What Is My Next Step? How Can I Evolve?

I occasionally write posts like this where I can check in on my mental health, and the purpose of this post is to talk about the thoughts going on in my head. Last November, I went to the CONCACAF Nations League match between Canada and Jamaica and I already talked about the match and everything surrounding it. While I was watching the match from the homely and familiar surroundings of section 114, there were other things on my mind while watching the match. I want to use this post to talk about these other things.

2023-2024 CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-Final - Canada vs. Jamaica (Post-Game Thoughts)

I went to the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final between Canada and Jamaica last week, and the match was wildly entertaining (especially in the second-half). Unfortunately, Canada fell to a shock 3-2 defeat to the Reggae Boyz and they were now out of the Nations League tournament. Here are my thoughts and observations on the match and everything around me. 

What Do You Do With Toronto FC?

I did not want to write another post about Toronto FC this year, and especially so soon after my last post a couple of months ago. However, the overall atmosphere surrounding the club has become so toxic that I had no choice but to say something. I do not know how many times I can say the same thing in different ways. I have also heard seemingly every single opinion about this club from every type of Toronto FC supporter and casual. I am just going to give my thoughts on the recent events at TFC and (once again) talk about how badly mismanaged the club is. I am tired of talking about Toronto FC mismanagement, but deep down, I secretly revel in it.

Toronto Football (Country) Club

“I thought it would be a nice little job for him to learn some stuff by,”

This was a quote made by former MLSE President and CEO Richard Peddie towards former MLSE COO Tom Anselmi, who was set to become the top executive overseeing the newly-formed Toronto FC prior to their inaugural 2007 MLS season. I find this quote to be extremely prominent in my mind, and I always come back to it whenever I think about Toronto FC, and especially when there is some sort of drama at the club (which is frequently). If you asked me the question of "what do you think is the one single thing that sums up Toronto FC as a football club and a sporting entity?" My answer would be the quote I mentioned above.

The Lakeshore Terrace

I lived in three places - at work, at home, and at the stadium - but my real life was at the stadium.

Forgive my bastardized quote adapted from the short story The Hockey Sweater but I wanted to write an ode to my home away from home. I am from Toronto and a massive footy fan, so of course I am talking about BMO Field, and even more specifically, section 114.

Random MLS/Toronto FC/Canada Soccer Thoughts - March 2023

I have a few random football thoughts that I do not want to fit in a series of tweets, so I will lay all of it out in a blog post before I either forget everything, or it is too late in the MLS season.

More World Cup 2022 Musings and Hot Takes

As of the writing of this post, the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup have concluded, and these matches have been the most memorable quarter-final matches in some time. I have another collection of random thoughts on my mind while watching these matches, and here they are:

World Cup 2022 Musings + A Weekend in Tampa Bay

I just got back from an extended weekend in the Tampa Bay area to attend a wedding, and I got to say I had a wonderful time while I was away, and I am not talking about the warm weather. This is going to be a bit of a mishmash blog with my collection of thoughts I had during my time on the west coast of Florida where I feel like I am going to touch on everything. I feel like my mind is being more active, and I am bursting to get these thoughts on this blog post, so let us do this.

My World Cup 2022 Bracket

The World Cup is finally on the horizon, and there has been much expected buzz on the tournament. However, I would argue that there is as much negative press about the tournament (and in particular, the country hosting the World Cup) as there is hype and expectation. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been dogged by scandal. It is no secret that Qatar was able to host the World Cup through bribery, corruption, and shady backroom deals with the horrifically corrupt FIFA and other officials. It is also important to mention that many migrant workers coming to Qatar to build the important World Cup infrastructure experienced poor working conditions, illness, and even death. Throughout this tournament, we cannot ignore these things, and this has led to some people actively saying that they will not watch a single minute of this World Cup (aka "boycotting" watching the tournament).

My Thoughts Surrounding the Euro 2020 Final

bbc.com

I want to use this blog post to dump my thoughts about the events surrounding the Euro 2020 Final. There is no real point to this blog post, nor is there an underlying message or point I am trying to make. I am just tired of the predictable events that have happened, especially after the match. This brings me to talk about English football culture (and English culture in general).

