TORONTO—Justin Morrow has earned a nickname from some reporters who regularly cover Toronto FC: “Mr. Consistency.”
Morrow, a 27-year-old native of Cleveland, has been one of TFC’s most consistent players on the pitch since joining the Reds via a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes prior to the 2014 Major League Soccer season. Coach Greg Vanney calls Morrow one of the team’s most organized players both on and off the field.
“He prepares very well. He’s very organized; he’s very meticulous in how he prepares week in and week out,” Vanney said of Morrow, a left fullback by trade who has spent most of this campaign on the right side of defence.
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Morrow has barely batted an eye as he’s shifted from one side of defence to the other and been asked to play in a new position. Crucially, he showed that same sort of calm under pressure when his life forever changed last week as he flew back to Toronto from Seattle to be there for the birth of his daughter—a memorable moment that the TFC defender was in danger of missing.
Last Thursday while his TFC teammates travelled to Seattle for a weekend game against the Sounders, Morrow stayed behind in Toronto and accompanied his wife as she went to see her doctor for a checkup. The doctor told the couple that their first child likely wouldn’t be born in the next few days, so Morrow hopped on a plane on Friday and flew out to Seattle to join the team.
After a training session and taking it easy in Seattle, Morrow headed back to his hotel room and was just about to turn out the lights when his cell phone went off. It was his wife—her water broke.
“We were about to go bed, and we just finished our NFL fantasy draft and sure enough he got the phone call,” recalled goalkeeper Chris Konopka, who is Morrow’s roommate on the road.
“When she called and l looked at my phone I knew right away what happened,” Morrow said.
Problem was that not only was she on the other side of the continent when she called at 11 pm Seattle time, but the late hour meant Morrow couldn’t get a flight back to Toronto until the next morning. So he had to wait. He didn’t get much sleep.
“Even if I stayed at that point I wouldn’t have been much help to the team because I didn’t sleep at all that night,” Morrow joked.
In the end, Morrow made it back to Toronto with four hours to spare to witness the birth of his daughter Chiara. But the entire flight was pretty nerve-wracking for the soon-to-be first-time father.
“I thought maybe when I landed she’d already be sending me pictures of the baby,” Morrow said. “It’s an incredible feeling and hard to put into words.”
And yes, he’s changed his daughter’s diapers like any father should.
“I’m a pro at that now. I don’t mind it. I’ll do that all day,” Morrow quipped.
Mother and baby are doing fine—“although they’re not sleeping as much as me,” the TFC defender admitted—and Morrow trained with the team all this week and is expected to back in the starting lineup for this Sunday’s home game against the New England Revolution.
“The team was very accommodating,” Morrow said of being allowed to miss the Seattle match so he could fly back to Toronto. “I’m blessed to have what I have so I’m very happy.”
A father of four young children including a pair of twin boys, Vanney offered one piece of advice to Morrow.
“Enjoy it. Enjoy every minute and prioritize the things that are important, which is his family, and find moments where he get some rest and keep preparing for these important matches that are coming up” Vanney said.
Vanney later added: “He’s a fantastic guy and he’s going to be a great father.”
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