TORONTO — Minutes before the MLS Cup final began on a frigid and soon-to-be legendary night, Toronto FC supporters unveiled their tifo, a giant banner that proclaimed, “Nothing is more powerful than a club whose time has come.”
They were speaking, of course, of their own team, which had persevered through some brutal seasons to end up perched on the verge of a title. But instead it proved prophetic for their opponent, the Seattle Sounders, who hoisted the Cup for the first time to cap a wild season that defies a tidy characterization.
It was both heartbreaking and exhilarating, one that once appeared dysfunctional but wound up with Seattle in possession of the ultimate prize.