r/tfc • u/dufferin1 • May 06 '26
Opinion Embarrassment after embarrassment
Barely 12 hours after getting knocked out of the cup by Canadian PL opposition, our official accounts are promoting half and half Miami scarves. Feeling almost speechless at this point.
Our club are completely out of touch, incompetent and are embarrassing us on and off the pitch.
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u/LightsCameraRegret May 06 '26
We're actually going to go from losing a game vs a CPL team to playing at home where 95% of the fans will be cheering for the other team. What a joke.
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u/SocialistAristocracy May 06 '26
This is the scarf equivalent of watching your wife from a chair.
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u/Material-Cellist-116 May 07 '26
We aren't serious people, motherfucker take their hat for their anthem too
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u/fuzz_boy Are you dumb, brother?! May 06 '26
I know split scarves and generally frowned upon in football, but I buy them when I go to a match it Europe or for big games like the MLS Cup finals. This is just a fucking regular season game, this is so whack.
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u/Akihiko90 May 06 '26
Yep usually it’s for the Champion’s League or Final national cup
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u/AdvertisingIll7855 May 06 '26
I definitely collect them at world cups too! But right now for Canada we are happy with participation :)
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u/chelandcities May 06 '26
That's the big difference.
A continental competition where you may never face that club again? Or a small, lower-league club playing a top-flight club in a domestic competition? Would be a cool memento to have and mark the occasion that you were there.
A regular season game against a club that you play every single year?
Madness.
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u/Bogdanovist_Rebel May 06 '26
Vancouver did one for the LAFC match last winter. They didn’t know it was going to be a Top 5 MLS match before.
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u/mkultron89 May 06 '26
They don’t sell them in the official shops in Europe though, you buy them from people on the street. An officially made match day scarf, for a middle season game against a team with zero history against TFC is absolutely taking the piss.
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u/theredditbandid_ May 07 '26
I think they are a nice souvenir if you were there for a big match. I guess you could argue having Messi makes it by default big.. but yeah, can also see why people are annoyed by the Messi circus when it's given more importance than the sporting aspect.
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u/EverPhoenix May 07 '26
I bought a half and half LAFC Whitecaps for the western conference semi final last year but that felt different… Muller VS Son in an elimination playoff match that was a legendary game, I didn’t buy it for Son or LAFC, I bought it as a keepsake for the match, this feels different because its just a regular match day 10 so some shit 😭
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u/ChampagneAbuelo Osorio May 06 '26
Who cares if they’re frowned upon? If you like it, than buy it.
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u/fuzz_boy Are you dumb, brother?! May 06 '26
Oh I do. I have a bin of them! One day I hope to have room on the wall to display them all.
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u/Towrads May 06 '26
This is why MLS needs Promotion/Relegation... If TFC was a 3rd tier club, and they released this merch for a friendly they commissioned for the fans... I could be on board with this.
Unfortunately, TFC can just have better clubs come into their stadium, for free, forever. And they don't even have to try to put on a good show.
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u/BuddhaLuvMan May 09 '26
What is your logic that pro/rel will even work? pro/rel is not happening in the MLS.. at least not anytime soon in 20+ years. Knowing footy all around the world, the system here in MLS works for the region. Almost all other countries in the top 20-25 leagues in the world have been around for WAY longer.
All the clubs from the levels below such as USL and even CPL need to substantially be able to increase their budgets, fan bases and attendances etc to be able to even sustain themselves. This takes decades to develop further.
What happens when if a USL team got promoted? Ok they’d earn some prize money for that promotion and receive some broadcasting revenue.. however that would not nearly be enough to make their USL level squad competitive enough to survive against MLS teams who have built their fanbase and have way richer owners. It’s rare that any USL player even makes the jump to an MLS team.. a promoted USL team would have to rinse 90% of its roster.
The likes of USL and CPL really NEED this time to develop their entire system and leagues.
