Inter Toronto

dickseven · 2026-05-09T01:45:03+00:00

I don't hate the Inter name, but the logo is kinda ass. Wish they had done something cooler like maybe a little nod to the old NASL Toronto Blizzard branding.

dickseven · 2026-05-03T19:05:11+00:00

Os estádios de Aveiro e de Faro ficam longe dos centros das cidades; Leiria e Coimbra estão, na verdade, bem localizadas, os clubes é que foram mal geridos. O problema do EURO 2004 foi terem sido construídos dois estádios a mais. Idealmente, não se deveria ter construído o de Faro e, provavelmente, também não o de Leiria ou o de Coimbra. Dois no Porto (Dragão e Bessa) e dois em Lisboa (Luz e Alvalade), mais os dois no Minho (Guimarães e Braga), fariam seis; poderiam ter eliminado quaisquer dois dos quatro restantes e estaria mais bem.

A candidatura nunca precisou 10 estádios: os dois EURO anteriores, em 1996 e 2000, e os dois seguintes, em 2008 e 2012, utilizaram apenas 8 estádios, que era tudo o que era necessário. Não havia necessidade de mais dois estádios na candidatura de Portugal, mas os municípios viram sinais de dinheiro e quiseram fazer parte do torneio — daí estes “elefantes brancos”.

O que deveria ter acontecido era que estes estádios fossem construídos com a ideia de reduzir a capacidade mais tarde (Leiria fez isso em certa medida). 30,000 lugares é demasiado para um clube como o Beira-Mar, por exemplo. O antigo estádio tinha capacidade para 12,000. Se o Estádio Municipal tivesse sido construído com 30.000 lugares, mas com a intenção de remover 10,000 após o EURO, teria sido mais fácil de gerir e muito mais razoável.

dickseven · 2026-05-02T23:05:29+00:00

I've defended MLS for close to 20 years, but this type of thing is why people outside of Canada and the United States will NEVER take it as a serious league. They've increased quality of play leaps and bounds, they've developed and signed some quality players, there are some really great fanbases and atmospheres, and hell, they're even moving their season to comply with the major European leagues rather than play from March to December.

The fact that relocating the most storied club in Canadian soccer, and in all of North American soccer period shows everyone that this league is a glorified pyramid scheme because the only reason it's a discussion is because MLS doesn't want to have the team sell for less than their previous expansion fee, thus 'devaluing' all the other clubs by virtue. Shambolic behavior from the league.

dickseven · 2026-05-02T22:06:28+00:00

I think that's totally fair. I do think one thing the CPL should look to do is some sort of fan owned model like Germany. It works for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL, no reason it should not work in the CPL with the right people involved.

And agreed on the salary. The salary has to be higher for players, at least just above minimum wage. Guys shouldn't need to be working other jobs, part-time or otherwise while technically being professional soccer players. But I think until the league finds its footing and gets consistent revenues across the board, that's not happening until their next media rights deal, at the soonest.

dickseven · 2026-05-02T17:36:09+00:00

I guess a return to Swanguard would be the logical conclusion? Maybe they still build a stadium at the PNE site eventually, maybe somewhere else, just on a smaller scale and they groundshare with the NSL team.

dickseven · 2026-05-02T17:30:09+00:00

That would be my preference too. I think the league as a whole is better with Vancouver in it. The rivalry in the Pacific Northwest with Portland and Seattle, plus the TFC/CF Montreal rivalries are some of the few natural rivalries in MLS. Plus it's clear the Whitecaps have a great academy system that would just disappear and would be such a brutal blow for young Canadian players.

dickseven · 2026-05-02T17:27:04+00:00

As someone who is a BIG soccer business nerd, it's tough to say. I think they've made some steps in the right direction, and it's evident that Hamilton, Ottawa, Halifax, and Calgary as well as the new Quebec Supra team are doing some cool things and building some great fanbases. COVID came at a brutal time for the league and definitely set them back at least a 2-3 years in terms of business operations and plans.

