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Toronto FC - 2024 Season Thread


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A rather long conversation with Jesús Jiménez on a podcast for lesser known Spanish players, Offsiders. It's quite long and I won't listen to it all, but in one clip they are highlighting, he comments how the fans at TFC applauded the team off the field his first game there, a 1-4 loss. 

Basically, that the mentality was totally unthinkable for him, that the fans would not care too much about losing or would treat the players with deference regardless. 

He's still in MLS, he is not necessarily slagging MLS by pointing this out, trying to show a cultural difference. They also are rather bemused how well he is paid for a rather modest role in MLS, guaranteed is over 1.2 million US.

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1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

A rather long conversation with Jesús Jiménez on a podcast for lesser known Spanish players, Offsiders. It's quite long and I won't listen to it all, but in one clip they are highlighting, he comments how the fans at TFC applauded the team off the field his first game there, a 1-4 loss. 

Basically, that the mentality was totally unthinkable for him, that the fans would not care too much about losing or would treat the players with deference regardless. 

He's still in MLS, he is not necessarily slagging MLS by pointing this out, trying to show a cultural difference. They also are rather bemused how well he is paid for a rather modest role in MLS, guaranteed is over 1.2 million US.

It did make headlines amongst the TFC obsessed but for other reasons. 

He also said he didn't feel supported by Bradley 

Edited by narduch
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5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

A rather long conversation with Jesús Jiménez on a podcast for lesser known Spanish players, Offsiders. It's quite long and I won't listen to it all, but in one clip they are highlighting, he comments how the fans at TFC applauded the team off the field his first game there, a 1-4 loss. 

That's funny, as I feel like TFC fans at the game are, in general, much more negative towards the team when they are not playing well, as compared to European fans (who seem to chant and support no matter what)... maybe thinking more English and German? 

Like if we were booing him off the field the first game, he'd say the fan atmosphere was negative... who knows?  These after-the-fact dish interviews can be interesting but can also speak to a player's lack of character. 

Edited by TOcanadafan
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6 hours ago, TOcanadafan said:

That's funny, as I feel like TFC fans at the game are, in general, much more negative towards the team when they are not playing well, as compared to European fans (who seem to chant and support no matter what)... maybe thinking more English and German? 

Like if we were booing him off the field the first game, he'd say the fan atmosphere was negative... who knows?  These after-the-fact dish interviews can be interesting but can also speak to a player's lack of character. 

He wasn't dissing, being in MLS still (and doing badly), but said there was no way he could lose 1-4 in Poland and get that send-off.

European fans are very tough when it comes to certain things, in function of what expectations are. As JJ says in the clip, this was a team that was supposed to fight for the league.

In general MLS fans are incredibly disengaged and winning is secondary. Many sit like dumb cows not really even seeing. I sit at MLS matches and often wonder why I'm the only one jeering a bad call or exasperated by a dumb giveaway. Even intelligent fanbases take much longer, for example, to react to a ref destroying you with garbage calls. 

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5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

He wasn't dissing, being in MLS still (and doing badly), but said there was no way he could lose 1-4 in Poland and get that send-off.

I was at most TFC home games this year and I think the entire stadium boo'd the team off the field at almost every half time and post game. The team would sometimes stay on the field after some games to show appreciation to the fans and I think the fans would show appreciation for that act.

It sounds more like Jiminez is talking to a Spanish audience and saying the right things and you are eating it up because you like to regularly diminish MLS fan atmosphere to a greater extend than is actually true.

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4 minutes ago, Ruffian said:

I was at most TFC home games this year and I think the entire stadium boo'd the team off the field at almost every half time and post game. The team would sometimes stay on the field after some games to show appreciation to the fans and I think the fans would show appreciation for that act.

It sounds more like Jiminez is talking to a Spanish audience and saying the right things and you are eating it up because you like to regularly diminish MLS fan atmosphere to a greater extend than is actually true.

Predictable and a bit pathetic that you'd attack the messenger and squirm like hell over the message, a 40-second TikTok.

Just listen yourself and spare us the bile. As I said, I am not going to listen to the full podcast, it is almost 2 hours and it does not interest me enough. 

In the 1-4 loss, which was not this year (reading comprehension anyone?) who scored for TFC?

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7 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

In general MLS fans are incredibly disengaged and winning is secondary. Many sit like dumb cows not really even seeing. I sit at MLS matches and often wonder why I'm the only one jeering a bad call or exasperated by a dumb giveaway. Even intelligent fanbases take much longer, for example, to react to a ref destroying you with garbage calls. 

