Toronto FC fill their MLS Cup trophy hole.
Tag: Seattle Sounders
Toronto FC lose MLS Cup after tempting fate with premature trophy display case
And a new sports curse is born
Over Toronto FC’s brief existence, they have developed a reputation for continuously inventing new ways to shoot themselves in the foot. They didn’t reach the playoffs (a low bar given that more than half the league qualifies) until last season—their ninth in the league. This season, however, things were different.
Led by the likes of Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley, and Jozy Altidore, they’ve built a strong team and the club that had never won a playoff game suddenly won three rounds in a row.
Riding this unfamiliar high of success and relishing the added bonus of hosting the MLS Cup final, everything seemed perfectly alined for Toronto to prove their critics wrong and stand atop the MLS mountain instead of getting crushed by yet another self-created avalanche.
But then they got a little ahead of themselves. And as ESPN’s Doug McIntyre revealed two days before the final, Toronto already had a specially marked display case for the trophy they were sure would soon be theirs.
And it wasn’t even new! Nor is it the only one.
Anyone familiar with sports knows that curses have been born of far less than this. I don’t care if you’re superstitious or not—this is the type of thing that bends the laws of science to create a magic vortex of karmic punishment. And for Toronto FC, that’s exactly what happened.
Facing a Seattle Sounders team that sat in last place and fired the only coach they’ve had in July, then finished the season with the seventh best record in the league before mounting their playoff push, Toronto had to be feeling good as they looked more dangerous during the match. It remained scoreless into extra time, but when Jozy Altidore’s header that should have produced a dramatic winner for the home side was miraculously saved by Seattle’s Stefan Frei, it started to become clear that great forces were working against Toronto and their MLS Cup display case.
The match then went to a shootout, which Seattle won 5–4 to claim their first ever MLS Cup in spite of having exactly zero shots on goal (Toronto had seven). No shots on goal. None. Zip. Nada. And the trophy was theirs.
The only way Toronto can overcome this self-created disaster is to destroy the building that houses that still empty display case and hope the next 100 years pass quickly. This is only the beginning.
Montreal can’t draw properly spaced lines, Seattle mocks them
A little penalty box banter in the MLS playoffs
With a club record 61,004 packed into Olympic Stadium to see the Montreal Impact host Toronto FC in the maple leaf derby/MLS Cup semifinals, the match had to be delayed. Because the dumdums who drew the lines on the pitch made the penalty box too narrow. Seriously. This is a thing that happened at a professional match attended by more than 60,000 people.
Once that got sorted, Montreal went on to win the first leg of the tie 3–2, but Seattle, host of the other semifinal against Colorado, weren’t about to let that one slide.
And to put Montreal’s win into a loss sandwich, Didier Drogba announced that he’s leaving the Impact at the end of the season immediately after the match.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise given that he tried to slip out of his contract to return to Chelsea back in January and then refused to play last month. That said, Montreal have gotten better results without Drogba than with him, so maybe this is his attempt to ensure they go on to win the MLS Cup. Never question Didier Drogba. The man ended a civil war. He can do what he wants.
Portland fans hoist massive Freddy Krueger tifo for Cascadia derby
Portland’s Timbers Army has established itself as MLS’s kings and queens of tifo and they continued to demonstrate this with an unnerving Freddy Krueger/Nightmare on Elm Street display as they hosted their rivals from Seattle.
DTotD: Clint Dempsey gets his face stepped on, bleeds
The second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League tie between Club America and the Seattle Sounders got a bit bloody when Rubens Sambueza stepped on Clint Dempsey’s face.
The only correct opinion on Jordan Morris’ career choices
Jordan Morris is a 21-year-old striker who has played for the Seattle Sounder’s youth academy and Stanford University. He’s made seven appearances for the U.S. national team, scoring one goal against Mexico. U.S. fans and media have identified him as their next great hope and have become heavily invested in his career decisions as a result, benefitting no one.
Clint Dempsey is sorry, presumably that he didn’t tear up more than just the ref’s notebook
Following his three-match ban in MLS for tearing up the referee’s notebook during a U.S. Open Cup match, Clint Dempsey has now been banned from the U.S. Open Cup itself for two years or six matches, whichever is greater. Shortly after this punishment was announced, Dempsey tweeted a rather unconvincing apology.
Clint Dempsey sent off after tossing and tearing up the ref’s book during crazy US Open Cup match
Clint’s right: Why tear up the record books when you could tear up the ref’s book instead? http://t.co/4lll2eeb79
— Howler Magazine (@whatahowler) June 17, 2015
Fierce rivals Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers met in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup and the resulting match surpassed anything anyone could have dreamed up. Read more
DTotD: Seattle reserve team player gives opponent two-footed kick in the crotch
Sergio Mota, a Brazilian midfielder for the Seattle Sounders’ reserve team, was sent off during his side’s 1-0 USL win against the LA Galaxy reserve team for kicking an unsuspecting opponent in the crotch with both his feet while lying on his back.
This move is frowned upon in most quarters, but Mota, who won two Brasileiro titles with Sao Paulo at the start of his career and just signed with Seattle at the end of May, was clearly far beyond caring about that.
This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.
Video via FTW