Yesterday, the world watched as the six host cities for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup were announced. While some in the media are furious at Toronto taking a pass because of the 2015 Pan American Games, there is in my opinion an even greater omission: Calgary.

The so-called Heart of the New West, the home of the Calgary Stampede, a so-called world class city, will not play a part in the showpiece event of international women's soccer. Heck, we didn't even mount a bid -- it's like we didn't even realize (or potentially care) that such an event was coming to Canada.

Ever since Zimbabwe dropped out of the running for the 2015 tournament early last year (which gave us the win by default), there has been very little talk around town about potentially getting involved with the tournament. In fact, this was the only talk on Twitter (after a search on Google), where Calgary's mayor Naheed Nenshi is most accessible:

@Paulbeirne Think of us here in #yyc!!!! We get NOTHING!!! @nenshi...Please help get some 2015 Womens World Cup games for us!!

— Johannes Langer (@JohannesLanger) July 17, 2011

Since then, there has been no talk whatsoever -- the issue was never brought up in City Council, nor was hair nor hide heard from this idea ever since. By that time, the city was busy putting the last touches on a way overdue $25 million bridge designed by a Spaniard, while finishing up the bidding to be crowned the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2012 (a title that the city ultimately ended up sharing with the Niagara Region).

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(This post was inspired by a short conversation with fellow SBNation writer Kevin McCauley, and based on the recent furor over Simon Borg's comments during the April 30th edition of the ExtraTime Radio podcast.)

Dear Simon,

Hey, how are ya? It's me, John.

You probably don't know me yet (or you never will...either way), but I am a huge TFC supporter. I've been that way for about six years now. I live in Calgary, which means I have to travel to a lot of TFC matches. In six years, I've been to almost all the stadiums on the West Coast, and wear my TFC swag proudly around town.

Oh, but there's something you probably should know about me: I do bat for the other team...yep, queerer than a three dollar bill. AND I'm seeing someone, too -- who doesn't happen to be a soccer fan. I know, shocking right? I'll give you a few moments to recover from the shock.

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There is no reason to go back over any of last nights game. In the end it was an improved performance but ended up in another Toronto FC defeat. That makes it a record equaling 7 straight losses to start the season. To make matters even worse, when Kansas City set the original mark they did so in the shootout era so a pair of their defeats would actually have been draws in the current league setup. Even if Toronto FC wins their next league match against DC United they already should go down as having the worst start in league history.

It is a painful time to be a fan of this club, which all of us are at Waking the Red. At a time like this it might be nice to be able to keep a professional distance from the club and only see these losing streak as material to write the same story week after week. For myself though, every time I write that same story it is painful, as Toronto FC is a team that I have become proud to support over recent years but now there is not much left to be proud of.

One of the perks I have had is the chance to get to know some of the players to a limited extent. That actually makes it harder to see them collapsing to the field after Real Salt Lake scored their 93rd minute winner. You have to hurt for the guys who have been giving their all for the club this season and have only been rewarded with being continued laughing stocks around the league.

The question though is where does this losing streak leave all of us as fans. There has been some extreme talk already from some supporters and there has also been some talk of remaining unwaveringly loyal to the team. For myself though the ideal is somewhere in between.

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With the messianic return of Torsten Frings going wrong within 25 seconds and ultimately proving unsuccessful, and with Toronto FC just one more defeat away from tying the all time record for worst start in MLS, all piled on top of 5 frustrating seasons that have drained the patience of almost everyone, there's debate all over the place now about exactly where TFC go from here.

Opinions vary from stick with the plan to blow it all up, and whether it's a straight forward firing, or a shuffle upstairs with someone else taking over the day to day first team duties, Aron Winter now seems to be on very thin ice. Whether a coaching change is needed or not, (I'm still on the 'not' side of things for now) and whether the long term vision of Winter and Jurgen Klinsmann before him is stuck to or not, almost everyone agrees something needs to change in the short term to get some results on the board and not jeopardise the admirable long term plans that are in place for the future of the club.

An argument made many times is that Winter needs to compromise and play a formation and style more suited to the league he's playing in and the players at his disposal. It's one I've made many times and that's really what's been the downfall of Winter's teams, lacking the players to be able to play his preffered style. Right now though, I think TFC are in the best shape ever to play what is presumably still his plan A, the 4-3-3.

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(I'm sure we've all seen this one before...so inspired by Elliotte Friedman and his piece on Jarome Iginla, and since poetry was so last week, I present to you.)

THE GLORY DAYS

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

• Troy, a Toronto FC supporter since day one. Has even the pom-pom hat from the first game, and majorly disgruntled.
• Sheehan, childhood friend of Troy and a Maple Leafs fan since birth. Also majorly disgruntled.
• Claudette, a Montreal Impact supporter.
• Lounge Attendant and Albertan Man, two bystanders.
• Rick, Troy's brother and an Argos fan. Doesn't understand soccer and doesn't really want to. Mocks Troy incessantly about the potential of the Argos moving to BMO.
• Cal, a friend from out of town. Doesn't really understand MLS, but at least is trying...for Troy's sake.
• Anita, the local barkeep. Fast with the taps and the one liners, but knows her sports and the disappointments they bring.
  

