Last season, the first, was a case of love in bloom right from the start.
Not everyone saw it coming. Professional soccer had been tried before in Toronto and had died of disdain, died of neglect, died because the hard core turned its nose up, and everyone else couldn't be made to care.
But the arrival of Toronto FC proved to be one of those moments of perfect convergence: a new stadium; a new, accepting attitude; a group of fans pining for the experience of seeing their favourite game live; ownership savvy enough to understand those core supporters were a big part of the show.
If you were adding up what Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment did right during their inaugural season as proprietors of a franchise in Major League Soccer, that last realization would be right at the top of the list.
The owners built a relationship with the paying customers, listened to them, fostered an environment in which they'd be comfortable, then stood back and watched as something magical unfolded.
It didn't matter that the team wasn't much good — it was an expansion side, after all. It didn't matter that it went a ridiculous stretch without scoring a goal, or that after an encouraging middle of the season, injuries and a terrible lack of depth caused TFC to fade badly down the stretch.
The folks in the stands were happy to celebrate small victories, to create folk heroes like Danny Dichio, with the promise of better days to come. They gave MLSE every benefit of the doubt.
That's still the case, judging by the fact 2,500 of them will make the trek to Columbus on Saturday to take in the first game of TFC's second season, and that every home game this season at BMO Field figures to be sold out, or close to it.
But for the first time in the franchise's short history, there are also ripples of discontent. With promises that the team would get better during the off-season, there's precious little evidence that that's the case. Instead, judging by the preseason, it may well be worse.
When your new head coach, John Carver, says this of his charges after a dismal loss to Charleston of the USL in the final preseason match — "In all my years in the game, that's probably the worst performance I've ever seen" — then, naturally, it's time to raise the issue of bad faith.
If the Toronto supporters were willing to offer their allegiance unconditionally and contribute so much to TFC's fairy-tale first season, shouldn't the folks in charge have at least thrown them a few crumbs?
What they've received so far is the arrival of Carver, Mo Johnston's ascendance to the position of TFC manager and director of soccer, much talk of scouting trips to exotic locales, a long list of players brought in for trials without being signed, the trade of midfielder Ronnie O'Brien (injured much of last year, apparently no fan of BMO Field's artificial turf, but undeniably the team's best player and its brains on the pitch) with no real replacement in sight, and a side that on the eve of a new season looks paper thin.
And though TFC has lots of salary-cap room, has accumulated draft picks and is apparently taking a slow-and-steady approach to building a contending team, the reality is also that in a league where the best young talent (think Maurice Edu) will inevitably move on to bigger and better things overseas, there are limits to what that kind of plan might accomplish.
There are also limits to fan patience.
No one is demanding a big-name signing under the league's marquee player exemption (which might actually be counterproductive). But fans can rightly demand something more than what they've seen so far this spring.
Something more, perhaps, in the form of meaningful signings once the European seasons end, money invested to make the product better, some sign that their loyalty and passion is being rewarded, rather than exploited.
Do the latter, and watch that love die fast.
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And after they fix the product on the field, MLSE ought to do everything it can to pave the way for businessmen George Gillett and Joey Saputo to bring an MLS franchise to Montreal, even if it means losing a little skin off their nose.
Though it would infringe on Toronto FC's national monopoly, which was part of the original MLS expansion agreement, the creation of a natural rival — a real, honest-to-god derby — would be a boon to the sport in Canada.
Then bring on Vancouver.
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