"There is absolutely zero chance of natural grass being installed." Kevan Pipe, fired former head of the Canadian Soccer Association. 

                                               
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"It [FieldTurf] kills the culture of the game." - Julian De Guzman, midfielder, Canadian national team and Deportivo La Coruna.

"The best salesman in the world couldn't sell me on it [FieldTurf]. I hope in my career I never have to play on it." - Paul Stalteri, defender, Canadian national team and Tottenham Hotspur.

"If they get grass in there instead of an artificial surface, it would be easier to draw better players and teams from Europe to play exhibition games."  - Dwayne De Rosario, midfielder, Canadian national team and Houston Dynamo.

"Every game, every team, should have grass -- without a doubt. You can't ask any soccer athlete to perform at a high level on FieldTurf." - David Beckham, midfielder, English national team and LA Galaxy.

                                               
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Reality has set in for Toronto FC. With their playoff chances dropping as quickly as their players are to injuries, the focus has turned from their on-field play to the actual field they play on.

Here in Toronto, the synthetic playing surface of BMO Field has been subjected to an ongoing series of critical comments that started before the stadium was built, escalated by players and coaches who participated in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and hit new heights when it was a factor in keeping David Beckham from making his MLS playing debut on August 5.

The past week has seen articles appear in Toronto media where some of Toronto's many injured players, fearful of being openly critical, have taken gentle swipes at the playing surface.

A series of injuries that has stripped Toronto of it's best attacking players - Danny Dichio, Jeff Cunningham, Ronnie O'Brien and Marvell Wynne - has left the club starved for goals and losing sight of a playoff berth. Without a goal in 462 minutes of play, the club is in danger of setting a dubious record should they fail to score on Saturday against visiting Chivas.

Manager Mo Johnston raised eyebrows before season when he responded to criticism of the plastic pitch by saying: "Any player who doesn't want to play on FieldTurf is not someone who we would be interested in having on our team." Given the lack of depth and the glaring absence of a high-quality designated player, those words could come back to haunt him.

While no one can actually prove that the turf is responsible -  club and stadium officials have been almost strident in their defensive tone about the playing surface -  the players are beginning to hint around that playing on grass would be preferable.

Fans are also wondering if artificial turf is keeping the club from attracting a quality designated player. At first glance, you'd think not, since New York has been able to sign Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna despite playing on plastic. But the club will begin play next year in a new stadium that will have a grass pitch. There have been suggestions that certain European clubs will not loan out players to Toronto for fear the plastic pitch will take its toll physically. The summer visits of Aston Villa and Benfica have done nothing to allay that.

It's not like the club can act alone about changing the playing surface. The stadium is owned by the city of Toronto, its construction jointly funded by the provincial and federal governments, which gives the Canadian Soccer Association a say in its operation, but if Canadian national team players have anything to say about it, they want to see the pitch changed.

With funding supplied from three levels of government, one of the stadium's mandates was to allow community access. For $75 per hour, any bunch of weekend warriors can rent the place and act out their dreams. This wouldn't be possible on grass.

Nor would the installation of an inflatable dome in winter. The club plans to operate indoor winter soccer clinics on their home turf, giving some of their younger players a little off-season employment while helping to strengthen emotional ties with youngsters from Toronto's massive recreational soccer community.

On paper, this business plan involving the year-round use of the turf surface must have looked like a bureaucrat's dream. Too bad the core business of this great new stadium, the games that matter most, those of Toronto FC, aren't played on paper.

 The choice of turf over grass made some sense this year, given the amount of play it received from both MLS and FIFA's under-20 World Cup. But after watching this season's games so far, there is a certain sterility to the play.

The ball rolls well on it and generally rewards quick technical play. But neither TFC or Canada's national teams have ever played that style. Being hockey fans, we kind of enjoy a bit of biff and wallop. This current TFC squad would be much better rewarded playing all its games on a less pristine surface, something that maybe sees the odd rugby game.

You can see players shy away from making certain plays - slide tackles, cut backs in certain situations - because the turf simply has too much bite. When something has to give, instead of grass getting torn, it's a part of someone's body.