PROLOGUE

Saturday, April 7th. TFC are in Montreal to play the Impact at the Olympic Stadium. Dozens of fans have made the journey to Montreal to watch the inaugural MLS match between these two teams. Troy and Sheehan have made the trip, and are amongst the ultras.

It's already 1-0 for Montreal after the Sinisa Ubiparipovic goal, and Andrew Wenger has just made it 2-0 in the 81st minute.

[SCENE: Olympic Stadium, Montreal]

TROY: Fuck.

Troy drops his beer, throws down his scarf, and walks up the stairs.

SHEEHAN: Troy, what the hell man?

Sheehan picks up the scarf, and chases after his friend.

SHEEHAN: Dude, wait up.

TROY: I'm sick of this. I'm just fucking sick of it.

SHEEHAN: I thought you'd be used to this by now.

Troy shoots Sheehan a dirty glance.

TROY: Let's get the hell out of here. I just want to head back to Toronto.

Troy heads to the exit.

SHEEHAN: Dude! What am I going to do with these Leafs tickets for tonight!?

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Tomorrow will be the first of three meetings on the season between the Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. In the past couple of years the teams had 2 MLS meetings and the club that won on aggregate took home the fancy Trillium Cup. Last year, for the first time ever, Toronto FC brought the cup north of the border having drawn the home leg and then winning 4-2 on the road.

In the past the format was straight forward and the Crew were the logical choice to be TFC's main rival. That has changed now though with the addition of a third annual meeting between the clubs as well as the Montreal Impact joining the league. So are the Crew still the logical choice to be the club's main rival? Not at all, that goes to the Impact. Does the Cup still make sense with 3 games? Well, sort of.

This season the Trillium Cup will take on a format closer to what it was originally like. In 2008 and 2009, the first two years the cup was handed out, the clubs played three times each season so this is not new ground that we are heading in to this season. The cup will be based on who collects the most points in the three meetings with the first tie breaker being away goals. It does take something away as the format gives an advantage to the club that plays two home games.

So with all that in mind we want to know. How do you feel about the Trillium Cup?

So, as we all know by now, Torsten Frings is going to be missing for the next 4-6 weeks, missing what looks like a thankfully soft portion of the MLS schedule, as well as the 2 big CCL semi-final games, to be replaced by...Ty Harden? Miguel Aceval? Terry Dunfield? Those are the frankly depressing scenarios we've got to throw around when it comes to the question of who'll fill the big hole left in the Toronto FC defence by the injury news.

When it comes to intangibles, leadership and experience and all that, well you can throw out any old cliche really, Richard Eckersley certainly did in his post training interview yesterday. Everyone's got to step up to the plate, they've all got a job to do and they're all going to be leaders were some of the classics he threw out there, I'm a little disappointed he didn't actually say we've got to give 110%.

Ever since Frings arrived, those with and without locker room access and insight have been confidently talking about the effect that his presence and experience would have on the dressing room and the professionalism of the players. Now's the chance for them all to show the resilience and mental strength that hasn't ever been a big part of TFC's game in season's past. If away wins in big games against FC Dallas, and LA Galaxy show a fortitude absent back in 2009 in New York, hopefully they can also now avoid the injury related slumps that hurt previous incarnations of the club.

Though the second half against Seattle isn't promising in that respect, that would be an incredibly harsh judgement to make. How they react against a very beatable San Jose team with a week to prepare will give us much more important information. All that intangible stuff is impossible to know ahead of time, the easier task is to take a look at the alternatives in formation and personnel available to Aron Winter, and though they're alarmingly limited, both in number and in the confidence they inspire, I'll do just that after the jump.

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Toronto FC has only played two games so far this season and they were both big ones. They turned in a pair of solid performances which were enough to claim a 4-3 win on aggregate over the LA Galaxy. What we saw in last night's game though was a very interest combination of styles in Toronto FC's attack. The combination of the Latin flair and the simple effectiveness of the Dutch players can be described through popular dances in their native countries. For TFC's Latin players the style is obvious as they can often be seen doing a version of a salsa dance after one of them scores a goal. The Dutch style is harder to describe in a dance but it can be done so with Jumpen (or Jumpstyle) which is a very simple dance based on solid footwork that is very popular in the Netherlands.

The Salsa dance is all about fast footwork and flair which is a great way to describe the Latino/Caribbean players on Toronto's roster. Luis Silva, Joao Plata, Ryan Johnson, and Reggie Lambe all embrace their back ground and play in that distinct style. The flair that they bring to the team was crucial in the win over LA and it is no coincidence that there was salsa dancing going on in both legs. Ryan Johnson scored the opening goal of each game and it was all about being sharp and clinical with his chances.

In the first leg, Johnson found the ball at his feet following a bit of a scrambled corner. He did not waste anytime in squaring to the goal and firing home a shot that gave Saunders no chance of making the save. He followed the goal up with some sweet kung-fu on the corner flag and a little dancing in front of 48,000 or so fans.

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