It was a Toronto love-in at BMO Field on Thursday, minus the semblance of anything TFC.
In the stuffy, windowless conference room on the ground floor at BMO, deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis and Tom Anselmi of MLSE unveiled the MLS All-Star First XI set to challenge English Premier League club West Ham United on Thursday, July 24. Outside the Field Turf gleamed, flags flew and the sun shone in what would have been an ideal backdrop for the biggest soccer announcement to hit this town since the name of the club was officially announced on May 11, 2006.
But I digress; logisitcs of a live event are far from my forte. And I understand that the team itself was likely in the air somewhere between Vancouver and Chicago, but I know for certain that a few faces were left behind, and could have made the announcement a little less vanilla with a brief appearance. Both Anselmi and Gazidis said all the right things regarding the upcoming spectacle and what it means to soccer in Canada, but the elephant in the room shifted uneasily as the names of the First XI were rhymed off. In between Matt Reis and Landon Donovan were nine other indisputable names, but just like when Vince Carter stepped aside to allow Michael Jordon a starting five spot in MJ's final all-star game appearance, I bet Kenny Cooper or Jimmy Conrad would not have flinched if a familiar TFC face occupied their spot, even if only for keeping up appearances.
To conclude the announcement, Anselmi half-acknowledged the elephant when he croaked out a question/request/joke to Gazidis that TFC players get first crack at the coach- and commissioner-nominated reserve spots up for grabs on July 15. Gazidis all but confirmed that TFC players would be involved in some capacity, but by then most of the media in attendance were scouring the cheese trays.
The league-issued news release shows that Maurice Edu was at least considered for a First XI spot (percentage of the total votes within each group in parenthesis):
Edu (14.1 % / fans), (12.5 % / players), (16.7 % / media), (18.2 % / coach/GMs), (15.4 % combined)
Landon Donovan registered the highest combined at 67.9 %, with teammate David Beckham leading the fan vote at 38.9 %. I was surprised to read that Donovan also led the coach/GMs category with 93.2 %, while Becks and goalkeeper Matt Reis were 79.6 and 77.3 respectively.
After Gazidis provided a bunch of form answers on the fans, the environment and David Beckham in Toronto, I asked the deputy commish about the Canadian David Beckham, Steve Nash, and his recent interest in bringing a professional team to Vancouver. Gazidis is a huge fan of Nash and if you read between the lines of his comments, there almost exists a message that MLS and the NBA may move toward a partnership in the future.
"Judging from the pick-up game he played in New York he may be available for selection for the all-star team. He's got some special skills," Gazidis said. "Steve is a very interesting guy, very intelligent and passionate about the game of soccer.
"It was very interesting to me to see how many of those basketball players are passionate about soccer; they know about it and are able to play I think Steve wants to be involved in growing the game. He loves his country and he would love to be involved in Canada and see the game develop here. He has got a brother who plays professionally and I think we are going to see him involved -- in some capacity or another, and what that is I won't try to define -- but he will be involved in the game in a significant way."
Thin line to tread there, Gazidis. TFC supporters know all-to-well about Nash's brother who plays professionally (tongue placed in cheek).
Gazidis also addressed the streamers controversy which has become synonymous with the BMO environment of late.
"We don't want to kill the passion, in fact quite the opposite; that is what makes this sport special," Gazidis explained. "But at the same time we have to set some kind of boundaries so that it does not spill onto the field, so we are not banning streamers, but we are trying to work with the fans to ensure it does not go too far and impact the game."
The question is, who gets the streamers? Becks, or the alleged enemy in West Ham United?