One solution that has been debated on fan forums is to install grass at BMO Field and have the FieldTurf surface transferred to nearby Lamport Stadium, where all the practicing and community access mandates can still take place. It's an older 10,000-capacity facility long past it's prime. Given that it sits in a lower-income area crying out for additional recreational facilities, it would be hard to imagine the city opposed to the move.

It's also hard to imagine the provincial or federal governments objecting if it proves to be a move that also benefits the national team and creates a new playing surface for local or regional youth competitions.

By selling out it's 20,000 seats for every game, fans in Toronto have made it clear that this will be one of MLS' best-supported teams. The two-years-and-growing waiting list for season's tickets has already prompted talk of expanding the stadium capacity.

That would have been hard to conceive of a year or two ago in this very discerning soccer market. There's an appetite for the game here that still has a long way to go before it's satisfied. Many fans want to see TFC take on the glamour clubs of Europe when they visit North America.

A grass pitch would remove the biggest obstacle to seeing those sort of lucrative, image-enhancing games take place. The sort of match-ups that would seal the deal on seat sales in an expanded stadium and possibly make the team look more interesting to a marquee player, which would only add to their already-massive merchandise sales.

Put down real grass and players and management alike will be rolling in the green stuff.

There wasn't much doubt that we were in for a challenging evening when we climbed toward our upper deck seats and found one side of the stairwell draped in red and white, the other side ablaze in orange.

Dwayne De Rosario's family, friends, and social associates were in the house.

On a night when rain fell like a bad Bible story, and roads around Toronto's BMO Field clogged like bad arteries, the reward for the Toronto FC fans who arrived early was the sight and sound of Club De Rosario.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

De Rosario was back in his Toronto home and supported by several hundred of his most ardent supporters. Though some speculate the number climbed above 1,000, the truth is, he had a stadium full of admirers. It's no secret that T.O. wants De Ro.

Canadian soccer fans want this country's player of the year to come home and play where he'll be utterly adored. He's aware of that. But he's also been the complete professional and refused to demand that it happen at once.

Playing on a championship team is not something every player gets to enjoy. So many professionals spend entire careers chasing titles that never arrive. When a player finds himself in a winning situation, it's hard to give in to more basic instincts and head for home at all costs. De Rosario has one title under his belt and, perhaps more importantly, the respect of North American soccer fans for sticking with his team. It would be easy for him to leave if he wanted to.

Club De Rosario was there to remind him he's loved no matter what shirt he wears. Toronto FC fans were there to remind him he'll be loved more than ever if he makes both parties happy and moves home. The chants went up from both camps, increasing in volume and intensity as the wind and rain did likewise. Through it all, the mood stayed positive. There was laughter and good cheer everywhere.

It didn't hurt that Toronto fans were singing in the rain after a first half lead supplied by Andy Welsh's unstoppable header, the finishing touch to an inviting free kick from Ronnie O'Brien. 

Despite wearing a knee brace to offset the effects of a ligament injury, O'Brien's skill with either foot has proved to be a creative spark for a Toronto team now rebounding nicely after four straight losses to start the season.

That both players would combine to score the only goal in a 1-0 victory was appropriate. It's no coincidence that the return of O'Brien's cultured touch on the right wing has given Toronto an equally potent option to Welsh's crafty play down the left. The result is an invitingly open middle, drawing creative play from midfielder Maurice Edu, or even surging runs from the back by standout defender Marvell Wynne.

Toronto manager Mo Johnston stayed calm in the midst of an opening run of four goalless losses, preaching patience. His vision of what this team could become has slowly but surely materialized and it's beginning to look like the heightened expectations formed by a good pre-season performance were not entirely out of place.

If Toronto fans had doubts about his ability to build a team, and do it making quick, instinctive decisions about personnel, they've been well put to rest. When disgruntled midfielder Richard Mulrooney forced a trade, it was to Houston for defender Kevin Goldthwaite, the scorer of Toronto's first-ever winning goal against Chicago.

When Goldthwaite spilled Mulrooney with a harsh challenge early on, it brought a strong response from the crowd.

