BLOG POST #58: Wherein I Investigate why Toronto FC Fans are Internationally Regarded as Drunken Assholes

In it's short history, the Toronto Football Club (or TFC) has been accused of not spending the money needed to attract quality talent while wasting it's fans time by wallowing at the bottom of it's division year after year.

And while said fans complain about the state of their beloved team, the city of Toronto, and the rest of the world complain about TFC fans.

TFC fans have quickly earned the reputation of bringing British-style hooliganism to the colonies. It seems like every Torontonian in the vicinity of BMO field has heard stories of various bars banning soccer fans on game day and/or refusing service to anyone wearing a TFC uniform because of their rowdy reputation.
Since the team's inception, people have been complaining about TFC fans' disgraceful behaviour at home, embarassing exploits abroad, and just plain ugliness wherever this guy saw them.

I've made a habit of staying away from TFC games: partly because I enjoy my football played by actual professionals who take pride in their game and public image, and partly because this is the first year TFC tickets haven't been exhorbinant;y expensive for absolutely no reason (I dunno... maybe TFC fans wouldn't be such angry drunks if they had a good team to support?).

So when I was handed tickets to the September 17th match against the Colorado Rapids, I decided to take this opportunity to investigate the question everyone is asking:

Do TFC fans really get as drunk as everyone thinks they do?

Shortly after kick off, and the crowd is boisterous but no more so than any other local sporting event. So far I notice nothing out of the ordinary.



Quit Talking About Concussions and do Something for Crying out Loud





So apparently Sidney Crosby will be speaking to the media on Wednesday, addressing the state of his recovery and comeback from a concussion.

The last time Crosby played for the Penguins was January 2011. He was forced to take the last half of the season off after multiple blows to the head in back to back games.

His press confernce comes after a summer filled with the self-inflicted deaths of multiple NHL enforcers (speculated by many to be due to depression caused by head injuries), the announcement that all star Marc Savard will miss yet another season because of post-concussion syndrome, and growing awareness of the severity of these types of injuries in all professional sports.

So what will come of all the recent attention?

"Research and Development Camp" proves the NHL is the Pro-Sports Equivalent of George Lucas

There is nothing that annoys me more than the positive attention currently surrounding the NHL's Research and Development Camp.

To attract a larger audience, Gary Bettman has replaced Zdeno Chara in all video of the 2011 Stanley Cup with a young Anakin Skywalker

For those out of the loop, the NHL spent two days running their top prospects through a series of scrimmages, in which they experimented with a number of proposed rule changes to see if any of them are worthy of being implemented this coming season.

What was the result?

Toronto Blue Jays Sign-Stealing Man in White has been Identified

At first I didn't want to believe it. Not MY Toronto Blue Jays.

My boys would never cheat. They would never steal signs.

And when Alex Anthopoulos responded to this ESPN article (which claims that when playing at home the Jays are helped by a mysterious man in white, perched in the outfield, somehow transmitting pitch types to Blue Jays batters) I felt proud. He stood up for my boys. He told the world ESPN was wrong.

But then I found this:

Who will Play the 2011 Blue Jays? Part 2

A couple days ago we brought you Part 1 of our fantasy cast for Terrence Mallick's untitled 2011 Toronto Blue Jays movie. (see Part 3 here)

For those who don't remember it was Steve Carrell for John McDonald, Ryan Gosling for Aaron Hill, Lee Majors for John Farrell and that creepy persian looking dude for Juan Rivera.

Today, we tackle 2 of the most important roles in Jose Bautista and Alex Anthopoulos.

We also look at the least important role in Jason Frasor. So without further ado...

1. David "Squiggy" Lander is Jason Frasor

From the Wikipedia entry on Laverne and Shirley: (Squiggy is) The most obnoxious of the bunch, and the greasiest.

Is Mike McCoy the new Rance Mulliniks?

In a word, no.

                                 Mike McCoy                                       Rance Mulliniks

 

Toronto Blue Jays 2011 Pre-Season Report Card Part 2

The 2011 Blue Jays infield raises a number of questions. 12 games into the season, the Jays are a disappointing 6 and 6. Compare this record to their first 12 games of past seasons:

2010: 7 wins, 5 losses

2009: 8 wins, 4 losses

2008: 7 wins, 5 losses

2007: 7 wins, 5 losses

2006: 6 wins, 6 losses

The last time they started this slowly was 2006. I don’t have to remind any true Blue Jays fan of how that year ended. Sure, it may have been their best season in the last 10 years; they finished 2^nd in the AL East to the Yankees, but they still finished 2^nd, which is still losing. And that’s where this gets frightening. They were losers in 2006, and their infield barely resembles that of the 2006 season. Obviously this is the reason for their disappointing start. One has to wonder:

1. Would that record be 8 and 4 if the Blue Jays had won 2 games instead of losing them?
2. How much better would the Jays be if they hadn’t messed with a good thing, and kept double-machine Lyle Overbay?
3. What is new catcher J.P.Arencibia’s relationship to ex-GM J.P. Riccardi?
4.  Edwin Encarnacion… yes or no?
5. Who the hell is Mike McCoy, and does he have the potential to dethrone Rance Mulliniks as the king of the hearts of Blue Jay fans?

All of these are valid questions, and all are answered after the jump:

Juan Rivera Weekly News Round-Up

It was a busy weekend for utility player/untrustworthy monster Juan Rivera.

First, his career as a Mexican folk singer turned drug lord was uncovered by this very blog on Sunday.

What strikes this reporter is the fact that Rivera is so proud of his unsavory extra-curricular activities.

Toronto Blue Jays 2011 Pre-Season Report Card Part 1

It's that time of year, baseball fans!

"What time of year?" you ask.
"Baseball time!" comes my reply.

Also, the Toronto Blue Jays are ready to return to dominance in the American League East.

Doubtful? I don't blame you. However I know more about baseball than you, therefore you are wrong.

To explain why, look at this report card I did for them, similar to what they do in real newspapers.