Oh, Canada! Greetings from Toronto
by Steve Davis on Nov 18, 2010 12:29 PM EST
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One of the really great MLS markets hosts this year’s final. In Toronto, a city teeming with cultural diversity, you’re never far from a great Portuguese restaurant, an Italian espresso shop, a rockin’ oyster place, a swank little French bistro, etc. Oh, and you’re never far from a pub or sports bar, where they’ll have hockey on the flat screen and they’ll be pouring the Canadian staples from the tap, along with some regional choices. Last night, for instance, I had myself some Keith’s Pale Ale, brewed not far away in Halifax.
But here’s what you also get in Canada … in November: lousy weather.
Or, well, it’s great weather I suppose … if you’re a caribou.
I ran into a couple of MLS officials this morning, who were wearing faces of concern. That’s because they had just seen the latest weather forecasts, which call for temperatures near 40 and rain on Sunday evening. Perhaps lots of rain. Boo, rain!
Here’s a little something to get you going on your MLS Cup prep … it’s the ONLY game preview you need, my own comprehensive look at position-by-position matchups which was posted on SI.com’s soccer site just this very morning.
I’ll have lots more this week from Toronto … I’ll even throw in some U.S. national team stuff – so long as I don’t go to Jonesing too early for more of that Keith’s pale ale.
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Steve, call me....
Yes, that sounds a little less than hetero, but I too will be in Toronto tomorrow evening thru Monday. if you want to get together for a beer, shoot me an email today and I’ll send you my number. chad_moon@hotmail.com
Chad the Ref
It's cold and raining
in England right now and the games have been great. Villa United anyone? I don’t get this seemingly American NFL style fascination with the weather. Football is an outdoor sport. Weather is uncontrollable. It’s the same for both teams. I don’t see the need to talk about or worry about it or complain about it.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
Nucks Misconduct chief curmudgeon and chief hunk.
by Section 312 on Nov 18, 2010 11:07 PM EST reply actions
They play football games in America in the dead of winter that make an English football game played at the same time look like a tropical delight.
The point being, this continent is not England, there are plenty of nicer places to have a final in late November, and of coarse, a lot of much worse places to have a final than England, they decided to go with worse.
Like I said it's the same for both teams
and Toronto is perhaps the best football market in MLS so they deserve to have the game there. If you are a fan of an outdoor sport that doesn’t like cold weather at some point you are just going to have to put up with it. This is that point.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
Nucks Misconduct Chief Curmudgeon, Chief Hunk and Chief Drama Queen.
by Section 312 on Nov 21, 2010 5:12 AM EST up reply actions
Why Didn't They Play This Game In The Skydome?
If they really want to play this game in November in Toronto, they should have put in indoors. The temperature in the Skydome is a lot nicer than the temperature outside in November. Why didn’t they just play indoors? Yes, Yes, I know they would need to bring in a grass field. So? If they sell enough tickets, that justifies the cost of bringing a temporary grass field.
I think its because they got the cup to award them building a soccer stadium
If they played the game in the Skydome, then it woud be like . . . what was the point. But in general I agree, I would rather see the final in a large stadium than in a soccer specific stadium.