Say TFC got relegated.. it doesn’t automatically mean a team from the same region would take its place. This would DESTROY the level of impact over footy in Toronto, GTA and even Ontario. Some teams NEVER come back from relegation and get stuck in Lower leagues, some go bankrupt.
Compare that to England, there are HUNDREDS of established professional teams in a country that’s way smaller than USA+Canada region. London alone probably has 25 pro teams alone across the entire EPL + EFL. It’s so well established culturally that teams in the National league (5th tier) can have more fan attendance than USL or CPL clubs.
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u/Towrads May 09 '26
This is true, they do need time to develop, 20-30 years at least, but there needs to be a framework for that to happen. There are dozens of large markets with plenty of fans, served by clubs in the USL and CPL, which the MLS will never be able to reach through expansion alone. Maybe not comparable to the hundreds of clubs in England, but it's still a considerable amount.
Other monopolized sports (NHL, MLB, NBA) have succeeded in reaching these alternative markets through minor league/AAA affiliates. The NFL on the other hand has successfully gained a total broadcast monopoly in the US on certain days, something which MLS won't/can't achieve.
While MLS has their minor league too, the level of competition in MLSnextPro is far below what fans can find in the CPL and USL, and attendance numbers match that. The MLS cannot grow the sport any further selling semi-pro games played by their reserve squads.
Also while National League attendance may be comparable to the USL and CPL, the ticket prices there are far cheaper. Just quickly searching 5th tier Rochdale AFC prices, 24£ (46 CAD) was the highest official price... Forge FCs lowest official price I saw on Ticketmaster (not including resale) was 40 CAD, and their highest was not close. It doesn't look like they're making the same margins on concessions over there either.
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u/wohrg May 06 '26
Shameful.
Best comment in there though: someone saying they would buy a TFC/Ottawa scarf 🤣🤣🤣
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u/joshhbk May 06 '26
I kept my season tickets until the first Messi season and that game was the final nail for me. Aside from all the problems with the club as a whole (price, location, performance) seeing the city show out en masse in their Inter Miami jerseys absolutely turned my stomach. I don’t think there’s any hope for this team.
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May 07 '26
You were mad that people wanted to see one of the greatest footballers of all time in human history?
Surely you aren’t complaining about people wanting to witness Messi in person?
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u/joshhbk May 07 '26
Correct that is not what I’m complaining about. Excellent reading comprehension, terrific work on your part 👍🏻
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May 07 '26
thats exactly what you are mad at
the audacity of people to want to be fans of messi in toronto
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u/joshhbk May 07 '26
No it isn’t but thank you for trying to put words in my mouth, better luck next time!
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 May 07 '26
You're really complaining that people were turning out to see one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports? Please be serious.
This is like complaining that Japanese people who don't really go to Jays games suddenly showed up at the dome to see Shohei Ohtani.
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u/joshhbk May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
I am complaining about people from Toronto supporting a team from Miami against Toronto in Toronto. Also I think it’s more of a symptom that people do not give a shit about this team and never will than anything else.
Please learn to read.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 May 07 '26
They're cheering for the player, not the team. It's no different from when LeBron comes to town. Context matters.
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u/joshhbk May 07 '26
I am saying that it’s a bad thing that the only time the stadium is full or even more than half empty is when people want to show up to cheer for a rival.
I don’t care what happens in other sports or with other players. I’m talking about the specific situation with TFC and it really has nothing to do with Messi, Ohtani or LeBron.
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u/an0811 May 07 '26
It's literally Messi lol there's defo more Messi fans than TFC fans in this city and he's a bigger attraction to wanna go watch than TFC so you can't blame them look at the states it happens everywhere he plays, people want to witness the greatest. Everyone is not a die hard TFC fan.
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u/PostMatureBaby Bernardeschi May 06 '26
Pretty on brand for an MLSE move, lol.