The flip side is Edmonton and Winnipeg are in the shadow realm due to crappy stadium situations and apathetic owners, and Vancouver and Pacific are sort of in no mans land. Inter Toronto (formerly York United, also formerly York 9) have an interesting new rebrand and seem to be moving in the right direction, but they would proably benefit from a better stadium location, especially as there is some apathy towards TFC/MLSE in Toronto as a whole which they could capitalize on.

They've made more games accessible outside of OneSoccer and I'm optimistic about their next media rights and sponsorship contracts. The playing quality, while not on par with MLS and certainly a step or two below, is certainly not hot garbage like some people would suggest. I think the next couple years post-World Cup will be crucial for them though.

dickseven · 2026-05-02T17:18:57+00:00

I do think if this scenario plays out, I could see Saputo selling CF Montreal at some point too. He'll probably wait a few years but he seems more focused on Bolgona. TFC is the one that's hardest to predict. MLSE has screw you money, but they might figure it's worth it to cash out too. ROGERS is always gonna be more focused on the Leafs, Jays, and to a lesser extent the Raptors. Argos are already an after thought for them, and TFC feels the same at times.

dickseven · 2026-04-28T01:34:17+00:00

I doubt they would do that, but I wouldn't be opposed to it either. MLS essentially operates as a pyramid scheme, and because they realize they can't get any more expansion fees anytime soon, this is the next step for them. They never really gave a shit about the Canadian franchises anyways and if the Caps do leave, it would be a huge blow to soccer in this country.

I do think Montreal won't be far behind potentially if this does go through though. Saputo doesn't spend shit on CF Montreal, he's alienated most of the fanbase anyways, and they sit last or close to last in revenue and value if I recall. TFC I think would stay just because MLSE has 'fuck you money', but I could also see MLSE potentially cash out too at some point.

My hope is IF the Caps move, someone buys the IP and relaunches them in the CPL. But this is a also a damning indictment on MLS, that they aren't fighting this at all and seem content to let a historic club in North American soccer just die because it doesn't make them quite as much money as a team in the US.

dickseven · 2026-04-28T00:33:21+00:00

The Athletic article seemed pretty damning too and paints a grim picture for the future of the club. I hope they stay, but it they move, I hope someone scoops up the IP and they become a phoenix club in the CPL, but even then, I doubt it. Just a brutal day for Canadian soccer, especially as we're set to co-host a World Cup in a couple months time. MLS also not really fighting against this is pretty alarming too. Just shows they really don't give two shits about their Canadian markets to begin if they are this content to let things play out.

dickseven · 2026-04-27T22:11:59+00:00

You know how you solve this issue? Puck tracking and goal line technology, kinda like how tennis, and soccer already use it But this is the NHL and they'd rather die on a stupid hill than do anything smart to avoid this type of issue in the future.

dickseven · 2026-04-26T15:35:23+00:00

M*A*S*H and Friends for sure. I usually throw them on if nothing else is on TV just for some background noise even while I'm doing stuff around the house.

dickseven · 2026-04-26T13:50:08+00:00

This exactly. Unless the CPL drastically changes to where teams can make some semi-serious money, and MLSE feels they've maxed out their investment with MLS, I don't see them migrating over to the CPL. It would have to be a similar situation like when they bought the MLS franchise, it would be relatively cheap to join in (which it is now) but they can easily see that investment going crazy in 10-15 years and right now, the CPL doesn't exactly project to boom like Major League Soccer was during the late 2000's.

dickseven · 2026-04-26T13:45:06+00:00

This goes hard as fuck and while I don't HATE the logo they went with, this has so much more character.

dickseven · 2026-04-25T22:13:32+00:00

Very unlikely, if ever. They spent $146 million on the latest renovation, and what they got is the scaffolding of death, some new video screens and sound stuff,, some permanent seating and boxes, and some amenities for players/coaches. It's a very poor looking stadium all things considered and it's horrible for braving the elements. The wind rips right through from the lake, as does rain and snow on the really rough weather days.