I will corroborate this with my own experience in the main stands at BC Place for the Caps games I have attended.  Too often it felt like an extension of parents at a youth house league soccer match, with the only things missing being the lawn chairs, the large Starbucks recyclable cups in hand, and the tied up family dogs beside them (though, I believe there are stroller parkades on the concourse).  Sterile comes to mind.

Obviously different in the supporters' end but being demonstrative about poor or predictable plays (I used to yell towards Teibert, "Pass it backwards, Russ!" just before he received a ball) seemed to be verboten.

(Sure, some hyperbole on my perspective here but a far cry for what I experienced in England.)

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Meh.  Whether the fans are cheering "properly" or not seems far down the to do list.  I'll take 25 000 fans per game who enjoy the match however they want and buy a ticket for the next one.

Besides, most European fans can't be to worried about winning since at least 80% of them cheer for teams despite knowing those teams will never, ever win their respective leagues.

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7 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I will corroborate this with my own experience in the main stands at BC Place for the Caps games I have attended.  Too often it felt like an extension of parents at a youth house league soccer match, with the only things missing being the lawn chairs, the large Starbucks recyclable cups in hand, and the tied up family dogs beside them (though, I believe there are stroller parkades on the concourse).  Sterile comes to mind.

Obviously different in the supporters' end but being demonstrative about poor or predictable plays (I used to yell towards Teibert, "Pass it backwards, Russ!" just before he received a ball) seemed to be verboten.

(Sure, some hyperbole on my perspective here but a far cry for what I experienced in England.)

i have been to both the TFC and Whitecaps home matches and the atmosphere in Toronto was far superior for the reasons you state at BC Place.   Granted I have been to a number of TFC matches over the years and only one Whitecaps match which was summer of 2022 but I was rather surprised at how little atmosphere there was.  I suspect based on the comments others have made on here, the years of underperformance in Vancouver has really killed the attendance and atmosphere.  I am likely moving to Squamish in 2025 so I hope the ship gets righted and they seem to be moving in the right direction as I fully expect to get out to many more Whitecaps matches in the future.

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10 hours ago, Kingston said:

...Besides, most European fans can't be to worried about winning since at least 80% of them cheer for teams despite knowing those teams will never, ever win their respective leagues.

Really, I read recently that a survey showed 60% of people in Spain support either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Factor in the few other clubs like Atletico Madrid or Valencia that might conceivably occasionally win the league as well and you'll probably be close to 80%. Then there's the Scottish, Portuguese or Croatian type scenarios....

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1 hour ago, narduch said:

The one thing that always annoyed me about attending TFC games was the constant distraction of people getting in and out of their seats.

This happened all over the stadium, including the supporters section.

It's unfortunately not limited to TFC games.  I've been to some hockey games where the ushers won't let people back in until a break in play but not many.  Soccer, hockey, football, whatever.  Seriously, wait for an intermission and stop blocking the view of people trying to watch the game!

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5 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Really, I read recently that a survey showed 60% of people in Spain support either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Factor in the few other clubs like Atletico Madrid or Valencia that might conceivably occasionally win the league as well and you'll probably be close to 80%. Then there's the Scottish, Portuguese or Croatian type scenarios....

Sure, and I know people here in Canada who cheer for (insert European soccer team name here).  But they aren't the ones buying tickets.  The reason 60% of Spanish fans have picked Real Madrid or Barcelona (probably in addition to their actual local team) is because their local team will never, ever win the league.  Say what you will about Canadian and US fans, but they would never tolerate a system that structurally denies 80% of the teams any chance of ever winning.

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21 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I will corroborate this with my own experience in the main stands at BC Place for the Caps games I have attended.  Too often it felt like an extension of parents at a youth house league soccer match, with the only things missing being the lawn chairs, the large Starbucks recyclable cups in hand, and the tied up family dogs beside them (though, I believe there are stroller parkades on the concourse).  Sterile comes to mind.

Obviously different in the supporters' end but being demonstrative about poor or predictable plays (I used to yell towards Teibert, "Pass it backwards, Russ!" just before he received a ball) seemed to be verboten.

(Sure, some hyperbole on my perspective here but a far cry for what I experienced in England.)

I want to be cautious, because I've absolutely loved spending time in supporter sections, with Canada fans, and at BC Place, but even chanting endzone fans in Canada soccer environments can be disengaged with what is happening on the field. When we of all people should be the ones driving the jeering of the ref, showing displeasure at the rival's dirty tackle, I too often do not see it. No reaction, just watching, unengaged and certainly not that deep down drive to win that takes you over.