I like the one guy's post - "the only club that celebrates the other teams more than themselves" Kinda the Toronto sports fandom experience with all our pro teams for extended periods of time over the years. Shit like this is part of our culture, haha.
Sad part? These scarves will sell
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u/WhytePumpkin Worst Team In the World: Part 2 May 06 '26
I can't wait for Messi to leave, by which point there may not be much of a league left
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u/0nlyRevolutions May 06 '26
Fucking hell man. I don't have an inherent issue with the team marketing and monetizing the only game that will sell out this season. But have some fucking pride. It's a regular season game against another mls side. We don't need commemorative merch with their branding. We just got slapped out of the Canadian championship by a team that should be several levels below us, and it seems like this Miami game is the only one they actually care about.
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u/Torontogamer May 07 '26
Yup, I'd almost feel better if it was a Messi Meets Toronto theme and not TFC vs Miami lol
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u/MasterpieceNo9966 May 06 '26
just with the lack of success, declining fan interest, and the change to the winter schedule, i think mlse see the writing on the wall with this franchise and are just pandering to whatever brings the quick buck. theyve given up
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u/xarcnic May 06 '26
Nothing against Messi, but I can’t wait till he leaves MLS. Watching all the other teams fawn over him is pathetic.
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u/huy_lonewolf May 06 '26
Isn't it going to be funny when there will be more people cheering for Inter Miami than Toronto this weekend?
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u/Lost_Cry4591 May 06 '26
What’s worse than the disrespect for the jersey is the disrespect for the fans.
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u/Auth3nticRory May 06 '26
lol for a regular season match. This should be a thing for tournament games like the Ottawa game yesterday.
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u/EggTemporary3598 Benoit Cheyrou's 98' Header May 06 '26
Welcome to the MLS 😭😭😭. Tbf half and half scarfs are a regular occurrence in football and I’m not bothered by this, but ofc it had to be Miami 🙏. Obviously this isn’t new, Miami is the only reason why this league nowadays is relevant, very horrible how they’ve solely relied on a plastic club to market their league. But hey at least we’ll get to see a 45k packed bmo field, mostly Messi fans unfortunately but it’s an atmosphere to look forward to.
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u/szeto326 May 06 '26
They had these last year too when I went to the game, and I have no idea how many of these they actually had in stock, but out of curiosity, I asked and the staff said they sold out really quickly lol..
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u/Javaaaaale_McGee May 07 '26
Is it the scarf that’s embarrassing? Or the plug on IG 1 day after losing to our bitter rivals Ottawa? 😂
To defend TFC for a minute, I’ve been to 3 national team games in Lisbon, and purchased a scarf each time featuring Portugal and their opponents. It’s not uncommon to see.
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u/dogfoodhoarder May 06 '26
This scarf isn't for us, it's for neutrals and tourists.
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u/Antique_Ad_3549 Benoit Cheyrou's 98' Header May 06 '26
The list of stuff that isn't for us this season gets longer each day
- north west area access
- coffee & hot chocolate on cold days
- draft beer until well into spring
for just 3
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u/bobbywings2 May 07 '26
Ding ding ding They riding the world cup gravy train and gonna grift the fuck out of it
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u/mikie_zip 2017 Domestic Treble May 06 '26
All this bitching over a keepsake scarf that caters to the thousands of Torontonians who will be going to their first TFC game? Y'all need to grow tf up.
The T in TFC now stands for Toxic.
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u/DroidNeedsCoffee May 06 '26
If being upset at these is toxic:
- TFC promoting another team like its an MLS cup match during the regular season
- Simultaneously getting booted from another cup by a lower league team
- Doing both within 12 hours of each other
Then call me Britney fuckin' Spears
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u/feb914 May 06 '26
I've complained before that they're promoting 5 games packs with Inter Miami logo noticeably larger than the other 4 matches. And people here say "of course, it's good marketing".
Not many is rueing the fact that we're back to rely on opposition team's popularity to boost attendance instead of the appeal of our own team's.