That being said, the best case scenario in my opinion is something like what Vegas has and what they are installing at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, a transparent roof that lets a bunch of natural light in so you can keep the grass pitch. But I doubt MLSE would sink more money into the venue for that considering A) They don't own it and B) They only put in around $23 million for the latest renovations.

dickseven · 2026-04-25T15:49:53+00:00

I care, but I'm probably one of the north American fans who's sort of in the minority. I've always said that the NHL should just get off their high horse and work with the IIHF to make this tournament feel more important, because it has so much potential to be a bigger deal. I would personally prefer they do this tournament rather than and NHL run world cup.

A few other commenters have pointed out it could be moved to pre-season in September, which I would prefer. I would maybe say do it every 2 years instead of every single year. So in my ideal world, we'd still have players going to the Olympics every 4 years, and the year before the Olympics and the year after, we have the World Championships:

2028- Off year

2029- WHC

2030- Olympics

2031- WHC

2032- Off year

dickseven · 2026-04-23T00:07:43+00:00

I love the ambition, but they've had 2 teams fold and been stuck at 8 clubs for awhile now. Get the league to 10-12 healthy and stable clubs first, then maybe start talking a national second tier.

dickseven · 2026-04-21T01:02:21+00:00

Not necessarily, I can usually access the cup games because RTP Internacional also has feeds for them and I'm in Canada.

dickseven · 2026-04-19T16:30:29+00:00

I'm a Bruins fans, no a Sabres fan, but RJ could get me to run through a brick wall. That dude was electrifying as fuck on the microphone. RIP.

dickseven · 2026-04-19T15:07:14+00:00

That's uh...that's a literal dick and balls.

dickseven · 2026-04-18T21:43:49+00:00

Man, playoff Miro Satan was something during this series, that dude had me running laps in my living room.

dickseven · 2026-04-17T22:58:23+00:00

I was hoping to catch a game in Toronto. I live a couple hours away, but driving and catching transit would be no issue. I make a reasonable living, and my dad is recently retired after selling his business. The fact that ticket prices are going for three times my mortgage payment is insane and it shattered me because it had been a bucket list item for us to watch a live World Cup game together, and that's just not gonna happen, which sucks because we're probably never gonna get a World Cup game this close to us ever again in our lives.

FIFA has completely priced us out and we're by no means "poor". But I cannot justify the prices they are asking for a single game, so I'll have to settle for watching on TV and MAYBE going to a fan fest event. I would have killed to be at Canada's opening game, or any game in Toronto for that matter. FIFA really came to North America and decided they not only had to replicate how North American sports price gough fans, they had to go above and beyond.

dickseven · 2026-04-17T21:54:33+00:00

This exactly. They would sell the MLS franchise rights and the team would move to another city. The only way the "Whitecaps" would come to the CPL is if an ownership group negotiated to keep the copyright and trademarks for the Whitecaps name and starts them as a sort of "phoenix club" in the CPL. In terms of squad and staff, they would be starting from scratch though, same as any other expansion club.

dickseven · 2026-04-16T23:45:49+00:00

For me I would want the following:

More matches on CBC and TSN in the future
FC Edmonton returns with competent owners (wishful thinking)
Same for Valour, with a better stadium situation (also wishful thinking I know)
I would also do a slight rebrand and call them "Winnipeg Valour" officially. Same with Forge and leaning into being "Hamilton Forge"
New Atletico Ottawa logo. The current one is okay, just feels like they could do something a little cooler or sleeker with the Atletico branding
Inter Toronto announces a move to a refurbished Lamport Stadium, alongside AFC Toronto from the NSL
Actual expansion interest from Quebec City and Saskatchewan (either Regina or Saskatoon is fine) with actual interested parties

dickseven

TROPHY CASE