It was endearing to watch the entire Toronto FC team and front office staff congratulating one another on the field after Saturday's win over Chicago. But amid the festivities I held a silent vigil for a season lost.
It is excruciating to tally up the points TFC left on the field this summer -- points that would have secured a franchise-first playoff appearance and made the final home date at BMO a real reason to celebrate.
A point lost in Dallas. A point lost in Salt Lake City. The same goes for Chicago and Chivas USA.
The most telling stat of the season was shown during Saturday's CBC broadcast of the final home date: A generous 12 goals surrendered in the final 15 minutes of the match.
Where does the fault lie? In team fitness? Toronto FC had an impeccable injury record this season, with the invariably unavoidable broken foot of Todd Dunivant and concussion-like symptoms of Danny Dichio being the biggest concerns.
Guru Paul Winsper did his job in his first year, and went beyond the call of duty to turn a 60-minute man in Chad Barrett into a full 90-minute threat in under two months.
So is the fault in coaching? John Carver cannot be accused of checking out of games before they end (unless a sarcastic clap towards the referee is involved). The first-year coach is hoarse and disheveled by the final whistle.
So the issue must lie in leadership.
Personally I put a lot of faith in the concept of captains. My admiration for the armband has led to countless arguments over its true value, with my sparring partners often citing the lack of an armband in sports like baseball and basketball as fodder.
Great captains do not allow letdowns. Keane, Vieira, Maldini all played to perform in the final few minutes.
In Toronto the armband was bandied around this summer in an attempt to find a name ready to take its full responsibility. Jim Brennan wore it for the lion's share of the games with Welsh international Carl Robinson falling in line.
Then there was the infamous Marco Velez experiment.
Much of the talk during TFC's lengthy winless streak this summer was of finding someone with a goal scorer's resume. Presumably much of the talk this winter will revolve around the very same pursuit.
But a few weeks ago, in the throes of the aforementioned slump, Carver made an innocuous reference to what he feels is missing: Someone to lead in the back.
Scoring goals is only paramount if you have the mettle to make them stand up in the end.
One last observation
I have been to several TFC training sessions in its two years of existence and never once have I seen the delicate art of taking a penalty practised. Amado Guevara missed one early in the year and Rohan Ricketts got a fortuitous bounce on Saturday.
Training sessions at BMO are without fail competitive. Use that competitive spirit to find a confident kick-taker. In turn you just might find a captain too.
