournament could be the start of something bigger, maybe a knockout style tournament with 100+ teams, maybe even a Canadian league... Overall I loved watching this tournament even if it did end in Cunningham missing that sitter [8)]... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaTFC Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 lol yeah I love how this was Canada's thing. Watching two Canadian clubs is much more enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trident Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Well I've just witnessed Canada's seventh ever Canadian Club Championship, what do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soju Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Awesome I've loved following this tourney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest speedmonk42 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Trident Well I've just witnessed Canada's seventh ever Canadian Club Championship, what do you all think? I think we should take every opportunity we can to make this point. That said, the scale and meaning were greater this time. But you are right, this is NOT the first. Nutrilite? Never heard of it..... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaTFC Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Yeah but this time it actually means something. (CCL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42 I think we should take every opportunity we can to make this point. That said, the scale and meaning were greater this time. But you are right, this is NOT the first. Nutrilite? Never heard of it..... lol It was a lot a bigger this time, and there was more than two teams this time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamba Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 That first Vancouver-Toronto game was good and did help create a buzz around town in the soccer community anyway,agree that the promotion part could step up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piltdownman Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I thought the tournament was great. I also think promotion could have been better and found the very pro TFC telivision commentary to be annoying. And sorry to beak it to the Johnny come lately TFC supporters, but the Voyageurs Cup has had only a single season with two teams. In 2004 two Alberta clubs brought the total to five. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 This tournament has been great! Hopefully we get more teams to play in this tournament in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I thought the 2008 edition of the Voyageurs Cup was fantastic. The Canadian players on every team and the fans of every team wanted the Voyageurs Cup more than anything else this season. Pure grit and passion every match, in the stands and on the field. Brilliant ! And I thought the CSA did a pretty good job of it. They promoted the Voyageurs Cup front and center. Logistically it was difficult for them, because they are in the middle of preparing for the World Cup Qualifying matches. No complaints from this writer and for first timers, they did a decent job of it. Well done CSA. (Keep in mind they have sponsors to please). Besides the trophy presentation (still may happen), we got everything we wanted. Personally I can't wait for this tournament to increase in terms of participating clubs. I have no doubt more professional teams are on the horizon, and it would be nice if one of the semi-pro teams could participate. (champion of CSL, PCSL, PDL). Congrats to all three clubs that put on a great show, and to all the fans that travelled Canada to cheer for their team. Funny, the Toronto Lynx came so close a number of times, I would love to see the Lynx still participating in the Voyageurs Cup. I hoped they would win it once. Maybe still to come......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montreal_FC_fan Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Amazing! I already can't wait to defend our title next season and try to make it 8! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trident Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by CanadaTFC Yeah but this time it actually means something. (CCL) I don't know how you felt about it while watching the EPL on your couch before TFC came but it meant something to me in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Trident I don't know how you felt about it while watching the EPL on your couch before TFC came but it meant something to me in the past. Well, let's be fair here. In the past the winner was getting a trophy and the games were inside the USL schedule so the motivation wasn't the same. Now the players/teams are playing for a spot in a continental championship, I think we can say that the meaning is more important for the players now that you have a CL spot for the winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trident Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 You could say it but that doesn't diminish the previous 6 wins, 2 of which i've enjoyed before this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by loyola In the past...the games were inside the USL schedule so the motivation wasn't the same. Now the players/teams are playing for a spot in a continental championship, I think we can say that the meaning is more important for the players now that you have a CL spot for the winner. The two obvious differences between this years V's Cup and in the past. This doesn't diminish past accomplishments, but it highlights the fact that this tournament is growing in stature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Trident You could say it but that doesn't diminish the previous 6 wins, 2 of which i've enjoyed before this one. No reason to attack the previous poster for stating the obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by leafdolfan Toronto FC which usually sells out every single game could not sell out their very first Canadian Championship game ON CANADA DAY!?! They also didn't sell out the Montreal game, which many supporters were looking on as the biggest game in TFC history, until the day of. Last night's game was as legit a sell-out as I've ever seen at that stadium. The 7:00pm start meant that a ton of people showed up late, but by 25 minutes in the place was packed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Rudi Last night's game was as legit a sell-out as I've ever seen at that stadium. The 7:00pm start meant that a ton of people showed up late, but by 25 minutes in the place was packed. I said it was a sellout, it just didn't sell out until the game day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 My only worry about what is othwerwise a great tournament with fair scheduling, etc, is that TFC may deide that its not worth their while and just opt out altogether, especially if a CSL team or other simialr level clubs are added.Can they opt out, by the way?? At this point some of their supporters, especially upstairs, could argue that they have very little to win in joining this every year, and much more to lose giveen injuries on their pencil-thin rosters, MLS scheduling hassles, the shame of losing to teams from "weaker" leagues, fallout in the press, etc. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 quote:Originally posted by leafdolfan I said it was a sellout, it just didn't sell out until the game day. Was listening on car radio on my way to game ( between 5-6 PM) and it was announced that there were 400 tickets still available. Mind you, that might have been based on info from earlier in the day or previous day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 quote:Originally posted by nolando My only worry about what is othwerwise a great tournament with fair scheduling, etc, is that TFC may deide that its not worth their while and just opt out altogether, especially if a CSL team or other simialr level clubs are added.Can they opt out, by the way?? At this point some of their supporters, especially upstairs, could argue that they have very little to win in joining this every year, and much more to lose giveen injuries on their pencil-thin rosters, MLS scheduling hassles, the shame of losing to teams from "weaker" leagues, fallout in the press, etc. Just my two cents. Opting out means no chance at winning a CONCACAF Champ. League spot. If Mo and the brass decided to do that it would be pretty frickin' stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 This was the best thing for soccer in Canada. Bigger than the U20 World Cup IMHO. Yes there was less TV coverage and games but look at the positives: 1) The Voyageurs Cup is now an official CSA sanctioned event. 2) The level of play was good by North American standards. 3) There was more on the line than bragging rights. CONCACAF games to follow. 4) It was decided in the final game of the tournament. 5) There was more press coverage this year than the previous 6 combined. 6) It is not a 1 shot thing like the U20. This will go on and get bigger each year. A lot of things could have been better but in time they will. The first step was taken 7 years ago and the event will only get bigger now. Well done to all the Voyageurs who had the foresight to get the ball rolling years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Think it went pretty damn good. Especially considering the 2008 Vs Cup was the maiden voyage of a "dedicated" tourney. The '09 version will be better organized, promoted and have some history to spur the clubs on. The inter league play, dedicated matches and availability of TV broadcasts of the matches played just as an important part in ratcheting up the intensity of this tourney as the CCL prize. AND TFC losing out to a close Division 1 rival is nuclear ammunition for Trader Mo's critics. How sweet is that for a side like Montreal? Every match Montreal plays in CCL is a lingering reminder that they, and not TFC, are Canadian Champions. And that wound could fester for quite a while if things go well for Montreal. Ha! I love this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cashcleaner Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Aside from the result (I'm a TFC fan), I'd say it was some of the most enjoyable soccer I've seen live. I made it out to Montreal and watched them play Toronto at BMO Field and would gladly do it again. The fact that we got a CONCACAF Champions League spot on the line makes it so much more interesting now. Also, and this is just my view as a supporter, I really don't have any loyalties to the league and organisation that Toronto FC belongs to. MLS is a bit of a joke at times and I would easily take a Toronto match against Vancouver or Montreal over Chicago or Kansas City anyday of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.