TFC: Bradley thanks supporters and revs up Reds fans for MLS Cup run
As Toronto FC’s players and staff assembled for the pre-season earlier this year, it was clear to Michael Bradley that last December’s MLS Cup final loss to the Seattle Sounders weighed on everyone’s mind.
Equally clear to the Reds captain was a singular desire amongst the group: a chance at redemption.
But how best to give themselves that opportunity? In an open letter from Bradley to TFC’s fans published on the team’s website on Monday, the captain said Toronto settled on winning the Supporters’ Shield — the award for Major League Soccer’s best regular-season record — as the key to achieving that lofty goal.
The Reds clinched the regularseason title on Saturday night with a 4-2 win against the New York Red Bulls, becoming the first Canadian team to win the league.
Offering a rare look into Toronto’s locker room, Bradley said that winning the shield was a special moment for the team, not just a stepping stone to the MLS Cup.
It meant the team treated every game like it was the only one that mattered, Bradley said.
“Week in and week out. No nights off. No tossing points away. No coasting through the hot summer months. We wanted to win. Every game. Every trophy. We wanted to be different,” he wrote.
Just as importantly, it guarantees home-field advantage through the post-season.
“If anyone is going to end our season, they’re going to have to do it on our field, in our weather, with our supporters, our fans, and the entire city of Toronto behind us,” Bradley wrote. “Our team knows that’s what you want, the opportunity to help carry us one step further than we got last year. To walk into BMO Field on a cold Toronto night ready to push us over the top.”
That “us” extends past the locker room and into the stands, Bradley said.
“This one is special. This one is for us. And by ‘us’ I mean everyone who has played a part in helping Toronto FC win the 2017 Supporters’ Shield. Everyone at the club, and everyone in the stands.”