Sometimes an underdog team’s story is so compelling that, in a very ironic way, their victory comes to be seen as assured. When the spell is strong enough, even the athletes themselves can start to buy into it.
Such was the case with Columbus Crew SC last year in the MLS Cup playoffs until the very waning moments of the team’s 1-0 loss to Toronto FC in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Final.
“You take a team like Toronto to the last minutes,” defender Josh Williams said of that defeat late last November, “It’s almost a sense of disbelief, I feel like.