TOP 5 REASONS TO CHEER FOR TFC IN THE CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

So many fans in Vancouver, upset about the way the Nutrilite Canadian Championships finished up. At the same time, many in Vancouver, Montreal and the rest of the country will have a very difficult time cheering for TFC in the CONCACAF Champions League. I'm not saying you have to, but here are 5 reasons why it might be a good idea to actually support Toronto FC in Champions League play.

1) like all the Canadian teams, having Canadian players playing in hostile and strange environments is only going to a good thing for the Canadian National team. It would have been good if it was Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto. It will give Dwayne De Rosario a chance to lead the team for all of Canada. It will give a young Canadian, Nana Attakora the chance to shine on a bigger stage and put pressure on Adrian Serioux, giving him a chance to shine also. Providing all of them a chance to see the games played at different levels and different styles. Valuable down the road in a Canada match.

2) Toronto is the centre of media in Canada, and more coverage of soccer in this country is a good thing. If that can only be achieved by the team from Toronto going, then so be it. More coverage means that more people may get interested in the game and follow it on a national level. Springing up more teams around the country will better Canada's hold on the game.

3) The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in the early 90's. The benefits of those teams winning are showing up now. Jason Bay, Justin Morneau and Jeff Francis, to name just a few, all young and great baseball players that watched the Blues Jays win the World Series and then got them even more interested in playing baseball at a high level. Those benefits will be felt by all Canadians. Sure it was Toronto that won, but those three players are all from BC. The game can build beyond just Ontario.

4) Rivalry. With the way Toronto won this tournament, it's going to make Montreal want to beat Toronto next year, to show they aren't pushovers. Vancouver is going to want to prove again that they can beat Toronto as they will be heading into the MLS the following season. It will also provide the Whitecaps with desire to go out and destroy Montreal next time around. If Toronto does well, and Canada cheers them on, teams in Montreal and Vancouver will want to achieve similiar success.

5) Right now, Canada doesn't have a full spot into the CONCACAF Champions League, they compete with one another for the right to represent Canada, then have to play another club team for the right to play in the group stage. Montreal did a fabulous job going deep into the tournament. If TFC can do the same (I feel they have a better chance of winning than Vancouver would have had), it is only going to benefit Canada in receiving an automatic spot into the group stages. Down the road Canadians can think about a 2nd spot, right now, they need to focus on performing well enough to get an automatic spot.