6ix on a Wave: Who Said It’s Easy?

I was there, at BMO Field, on December 10, 2016. It’s a night burned into my subconscious — I can still feel the bitter cold, I can still feel the “We’re the favourites, this will be a cake-walk” expectation quickly coagulating into bitter disappointment. I can plug myself right back into the moments after the final whistle, as the stands emptied en masse — no high-fives, no “nice to meet you”s.

Leaving our fortress on the lake in the care of the Sounders faithful, MLS executives, and the media, hearing their cheers and jubilation as we packed into the tunnel or straddled streetcar tracks, our forlorn faces sickly lit by the stadium lights, still at full blast. All walking silently, save for…