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Come on You Reds: The Story of Toronto FC
How Toronto FC rescued itself from misery, carved out a niche, and became a true alternative franchise in North America’s most crowded sports market.
From Toronto FC’s inception, the club and their fans did things their own way. When Danny Dichio scored the first goal in franchise history, fans at BMO Field threw their seat cushions onto the field in ecstasy. It looked as though TFC had a bright future ahead of it, but what followed instead was eight seasons of poor results, mismanagement, and misery.
Still, TFC fans never wavered, building the most unique atmosphere in Toronto sports. When it seemed TFC was destined to become an afterthought in a city crowded with teams, the club carved out a niche by creating a winning culture unlike anything Toronto had ever seen, bringing a championship to the city in 2017.
Come on You Reds takes fans behind the scenes, from the inception of TFC, through the team’s lowest years, and finally, to the story of how management arguably built the best team in Major League Soccer history.
From Toronto FC’s inception, the club and their fans did things their own way. When Danny Dichio scored the first goal in franchise history, fans at BMO Field threw their seat cushions onto the field in ecstasy. It looked as though TFC had a bright future ahead of it, but what followed instead was eight seasons of poor results, mismanagement, and misery.
Still, TFC fans never wavered, building the most unique atmosphere in Toronto sports. When it seemed TFC was destined to become an afterthought in a city crowded with teams, the club carved out a niche by creating a winning culture unlike anything Toronto had ever seen, bringing a championship to the city in 2017.
Come on You Reds takes fans behind the scenes, from the inception of TFC, through the team’s lowest years, and finally, to the story of how management arguably built the best team in Major League Soccer history.
296 pages, Paperback
Published October 30, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 3, 2018
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
From Toronto FC’s inception, the club and their fans did things their own way. After Danny Dichio scored the first goal in franchise history, fans at BMO Field threw their seat cushions onto the field in ecstasy. It looked as if TFC had a bright future ahead of them, but what followed instead was eight seasons of poor results, mismanagement, and misery.
Still, TFC fans never wavered, building the most unique atmosphere in Toronto sports. When it looked as if TFC were destined to become an afterthought in a city crowded with teams, the club carved out a niche by creating a winning culture unlike anything Toronto had ever seen and bringing a championship to the city in 2017.
Come on You Reds takes fans behind the scenes from the inception of TFC, through the team’s lowest years, and finally, to the story of how management built arguably the best team in Major League Soccer history.
I am married to a Canadian and have since taken an avid interest in all things Canadian: history, politics and, of course, sport. So when I discovered there was a book on the history of Toronto FC, I knew it was something I wanted to look at.
And I am very glad I did.
While this book does cover a lot of the history of the club on and off the field - from Dichio's first goal for the franchise, to their most recent successes, it was really the story of the fans - and the city - who took this team into the hearts and gave them their undying support.
Sure, the (mis)management of the club for the first half dozen years or so was painful to read (I have only been following them for a few years so to learn about those horrendous first years and the reasons behind them was fascinating - in a scary kind of way), and the year-by-year highlights (and lowlights) on the field would make for horrible reading for the long time fan, it is the supporters that have kept the team motivated and that is really heartening - and absolutely NOT surprising for Canadians. Or maybe it is - the Leafs and Blue Jays fans seem to ride the successes of their clubs but seem to disappear when the team is not performing. Not so the Reds fans - they seemed to get louder and more fanatical (in a good way) regardless of the results.
The book was a little repetitive at times, which was a bit frustrating but, in the overall scheme of things, it wasn't THAT annoying that it stopped me from reading.
If you are a football (soccer) fan, and enjoy a good rags-to-riches story with a fan base that deserves recognition, than this could be the book for you. It sure was for me.
Paul
ARH
From Toronto FC’s inception, the club and their fans did things their own way. After Danny Dichio scored the first goal in franchise history, fans at BMO Field threw their seat cushions onto the field in ecstasy. It looked as if TFC had a bright future ahead of them, but what followed instead was eight seasons of poor results, mismanagement, and misery.
