MLS Cup 2016 is upon us, and around the office, we're gearing up for a trip to the Great White North (or at least a metropolitan enclave, eh?) with everyone making sure their passports are ready and layers are packed.
It's a fun time to be a fan – of Toronto FC, of the Seattle Sounders, of MLS! Storylines are sprouting like weeds, carrying content to all corners of the Digital pitch and into the path of the editorial pruners.
Toronto, as the host city, is ready for this. Reds general manager Tim Bezbatchenko told ExtraTime Radio this week that during last week's Eastern Conference Championship against Montreal, the BMO Field press box was swaying – something he'd never seen before at the home arena, even as he credited the fans with longstanding support.
Head coach Greg Vanney thinks they can take it up a notch.
"I know this is a soccer town," said Vanney, in a Monday conference call. "It's a soccer community, and we get a lot of coverage from the soccer press, so it's become a big deal for sure over the course of this run. And now that the finals are upon us and we have the fortune of hosting, it's snowballing."
After eight years in MLS, Toronto has reached its first domestic final, just one season after making its postseason debut – a humiliating 3-0 loss to Montreal in the 2015 Knockout Round. We've been through the "Bloody Big Deal" marketing campaign; through eight managers until the ninth staked his claim; through so much roster churn that Homegrown midfielder Jonathan Osorio is the longest-tenured regular … at four seasons.
"Anyone saw Toronto as having potential, but obviously not fulfilling that potential," Bezbachenko told ETR, citing the team's Kia Training Ground and TFC Academy, along with the ability to create a culture and foundation for a championship-contending club, year in and year out.
"I think people saw this as a project, an opportunity – a chance to be the first at something and take something from the bottom of the barrel to the top," he continued. "Fortunately, we've been able to put something in place and we're one game away from realizing that dream."
Out in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle has a thirst borne of coming close, close and close again. They've won during the regular season (Supporters Shield: 2014) and during tournament play (US Open Cup: 2009-11, 2014). And they've even won a little bit during the playoffs, finally breaking through against longtime bugaboo LA a year ago.
But it's this year's rise from the depths of the Western Conference – infamously ninth on Sept. 16 – to No. 4 in the conference, that first crested with a dramatic Knockout Round victory over Sporting Kansas City; the Rave Green waves have kept pounding toward Cup since.
"We were in a place where every game was a must-win game, just to reach the playoffs," said head coach Brian Schmetzer, in Monday's conference call. "That first game against Kansas City, that was a must-win game. Then okay – you have some two-leg series when you have 180 minutes – but by that time, we had already played 12 or 14 must-win games before we got into those series."
"Fast forward to now, it's the MLS Cup. It's a one-game, one-off for the championship, so I think my team is seasoned."
Schmetzer's ascension to the lead gig (club icon Sigi Schmid parted ways in July) dovetailed with the long-rumored acquisition and insertion of Uruguyan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro, who immediately established himself as one of the league's top chance creators.
In 18 games including playoffs, Lodeiro has driven Seattle to an astounding 11-3-4 mark (2.1 PPG!); they were just 7-12-2 prior.
"It's not been like other seasons that I've experienced," Lagerway told ETR. "When you bring in a player like Lodeiro, who's less mercurial than a striker, no matter how good the striker is, now you have somebody who can be the foundation of your club and how you want to play."
Though star forward Clint Dempsey will be sidelined for the final as he continues to recover after experiencing an irregular heartbeat, initially at the end of August, Homegrown Jordan Morris not only leaned into the pressure of playing at home, but struck a 12-goal (and counting) campaign that earned him AT&T Rookie of the Year honors and a budding legend.
"It's absolutely amazing," Lagerway said. "You simply can't overstate not only how good he's been, but how important he is to us. He's made good and delivered on everything."
Sounders supporters are hoping for one more shipment from the goal factory. Toronto fans, that their stars can carry the turnaround to the trophy.
We're days away. Count 'em.
