Toronto FC: The Boys Who Cried Wolf

After years of poor on-field product, it may be too late for Toronto FC to capture the attention of the casual sports fan in Southern Ontario.

Between the Raptors’ opening night on the heels of their best season in franchise history, the excitement surrounding the Leafs and their young budding superstars and the come down from another amazing Blue Jays playoff run, the success of Toronto FC and their first ever playoff win in franchise history has gotten lost in the shuffle.

With all the buzz surrounding Toronto’s other sporting entities, the Reds’ success seems to have been muted like that guy you went to high school with, who won’t stop posting his opinions on police brutality in the United States on his Facebook timeline. With TFC preparing for the next round of the playoffs against New York City Football Club on Sunday, there seems to be zero buzz or interest throughout the city of Toronto.

During the initial years of the franchise, the city of Toronto was infatuated with their blossoming romance. The Jim Brennan and Danny Dichio era was fun because we all love rooting for the underdog, but promise and potential turned into disaster during the teams following few seasons.

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Toronto FC followed the promise of its early days with a long list of uninspiring signings, including former Bundesliga star Torsten Frings, former La Liga star Mista, Dutch league star Danny Koevermans and even a Canadian star Julian de Guzman. All were high-priced MLS talents that were complete busts in the city of Toronto – none of them did a single thing to help create interest in Toronto FC or the game of soccer in Canada.

The icing on the cake was the “Bloody Awful” signing of Jermain Dafoe and the massive marketing campaign that surrounded him, which turned out to be a complete flop. The English star bolted town after less than a year and headed back to the UK to play for Sunderland of all teams.

All of these disastrous moves simply killed any interest for the club outside of the city’s die-hard soccer fans. As such, now that the team is finally having real success on the field, it seems as if nobody cares.

Toronto FC has become like that girl you had a crush on 10 years ago. When you bump into her years later she looks a little too partied out for you and you can’t get away from her fast enough and even though she has sent you a few “pokes” on Facebook of late, you don’t even respond.

TFC as a franchise are the boys who cried wolf. Even though they had more money and resources than pretty much every team in MLS, the product on the field has been garbage for 10 years until now.

I know they are selling tickets and are turning a buck or two for MLSE. However, they haven’t fully captured the attention of the city of Toronto by attracting the moderate fan in the same manner as what the Raptors have done in the past few years and the way the Blue Jays and Leafs have for decades.

Oct 26, 2016; Toronto, CANADA; Toronto FC fans celebrate a win over Philadelphia Union at BMO Field. Toronto defeated Philadelphia 3-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

The Blue Jays captured our hearts with their first pennant in 1985 through the World Series years of 1992-93 and once again have become the darling of the ball over the past two years. The Raptors first got us in the 1999 to early 2000’s Vince Carter years, highlighted by their first ever playoff run and his epic slam dunk competition victory.

The Argos are so woven into the fabric of what the city of Toronto is that even they can dip in from time to time and captures the cities attention. The Leafs are so ingrained into the people of Toronto that even the most casual of sports fan can stand at the water cooler and hold their own in a conversation about Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Outside the core of Red Patch Boys and die hard soccer fans, nobody in this city seems to know or care what’s happening with Toronto FC. The Reds had their chance to become a part of the fabric of the city, but blew it with too many seasons of poor on-field product.

Now that the team is good, they’re suffering from the boy who cried wolf syndrome. The only way they can capture the city’s attention is by winning the MLS Cup and even then it may be too late.

Let us know when that happens and we’ll all jump back on board band-wagon. Until then, (in the word’s of the great Jerry Seinfeld) “Good luck with all that.”

Next: TFC make history with first playoff win

Do you agree or disagree with the assessment that TFC have missed their chance to become a part of the fabric of the Toronto sporting scene, and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

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