Still, TFC fans never wavered, building the most unique atmosphere in Toronto sports. When it looked as if TFC were destined to become an afterthought in a city crowded with teams, the club carved out a niche by creating a winning culture unlike anything Toronto had ever seen and bringing a championship to the city in 2017.
Come on You Reds takes fans behind the scenes from the inception of TFC, through the team’s lowest years, and finally, to the story of how management built arguably the best team in Major League Soccer history.
I am married to a Canadian and have since taken an avid interest in all things Canadian: history, politics and, of course, sport. So when I discovered there was a book on the history of Toronto FC, I knew it was something I wanted to look at.
And I am very glad I did.
While this book does cover a lot of the history of the club on and off the field - from Dichio's first goal for the franchise, to their most recent successes, it was really the story of the fans - and the city - who took this team into the hearts and gave them their undying support.
Sure, the (mis)management of the club for the first half dozen years or so was painful to read (I have only been following them for a few years so to learn about those horrendous first years and the reasons behind them was fascinating - in a scary kind of way), and the year-by-year highlights (and lowlights) on the field would make for horrible reading for the long time fan, it is the supporters that have kept the team motivated and that is really heartening - and absolutely NOT surprising for Canadians. Or maybe it is - the Leafs and Blue Jays fans seem to ride the successes of their clubs but seem to disappear when the team is not performing. Not so the Reds fans - they seemed to get louder and more fanatical (in a good way) regardless of the results.
The book was a little repetitive at times, which was a bit frustrating but, in the overall scheme of things, it wasn't THAT annoying that it stopped me from reading.
If you are a football (soccer) fan, and enjoy a good rags-to-riches story with a fan base that deserves recognition, than this could be the book for you. It sure was for me.
Paul
ARH
January 14, 2019
For fans of Toronto Foootball Club only. Of course. But if you are a fan, you'll enjoy reliving some of the moments in the team's history, leading up to the 2017 championship. I wish there was an appendix, or several of them, in the end highlighting the squad in each year, and maybe results from every year-- but despite this it is a good read. Could have been a bit longer and more detailed perhaps.
November 7, 2018
A well written account of the early days to now for Toronto FC. Delves into the complicated market in Toronto, where the Toronto Maple Leafs tend to get most media attention and how TFC fought to get its share.
November 13, 2018
Been a season seat holder since Day One and this book describes the ups and downs of the passionate fan base that has been with them since the beginning. Great book and have already recommended it to my fellow season seat holders.
July 29, 2019
Joshua Kloke's wonderful account of the wild and rather bumpy ride (the lows were low!) that was Toronto FC. Even as a "Day One" season ticket holder who had the pleasure of sitting through the scoreless droughts and world's worst team it was a bit of an eye opener reading some of the insider accounts (Joshua does a great job of getting the thoughts of the major players in club history) about the team (ie. Jozy Altidore's initial thoughts about joining the team).
Goes without saying this is a definite must read for all TFC fans.
Goes without saying this is a definite must read for all TFC fans.
April 8, 2019
I lived most of what I had read in this book, so I am a little biased, but it does a really good job of summarizing Toronto FC's history to this point. I'd recommend it to any new fans to get caught up to speed, I learned some things about our history despite having started watching this team religiously since 2014. I wish it covered a little more about soccer in Toronto pre-TFC.
January 12, 2023
Admittedly, I’m new to the genre, and I wasn’t interested in the team’s history, I’d have been lost by the end of the first chapter, but I learnt a great deal from this book. Some of the anecdotes were more interesting than others, and the author struggles to build much of a unifying narrative, but it was worth the read. I wouldn’t recommend it to people that aren’t TFC fans, however.
December 20, 2020
I’m a fan of another team (DC United) but I really enjoyed this book about Toronto FC. It’s very well-written and helps explain how TFC struggled for so many years and how they turned it around.
July 20, 2020
A great look inside the birth of one of the most influential MLS clubs which paved the way for the success of others. Basically a season by season accounting with a focus on the front office moves that would prove vital to their eventual success. A true story of how a strong fan base can influence a he success of a club.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews