Starved for non-speculative, team-related news the MLS dropped a morsel for Toronto FC supporters to devour in releasing the 'First Kick' schedule on Tuesday in New York.
It is only three games, but if you look at the season-opening triumvirate as a trend it can provide as glimpse of what the final three games of the season may hold. Last season TFC took three of a possible nine points and went on to finish with 35 points, missing the post-season by four points. In its inaugural season the team didn't record a point (or a goal) until its fifth match and finished with 25 points and a notorious goal-scoring record.
But enough statistics, the reality is that Reds face a pair of '08 playoff participants -- not to mention the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup holders -- to begin the third season, meaning the playoffs will once again be a lofty aspiration. There is Kansas City to start, a step towards some silverware and the Trillium Cup curtain-raiser in Columbus to follow before the Jarrod Smith homecoming on April 2. As the worst team in the Eastern Conference two years running TFC will be the underdog until Week 3 and the Seattle Sounders, so arriving home with just a single-point is strangely paramount.
Of course all the prognostication is being down with the current TFC squad. Player movement has been promised this offseason; but let's hope that unlike last season it is all said and done before 'First Kicks' are made.
Anyhow, TFC aside for a minute, some of the 'First Kick' match ups make little sense. Including the Seattle Sounders is likely a mandate but where is the logic in old-hat New York as an opponent? The Sounders are the new darling of the MLS and lining up former Premier League stars David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg might have drawn some television interest outside their respective markets. Sure Juan Pablo Angel fits the criteria, but excuse the Colombian if his star is just a little tarnished heading into his third season.
But it could be worse; Real Salt Lake fans are deprived of an opening weekend fixture in the wake of a franchise-first playoff appearance.
As for TFC, its first three opponents leave much to be desired. Given the opportunity league Commissioner Don Garber is quick to wax poetic over nurturing rivalries in a league that struggles with geographic gaps. But instead of continuing the tradition of 2,500 traveling TFC fans in Columbus to help contest the first of three Cup games between the Reds and Crew, the obvious geographic rivals will wait an extra week.
(The audible sigh of relief was the undermanned Columbus police department.)
The weather north of the border will forever keep TFC from opening a season at home, but a brain freeze in the MLS scheduler's office prevented a group of great fans from the next best thing.
Kansas City here they come?
