MLS Cup 2010 goes to Toronto

MLS Cup in Toronto, eh? Sign me up!

Major League Soccer made it official today after commish Don Garber pretty much let the cat out of the bag last week: Toronto will host MLS Cup 2010. It'll be played under the lights. Details here.

Bad move, due to weather, you might say? Well, I seem to recall a pretty decent dog soaker going on in and around MLS Cup Sunday last year in Seattle. Pretty cold, too!

The commish noted during last week’s conference call that it was sunny and 55 (during the day) in Toronto last year on that very same day, as fans in the Pacific Northwest were reaching for their parkas and umbrellas. (A fact not lost on TFC officials, who texted the Commish in Seattle to be darn sure he knew the irony.)

To see why I think it's a good choice, click forth ...

I say, potential dicey weather is worth another shot at a brilliant atmosphere, the kind we saw last year in theEmerald City. It makes for a better game on TV. And it impresses sponsors. Never underestimate how much of the All-Star game an the MLS Cup festivities are developed with sponsors in mind. Hey, they pay the bills, I suppose.

For the record, I did once criticize MLS for putting MLS Cup in New England. But that was different. There really wasn’t a compelling reason to play it there, other than to placate the Kraft Family. (Someone will have to explain to me what the soccer establishment has gotten in return for all those great matches – international friendlies, MLS Cups, U.S. qualifiers – sent to down to Gillette and Kraft Valley through the years, because the Revs’ spendthrift owners certainly aren’t spending much on their soccer team these days.)

At any rate, there IS a compelling reason to put the game in Toronto. A couple, in fact. First, the fans deserve it. The place rocks, game in, game out. ‘Nuff said.

Second, Montreal will soon be aboard the Good Ship MLS, giving Canada a third side (along with Toronto and incoming Vancouver.) So, there’s a strategic concern, too.

Yeah, it might be cold. But one game in the cold is OK. The fans will bundle up. And the players will be o.k., so long as the temperatures don’t drop in ridiculous figures.

Rain and snow? That’s another matter. There is a chance of truly nasty stuff.

I suppose that’s why they’ll have orange soccer balls around – just in case.