Seemingly just a few minutes after the fireworks, the fanfare, the dramatic lights, the cheers of 28,000-plus – the air suddenly whooshed out of Yankee Stadium. When Toronto FC’s attacking terror, Sebastian Giovinco, scored vs. New York City FC just six minutes in, you could almost hear the audible shattering of playoff dreams.
It marked the first of three goals on the night for Giovinco in Leg 2 of these Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals. As the ultimate 5-0 slaughter continued, the venue alternated between grim – but loud – rallying, and mid-level gloom.
With the exception of one spot: On the second level of the stands, a hardy, cold-proof contingent of Toronto FC away support started a party early on. And by, oh, the third or fourth goal – say Jozy Altidore’s at 30 minutes, or Jonathan Osorio’s at 50 — the proceedings got progressively more beer-soaked and musical. “Is this a fire drill? Is this a fire drill?” went one chant; “M-V-P!” whenever Giovinco did just about anything; and, of course, the classic, “Oh when the Reds …”
Too bad for TFC fans that the moment didn’t come at home, but the couple-hundred-strong contingent still duly celebrated a watershed moment for their team. Securing the first Eastern Conference Semifinals victory in franchise history capped a season that didn’t quite position Toronto as underrated, but did see the team thriving – in the standings, along with the Golden Boot and MVP races – without the spotlight afforded some flashier teams.
“I don’t know if we were underestimated or not; we just wanted to go in and play our game,” said defender Drew Moor, in a calm post-match locker room, free of the typical loud music and horseplay. “Our stars are shining and everybody is feeding off of it. But you look at some of the other players who maybe don’t’ have the names of some of these guys, and they’re turning in, again, complete performances … It’s a lot of fun.”
Here’s the thing, though – TFC did boast enough star power, anyways, both throughout the season and on Sunday night. They barely looked to even break a sweat as they handily mopped up NYC in their own home. The way they did it so coolly even seemed a bit cheeky.
Just look at Altidore’s celebration of his birthday goal, when he laughed and jokingly cupped an ear towards the NYCFC supporters’ section. (Luckily, he dodged the handful of anger-beer cups chucked his way in response.) Or, uh, look at Giovinco’s hat-trick-completing number, the final insult added to injury in stoppage time. And that’s just up top. In the midfield, shiny-pated captain Michael Bradley made quick work of everyone in his way, too.
We’ve all already argued Giovinco’s pretty stunning league-MVP loss as much as we can (for now). Maybe we can call Toronto FC’s Designated Players some of the underdogs of DP-world? But what more casual league-watchers also might have discounted is Toronto’s super-strong core, anchored by players like Moor, rising Canadian star Tosaint Ricketts, and (at the back) by Clint Irwin.
The net-minder – again, handily – batted off the home side’s every attempt, continuing a run that maybe started with him needing to prove his mettle. After all, he did come from the Rapids – last year’s not-so-great version.
“I knew that the expectations were high, which was exciting,” Irwin said. “The coaches told me to be myself, and they made me feel wanted here, and made me feel really easy to settle in.”
And what’s propelled Toronto this far, really, is that rock-solid interplay between different parts of the squad, DPs to newbies, that few other MLS teams can touch.
“It’s just a matter of all the guys being on the same page,” Irwin said. “I was listening to [NBA star] J.J. Redick’s podcast the other day and he’s talking about the difference between playing with someone and playing for someone as a teammate. I think that’s a great description of what we have in this locker room."
With Toronto, you never hear about drama, discontent, discord, or any of those other negative "D" words that seem to plague some teams. Instead, you hear about a polished club that gets it done, propelled by the energy of some of the fiercest fans in the league.
That should serve them well as they enter an Eastern Conference Championship that’s not only historic for them, but also their arch-rival Montreal Impact, making this the first all-Canada match-up of its kind, destined to send a team from the Great White North to the MLS Cup Final. But if anyone’s up for that kind of test, it’s these tough Torontonians.
