Toronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club located in Toronto, and the first non-American team in Major League Soccer (MLS). The club's first regular season match was April 7, 2007 at Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, a 0–2 loss to Chivas USA. Although they did not make the playoffs, Toronto FC was a financial success in its inaugural season, selling out every home game in the 20,522-seat BMO Field and capturing media attention. Toronto sold all of its 14,000 season tickets in the first year and all 16,500 of its second year season tickets. The team's second season saw them host the 2008 MLS All-Star Game at BMO Field and be named a finalist for the 2008 Sports Business Journal Pro Sports Franchise of the Year award.
Club Identity
After Toronto's expansion was announced in 2005,[1] the name of the club was officially announced on May 11, 2006 by the team's owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE).[1] The "FC" in the team's name is the conventional initialism for Football Club, but in official media and documents the team has only been referred to as Toronto FC. Larry Tannenbaum, chairman of MLSE, stated at the team name's unveiling that "I think the way we spell it is 'futbol'."[2]
The announcement followed an online consultation in which the public was invited to vote on the name during a limited period. The voting options were "Toronto Northmen," "Inter Toronto FC," "Toronto Reds," and "Toronto FC." MLSE's strategy in choosing "Toronto FC" following this process was based on two reasons. Firstly, over 40 percent of the online vote supported the simplified Toronto FC name during the consultation; secondly, MLSE hoped that the fairly generic name would help the new club earn a more organic nickname from the Toronto fans rather than having one imposed upon the club.[citation needed] The team has been called "TFC"[2][3][4] and "the Reds"[4][5] by the media and the club. The official team colours are Collegiate Red, White, Dark Onyx, and Light Onyx.
Toronto FC Supporters
Main article: Toronto FC fans
Richard Peddie, CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. has stated that he and the ownership would be content with between 13,000–15,000 fans per game at Toronto FC home games,[3] however, this range has been exceeded. The club capped their season ticket sales at 14,000 on March 15, 2007, setting a league record.[4] For the 2008 season the cap was raised and Toronto FC announced that they have sold 16,500 season tickets and will again sell out every home game. There are 9,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets.
The fans have been called enthusiastic[6] but excessive[7] by North American standards. After celebrations during the club's first victory in a MLS match at home to Chicago Fire, the Toronto FC front office sent an email to season ticket holders reminding fans to refrain from throwing objects or running onto the field.[5] [6]
Competitions
Toronto FC play in MLS but are ineligible for the U.S. Open Cup; instead, they took part in the 2008 Canadian Championship, losing out embarrassingly to Montreal Impact in the first edition of the annual tournament to determine the Canadian Soccer Association's representative in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Toronto's league games against Columbus Crew were given special significance in 2008 as the deciding games in the Trillium Cup, a competition decided by the team's regular-season results against each other.[8] Toronto's 2008 season opener in Columbus was attended by 2 000+ travelling fans,[9] who witnessed a 2-0 defeat to put their club behind in the Trillium Cup standings.
Ownership and management
Toronto FC are owned and managed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., who also own and operate the Toronto Maple Leafs, a National Hockey League team; the Toronto Raptors, a National Basketball Association team; and the Toronto Marlies, an American Hockey League team. Along with sports ventures like Leafs TV and Raptors NBA TV, the company is also involved in real estate and property management, owning such sports venues such as the Air Canada Centre and Ricoh Coliseum. Tom Anselmi, COO and executive vice-president of MLSE, has "overall responsibility" for the team[10] and is an Alternate Governor of MLS, while Director of Soccer Mo Johnston is also club manager (although John Carver performs much of the day-to-day coaching).[11] Paul Beirne currently serves as Director of Business Operations.[7]
Television and radio
Toronto FC's opening match against Chivas USA was broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada. On April 11, 2007 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) announced it too had secured rights to broadcast some of the team's matches, along with The Score.[8] The CBC carried 14 regular-season games in 2007, including the home opener and what had been intended as the MLS debut of David Beckham at BMO Field on August 5.[12][13][14] Rogers Sportsnet employs Gerry Dobson as play-by-play commentator and Craig Forrest as colour, while James Sharman and Paul James called games on The Score during the first season, while feeds from American broadcasters such as MSG Network, FSN and ESPN 2 were used for the second season. On CBC, Nigel Reed and Jason DeVos handle the broadcasts, with Brenda Irving serving as host and Mitch Peacock performing the sideline role for the national broadcaster.
No radio arrangements have been announced to date.
Anthem
Toronto FC's official team anthem is "TFC", performed by Scarborough-based alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. After home matches in the second half of the 2008 season, the club has played a version of Glass Tiger's "My Town" accompanied by a video on the large screen, re-recorded by the band to incorporate lyrics about the city and club.