Now true, in Europe or South America you have supporter zones where there are lunatics only interested in the fanzone itself and fairly clueless about the game, but often they are the authentic psychopaths. You can be cheerleading in NCAA and you only care about the cheer and the pom-poms and the acrobatics, and really are not watching. There are different ways to not pay attention.

I think I mentioned, I went to a Mariners-Red Sox baseball game in Seattle, just over first base line, and was extremely impressed how attentive everyone was, fans were really watching every pitch (it ended 1-0 on a late homer, it wasn't high hitting or scoring), and I was surprised because I never expected that.

I prefer the nailbiting fan environments where you want to win, dominate, humiliate, and not be screwed by the ref--except when the person beside me is even nuttier than I am and shows up my fanatic intensity with his.

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14 hours ago, An Observer said:

i have been to both the TFC and Whitecaps home matches and the atmosphere in Toronto was far superior for the reasons you state at BC Place.   Granted I have been to a number of TFC matches over the years and only one Whitecaps match which was summer of 2022 but I was rather surprised at how little atmosphere there was.  I suspect based on the comments others have made on here, the years of underperformance in Vancouver has really killed the attendance and atmosphere.  I am likely moving to Squamish in 2025 so I hope the ship gets righted and they seem to be moving in the right direction as I fully expect to get out to many more Whitecaps matches in the future.

Whitecaps fans, and going back to the earlier years in NASL, used to be amongst the most knowledgeable in North America, and it showed in the stands. I had season tickets in the NASL days, with my little sister, at Empire, the stadium was very engaged. If you kill off any expectation of winning, lose the guys who love the sport and get tired of it being played badly, you hurt that stadium atmosphere. I think in Vancouver you have to have hope of winning, so as we saw with the LA playoff match, the fans were very engaged.

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2 hours ago, Kingston said:

Sure, and I know people here in Canada who cheer for (insert European soccer team name here).  But they aren't the ones buying tickets.  The reason 60% of Spanish fans have picked Real Madrid or Barcelona (probably in addition to their actual local team) is because their local team will never, ever win the league.  Say what you will about Canadian and US fans, but they would never tolerate a system that structurally denies 80% of the teams any chance of ever winning.

How many drinks did you have to be able to post that? Congratulations on getting your courage up.

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2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Whitecaps fans, and going back to the earlier years in NASL, used to be amongst the most knowledgeable in North America, and it showed in the stands. I had season tickets in the NASL days, with my little sister, at Empire, the stadium was very engaged. If you kill off any expectation of winning, lose the guys who love the sport and get tired of it being played badly, you hurt that stadium atmosphere. I think in Vancouver you have to have hope of winning, so as we saw with the LA playoff match, the fans were very engaged.

I was too young when I was going to the original Whitecaps to take note of fan engagement, but I would say that outside of the Canadiens, the Roughriders, and maybe the Oilers, Canadians are generally not great in-stadium fans. In the NHL, that may be because real fans can't afford to attend, but soccer, football, baseball and basketball-wise, I've found most fans are only half-interested in what's going on on the field/court. People only seem to care during playoff runs and big games, like TFC's Concacaf run in 2018. Even that time, the general excitement didn't really pick up until the semi-final round. Didn't help that it was late February, but I digress... Maybe it reflects a lack of cohesion in society as whole? It's a hypotheses anyway: do places which are more culturally homogeneous have more committed/better fan-bases? When my parents were young, the local Junior B hockey team was a major point of discussion and interest, family members would send results in letters to each other. Probably don't find that kind of local connection much now in Canada, but interest in small local teams still exists in Europe. Why is that? 

Also have to agree on the supporters sections in Canada, the cheering often seems disconnected from the game. Not my cup-of-tea, but it helps keeps some people engaged with the league in both MLS and CPL, so not a bad thing overall.

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I mentioned this last year but if you watch a BCHL game now compared to when I was a kid many decades ago, the action on the ice in regular season matches is secondary to the beer garden and social club activity on the concourses.  I am surprised that they don't have those puck blocking nets extended around more of the stands.  And a number of teams have a local business sponsor each game who covers the admission for kids under 12 so they can blow more money on (and waste) concession items.  So, by the third period you have sugar-od'ed kids racing around the concourse and making messes while their parents are on their umpteenth alcoholic bevy.  So I guess these games for many families take the place of a summer weekend camping trip, minus the RVs.

 

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4 hours ago, canuckgbp said:

 

Frontrunners? Who are the competitors to sign a 27 year old who plays in Hungary? He played 10 games for Vancouver over that 4 year span. It would be more accurate to say he was a former Whitecaps 2 player. I hate watching TFC sign some random journeyman that will likely be a bust, take time from some academy guy, the fact he is Hondurian also makes it 10 times more annoying 

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