MLS Cup In Toronto - Convincing Friends To Attend

COLORADO! DALLAS! SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! MLS CUP EXCITEMENT ONLY IN TORONTO! CATCH THE MADNESS, CATCH THE TASTE! SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!

My friend and I have five tickets to this Sunday's MLS Cup Final at BMO Field. The game features the Colorado Rapids, champions of the Eastern Conference, yeah it makes no sense to me either, against FC Dallas, champions of the Western Conference. Both teams have never won the MLS Cup so a first time winner will emerge from BMO Field on Sunday night. The game should be a showcase event for the MLS, but I have to be honest, no one cares in Toronto and that's a shame.

So here I am with three extra tickets to the cup final. The seats are fantastic, supporters' section, lower level, should be an absolute blast, but try convincing that to a group of guys in Toronto. Don't get me wrong, we are a sports loving group. From road trips to Windsor and Detroit for NFL Sundays, to sitting through horrendously cold temperatures in Buffalo during a Sunday night NFL game against the Patriots, sports have always brought the group together. There have been Olympic hockey parties, Super Bowl parties, twenty-four hour marathons of March Madness and even World Cup viewing parties at Scallywags, the Danforth and Little Italy. Hell, there have been discussions on road trips to Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge and prison rodeos in Alabama. Plans are already afoot for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. We have even managed to catch a Boca Juniors match in Buenos Aires during a friend's wedding. This is a group of guys who love sports, but one mention of the MLS, or MLS Cup, and it is like trying to invite Jenna Jameson to an abstinence convention, no dice.

Granted there are exceptions to the rule, but in general the average male could care less about what is going in  Toronto this weekend at BMO Field. So here are a couple tricks that I have used in the past to convince the guys to come watch a match at BMO Field:

Alcohol Is Key . . . . And Beer Is King

The key to any cold-blooded Canadian's heart is beer and lots of beer. Granted the prices at BMO Field are extravagantly high, this is just a fact for any sporting event run by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. You might not get to enjoy world-class sports at MLSE, but you sure will pay world-class prices. Regardless, the key to gathering your group together is to ensure that there is a pre-event celebration before the actual match. Go to a buddies' house, hit a sports bar, something along those lines where the alcohol is flowing and the prices are cheap.

Since It's Sunday . . . Hit A Sports Bar

This is key . . . the MLS Cup doesn't start till 8:30 p.m., so you have some hours to play with. Usually you can't just sell the MLS Cup on its own, so offer a package deal. Something along the lines of, "Hey fellas, let's catch some of the NFL action at (insert sports bar here) and then hit the MLS Cup later than night!" This is fool-proof, you have managed to create a Sporting Sunday. A Sporting Sunday is a complete day of entertainment that provides an oasis for the Canadian male.

Promise Scenery

BMO Field is unique in that many of the fans, well the casual fans, are there to be seen. So you can fully expect that many of the females are wearing their tightest jeans, crystal-clear high heels and lowest cut shirt. This is just how it works in Toronto. The 905ers come down in droves to BMO Field and the girls are ready, willing and able. So if you are traveling with a group of guys that aren't interested in soccer per say, then sell them on the scenery of BMO Field. (It will be cold, so low-cut shirts are probably out.)

At the end of the day this is a championship match in a city where there are rarely any champions. Toronto might have passionate fans and great tradition and history but we do lack winning franchises and trophies, so embrace this as an opportunity for you and your friends to go watch a team win a trophy in Toronto, even though the team won't be from Toronto.

Have fun and enjoy the match!