THE MATCHUP: Wiz-zing all over the future

"And scoring is totally out of the question Toronto!"

 

TORONTO VS. KANSAS CITY

BMO FIELD - SATURDAY 4PM ET
TV: SPORTSNET 360

THE KICKABOUT:
Back on March 9th, TFC began its journey through Season 7 at SkyDome (Soon to be future home of TFC while they retrofit BMO for the Argos. Just sayin'.) against these very same Sporting Kansas Cities. It was a bright start with our Eff Cee's recording a 2-1 win but as the long season continued, the two clubs went their separate ways. The deep Sporting now boast 13 wins and are 3rd in the East, a vastly more developed team than the 4-win Reds who only avoid the East basement due to D.C. United's craptitude.

The different direction for these clubs isn’t limited to the table however. Back in 2007 the Kansas City Wizards were a joke of a club being forced to move from an NFL stadium into a minor-league baseball park. TFC meanwhile were the darlings of MLS - a "real" football club in a soccer-specific stadium. Fast forward less than a decade and the re-branded Sporting boast raucous support, a solid on-field product and the finest football-only stadium in North America. TFC has two Tims, a Kiwi and are drawing up plans for the CFL.

Don't let MLSE know that the "Wizards" nickname is now available as well.

MANUFACTURED DERBY NAME:
"The PrekiMo Invitational"

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
TORONTO: Mark Bloom, Bright Dike, Jonathan Osorio
KANSAS CITY: Claudio Bieler, Jimmy Nielsen, C.J. Sapong

THE ODDS:
New TFC GM Tim Bezbatchenko's thoughts during match:
- "We've got a decent young core.": 50-1
- "There is much work ahead.": 10-1
- "Well, at least a CFL team doesn't play here. What? They are? When? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.": 2-1

WHO ARE YA?
By constantly saying he "won't rule out" the Argos move to BMO Field, Tim Leiweke is showing off his MLSE money-boner to anyone with eyes. It's inevitable as the RONA ads soon to be gracing the BMO Field pitch. What we weren't aware of is the great admiration Leiweke and MLS had for Kansas City Wizards when they used to play at the minor league baseball CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Proving that an MLS club could play in those conditions has not only emboldened the owners to butcher BMO Field for the CFL but the ground will also soon be home to the Canadian Olympic Field Hockey Team, the Toronto-Area Gaelic Hurling League, a permanent training facility for GraveDigger the Monster Truck, harness horse racing, a community vegetable garden and a full oval stock car racing track around the new CFL-size playing surface. Not to worry though TFC fans... it will be intimate.

Promise. xoxo

POST-MATCH HEADLINE: "REDS OFF TO BE THE WIZARDS"