November 22, 2022
Rocket Robin Soccer In Toronto 2022 Season Review
It's just the day before Canada's Men's team plays its first game in the World Cup since 1986. I was around for that tournament, three close games but no goals scored for and home after their group games. It was earlier that year I went to my first soccer game as a young working man...the Canadian men's national beat Wales (who didn't qualify for that year's World Cup 2-0 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto in a crowd of mostly fans cheering for the visitors.
This year was the first 'normal' year after two years of suspended seasons and late starting and shortened ones. I overdid it by attending 70 games between the teams and leagues I follow; there were times I was going to four games per week. That wasn't so bad but it's the write ups that take even longer then the time away from home at the games.
League1 Ontario made up a bulk of my games with me getting to 43 games in a successful effort to see all 22 Premier Division teams at least twice. That took a few drives out of my usual GTA area near the end of the season but I completed that on the last weekend of the regular season. At the other end, I saw Vaughan Azzurri in eleven games this year. A convenient playoff schedule allowed me to attend all five playoff games including the final. I also saw the women's final a few weeks earlier as my only women's game of the season.
I was able to record an interview with a head or assistant coach of all 22 teams in the league and I thank all of them for being so generous with their time. The interviews are up in my web page inside usually the first time I saw them this season.
I got out to all 17 CPL York United FC home games this season. I am a season ticket holder but also have a place in the press box and worked my way up to usually getting to ask the second question to each home and visiting head coach and player at each game. The first question understandably goes to whichever league reporter is assigned to the game. York progressed three rounds in the Canadian Championship without hosting a home game but that was the luck (or lack of luck) in the draw. Interestingly I drove out to Guelph to see the L1O team Guelph United play the CPL HFX Wanderers.
I attended Toronto FC II for 8 of their 12 home games plus a playoff game. The team joined (or were pushed into joining) the new MLS NEXT Pro league which meant games against nothing but other MLS farm teams except independent Rochester. I was afraid that TFC II team wouldn't be competitive because they were in the USL First Division which was a division below the USL Championship Division. The rational for ducking down a division was so they could play at their own training ground. NEXT Pro had stadium standards though and the team ended up playing at York Lions Stadium—the same stadium as York United FC plays.
Most unusual was TFC II actively discouraged fans from attending games. Their e-mail scared me off the first game but I did go for their second game and was not allowed in as a security guard had a guest list that was restricted to family and friends of the players. I stood outside the iron gates until the national anthems and was ready to come home when a game day staff member came out and asked if anyone else wanted to come into the stadium. He didn't have to ask me twice! Later games I was waved in by another member of the game day staff. I never took admission for granted because that guy could have phoned in sick. The security got a little less strict and attendance grew to about 400-600 for games by season's end. There were two games held at BMO Field after MLS games but I didn't go as I never received a response to my e-mails about admission if I didn't have MLS tickets. Oh I did go once and that was an invite to their playoff game at BMO. This was the first time the team had ever made the playoffs after all their time in USL.
I attended the Canadian Men's team World Cup qualifier with press credentials. This was the game they clinched against Jamaica. Wow that was exciting. I had to turn down the Canadian Women's team friendly against South Korea as their was not enough time to get across town after the York United FC game because of the post game press work I do at their games. There were seasons when Toronto Lady Lynx was my favourite team of any GTA team.
I continue to write for the online publication 'The Sentinel' whether it comes out once or every second month.
Best wishes for 2023
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
Twitter @RocketRobin01
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