There has been something different in the air around Toronto FC over the past few weeks.
For most of the season, the constant reminder was 'one week at a time'. Michael Bradley was fond of saying it, almost militant in fact. Greg Vanney too sought to approach the season without gazing at what possibly lay on the horizon, focused instead on the task at hand.
It has been clear for most of the year that this was not the old TFC.
The off-season was a masterstroke, addressing every shortcoming imagined. The only glaring holes heading into the season – some speed in wide areas and a bit of on the ball trickery – were filled mid-summer, with the acquisitions of Tosaint Ricketts and Armando Cooper.