Whether De Rosario or his legion of supporters noticed such subtleties is unknown. But he has to be aware that this is already one of MLS' strongest franchises. The man at the helm is showing he knows what he's doing. The fans in the stands are proof of approval.

If De Rosario loved winning an MLS title in Houston, he has to know now that the only way to top that will be winning one with his hometown team. Here's betting that it will be sooner than later.

He's bald! He's bold! He's gonna score a goal! Daa-neee Dee-cheeo!

Danny Dicho. Instant Toronto FC legend.

The pre-game chants to pump up the 6''3" striker were largely unnecessary on Saturday. He packs his boots with motivation and plays like every game might be his last.

And after slotting home Edson Buddle's smart cross to score the first goal in Toronto FC's 3-1 victory Saturday over a Chicago Fire squad apparently traumatized by playing on plastic turf, it will be his last for a short while.

He matched the milestone of scoring the franchise's first-ever goal in MLS league play, with the millstone of earning the it's first-ever red card. He did both doing what he does best, ####ing his big body around the opposition's box.

A bump late in the first half with Chicago goalie Matt Pickens in the six-yard box set off a handbag-swinging melee that took a group of combatants into the back of the Fire goal. Diego Gutierrez was tabbed as Chicago's nastiest bag-swinger and also given a red card.

The fact Dichio left to a standing ovation says everything about how Toronto fans feel about him. In two games, the busy, bruising ballwinner has been yellow- and red-carded for heavy manners on opposing goalies. Crashing the crease is what hockey-loving Canadians would call it. Rattling a cage is what crash-causing NASCAR drivers might term it. Becoming an instant fan favorite is the net result.

Paired so far with shifty Alecko Eskandarian or the sly Buddle, Dichio's towering frame provides a highly-visible target for up-field passes. He has the strength to hold up the ball and lay off passes to on-rushing teammates or the skill to turn past a defender and go marauding for a goal.

Best of all, he displays body language that says, after leaving England's Preston North End, he's enjoying himself in Toronto's uproarious new stadium on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

The soccer-cynical element of Toronto's sports media had enjoyed themselves through the first four games the team played, playing their winless and goalless status for a few cheap laughts. But what no one touched on was the fact that four of what will be Toronto's most influential players either hadn't played or were just getting into the lineup.

Right midfielder Ronnie O'Brien, right back Marvell Wynne, top draft pick and midfielder Maurice Edu and Dichio had all faced delayed debuts with the team. Saturday's game displayed the result of having the group together to practice for two weeks since their last game, a 1-0 home-opener loss to Kansas City in April.

Wynne plays with such effortless efficiency, it's easy to overlook a player who doesn't look like he's working hard because he's read a play properly or prepared for a game properly and is well placed to shut down an opponent's play and start a counter attack.

Adding O'Brien's smart positioning and skill as a playmaker to the right midfield gives Wynne an obvious outlet coming out of defence. These two looked very comfortable in their first full game together. If it forces defences to pay closer attention to them, left winger Andy Welsh will appreciate less of the extra attention he'd been receiving earlier when he represented Toronto's best attacking option earlier in the season.

Toronto fans also enjoyed a sneak preview of what the future holds when talented local boy Andrea Lombardo, operating as a lone striker, worked the ball deep down the right and curled an inch-perfect cross to an unmarked Maurice Edu.

Edu, the first round draft choice from University of Maryland, was rewarded for an intuitive support run with a pass that left him the time and space to emphatically plant Toronto's third goal. Pressed into a more attacking role after Dichio's sending off, Edu was allowed to advance from his normally defensive midfield role and looked quite sharp in attack.

Lombardo is a member of the Canadian U-20 national team that will host FIFA's World U-20 World Cup starting in June. Tall and strong, like Dichio, he used his size and good positioning to offer a threatening outlet for his defenders in his brief second-half run. He showed no fatigue from having played 90 minutes against Argentina the night before.

As Toronto's fans were chucking promotional seat cushions onto the field in celebration, the players were throwing a number of #### of their back. Including Kevin Goldthwaite's fine winning goal also set up by Buddle, the team not only earned their first goals and their first win, but did it with some style.