If Robert Heggie ever has to hear the word “sand” again, it’ll be too soon.
BMO Field’s head groundskeeper indirectly became part of a subplot to Toronto FC’s MLS Cup final run last December, after striker Sebastian Giovinco left multiple home playoff games with leg cramps. It was an issue the star said hadn’t bothered him in years. Following the Reds’ loss to the Seattle Sounders in the championship game, decided on penalties while Giovinco watched from the sidelines, Giovinco suggested sandy field conditions played a role in his physical problems.
The sand was a component of a three-day field conversion — from a football field for Grey Cup Sunday to a soccer pitch for Toronto’s home leg of the Eastern Conference final the following Wednesday.