Montreal's MLS Rebrand: My Thoughts

I know this happened a couple of months ago, but the Montreal Impact's rebranding to Club De Foot Montreal had been weighing on my mind periodically between the time of the announcement and now. MLS rebrands are interesting to me. I am not for or against them, and my opinion of each MLS rebrand varies wildly. I think the best MLS rebrand was Kansas City's rebrand (from the Kansas City Wizards to Sporting KC). Kansas City's MLS rebrand felt like a complete attitude change from a club that presented itself so humorously (in my opinion) to a club that feels professional. The worst MLS rebrand was the Chicago Fire's unnecessary logo change in 2019 that ripped the colors from Real Salt Lake's logo.

Greg Vanney Back-Handed Appreciation Post

USA Today Sports Images

Vanney oversaw the successful period of Toronto FC's history, guiding the team to accomplishments such as winning the 2017 MLS Cup, the 2017 Supporters Shield, and making the CONCACAF Champions League Final in 2018. He was also the MLS Coach of the Year in 2017. When I heard the news, one question was spinning in my head. How much did Greg Vanney really contribute to Toronto FC's success over his tenure?

All Or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur Review

Since I finally have Amazon Prime, I have wanted to watch the "All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur" documentary, and I am glad I did. This documentary chronicles Spurs' rather entertaining 2019-2020 season, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This documentary bears a number of striking similarities to the Matchday: FC Barcelona documentary I have reviewed earlier this year in its quality production and matchday camera work.

Maradona in Mexico: Profiling A Man In The Rawest Form

Continuing on the trend of watching football documentaries, I want to offer my thoughts on watching 'Maradona in Mexico'. This documentary profiles Diego Maradona's tenure as the coach of Mexican second division side Dorados, in the city of Culiacan at the heart of the province of Sinaloa. Before I talk about the documentary itself, I want to talk about Maradona, the man, in my viewpoint.

Matchday: FC Barcelona - Great Production, Awkward Narration

I watched the new 'Matchday: FC Barcelona' documentary on Netflix, simply because I watched the Sunderland documentary and needed another football documentary to compare to. However, both documentaries achieve different objectives. While "Sunderland Til' I Die" covers all the aspects of the city and community of the club and the city, the FC Barcelona documentary focuses largely on the first team and the coaching staff during the second half of their 2018-2019 season.

Sunderland 'Til I Die: The Perfect Storm

I finished watching both seasons of Sunderland 'Til I Die on Netflix, and I have been itching to write about this documentary, and to write a football post in general this year. I will write about my thoughts on the documentary, but I will also compare and contrast Sunderland's overall community (from the owners to the local supporters) to my days on going to Toronto FC matches. When I was watching this documentary there were instances where I felt like I was back in BMO Field, and there were things that Sunderland do that I wish Toronto FC could replicate.

Canada 2-0 USA: Why An Outlet Is Necessary

The Canadian men's soccer team have not beaten the USA men's soccer team since 1985, until last Tuesday, October 15, at BMO Field. Canada sent the supporters home in delirium with a 2-0 statement win over the USA. I will not dive too much into the particulars of the match itself. Instead, I want to talk about what this result meant to me on an emotional level.

Random Thoughts on Man United's 2018-2019 Season

msn.com

As of writing this, Manchester United will not finish in the top four of the Premier League, and will not qualify for the 2019-2020 Champions League. It is currently a sad state of affairs at the club, with an unmotivated group of players, a manager who cannot provide that motivation anymore, and a CEO who does not understand how to run a football club. I can appreciate it if the players on the pitch play with heart and determination, even if the results may not always go their way. However, the players play lackadaisical, and there is no sense of true urgency when three points are up for grabs. The players deserve much of the blame for this failure of a season.

The Dawn Of The Canadian Premier League: Forge FC vs. York 9 FC

@CPLSoccer

April 27, 2019 is a day that will live in Canadian sports infamy.

As you know, that day was the marking of the beginning of the new Canadian Premier League (CPL) season, with York 9 FC travelling down the QEW to Hamilton to take on Hamilton Forge FC. I have been monitoring the progress of the creation of the CPL for some time now, and now this is the opportunity for me to talk about the league in general.

Engraved On A Nation: The Northern Touch (Thoughts)

TSN created a documentary about Toronto FC's fan culture as a part of their "Engraved on a Nation" series, which profiles interesting stories in the history of Canadian sport. I could not watch the initial airing of this documentary due to other responsibilities, but I did manage to catch a repeat airing a couple of days later, and so I am ready to give my thoughts. I did not have any high expectations going into watching this documentary, but I hoped that everything presented about the club's fan culture is in a fair and balanced way. I will be watching this documentary in the lens of someone who has been entrenched in the Toronto FC fan culture since the beginning.

I will keep this in bullet-point form. Therefore, here are my thoughts: