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Home  Articles 97/98 Season A moment to forget: Impact tries to forget loss that meant season over
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A moment to forget: Impact tries to forget loss that meant season over |
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Written by Randy Phillips
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Tuesday, 31 March 1998 |
The Impact closed the book on its inaugural season in the National Professional Soccer League by trying to forget the nightmare of March 27.
That was the date the team saw its hopes of reaching the playoffs crushed in a humiliating
18-7 loss to the Edmonton Drillers before 12,147 fans at the Molson Centre.
"It was terribly disappointing the way our season ended. There was frustration and disbelief afterward," said midfielder Nick DeSantis of Friday's game, which the Impact needed to win to clinch a berth in the playoffs.
"Today we can at least look at things and say that, even though we could have been in the playoffs after being on a roller-coaster ride all season, we did do some good things," said DeSantis.
After a 6-18 start under shaky leadership from then head coach Johan Aarnio, Paul Kitson was given the job in early February and the team responded with a 10-6 record the rest of the way, going from the worst team in the league to a legitimate playoff contender.
"Everybody knows we had a rough start, but we weren't the laughingstock of the league," said DeSantis. "I think we gained respect and opened a lot of eyes by the way we played, right up to the last couple of games."
A decision about whether the Impact will be back indoors next season won't come for some time.
Club president Joey Saputo asked for and received more time from league and Molson Centre officials to assess the financial impact of this season before deciding if the team will return.
"We need time to get our finances in order. We'll certainly know what direction we go by mid-June," Saputo said.
"What are the losses financially? We don't definitely know at this time.
"But I can tell you that it's not going to be pretty, but still (our financial losses) have never been a reason for us to stop supporting the team," said Saputo.
Friday's single-game attendance record pushed the team's average for 20 games to more than 4,600. But it was lower than the 5,500 the club hoped to average this season.
Saputo said he was "pleasantly surprised" by Friday's turnout, even though it was part of a special promotion planned at the beginning of the season.
"The actual paid attendance was a bit less than 12,000 because of sponsorship dollars, but what was very evident was that because of all the hype, because it was a do-or-die game, the pre-sale and walkup was a lot larger than any other game we had this year," Saputo said.
"It was great to see and made for great atmosphere, but one game can't affect a decision about whether the game has a future here."
"What I think does help, is what we took from the response to a poll conducted by RDS Friday which asked people if they would support the team if it did come back. There were 4,085 respondents and 2,500 answered yes.
"Certainly, getting that many respondents to the question is a good sign, and getting a favourable response also helps," said Saputo.
The Impact now gears up for the outdoor season in the A-League. Training camp starts April 14. The team's home opener at Claude Robillard Stadium is May 24.
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