Sunday marks the end.
Toronto FC’s match against D.C. United is the final match of the MLS regular season, yes. But it is also the final MLS game of Justin Morrow’s 12-year career.
There will of course be one more game after that, the final of the 2021 Canadian Championship, a duel with CF Montreal to see who will lift the Voyageurs Cup, but still it will be a special day at BMO Field.
When Morrow announced his retirement in the middle of September, he reflected on the start of his eight years with TFC.
“I had no idea, I had no idea,” laughed Morrow of the phone call that informed him he would be coming to Toronto. “Getting traded here a couple of days before my wedding in December of 2013. I remember being on the call thinking, ‘Oh my god, how am I going to tell my fiance that we're moving to Toronto?’”
“And then I thought about the way that Toronto FC had been run during that time and I was afraid for my career,” he continued. “It's been the biggest blessing of my life to get traded here. Not only to be in the city, but to be a part of this club and to go through everything that we've gone through together. It's a dream come true, really.”
Morrow arrived at a club that couldn’t get it right.
Since then, an MLS Cup, three MLS Cup final appearances, a Supporters’ Shield, three Eastern Conference Championships, and three Voyageurs Cups later... it is a different club than the one he joined ahead of the 2014 season.
He too has changed.
From a quiet, yet rampaging full-back with the Shield-winning San Jose Earthquakes Goonies, to the executive director of Black Players for Change and winner of the 2020 MLS Humanitarian of the Year Award for his voice off the pitch.
He came into his own in Toronto.
“The city has meant so much to me,” Morrow said in September. “We've grown together and it's a part of me now. I hope to be staying here a lot longer with my family. I don't know where this life is going to take me, so maybe at one point we'll move away, but I consider it home now just as much as I consider anything else home.”
“My values are connected with the values of this city,” he continued. “It gives me great joy to see all the different types of people that we have here and the way that we care for each other, but also the way that they love their sports, That's something that's been near and dear, and something that I've lived day in and day out for the past eight years. These fans have been through the thick and the thin. They've been with us through the bad times and the good times and that's something special, that's equity that you build up over a lot of years and something that I'm happy to be a part of.”
While this may be the final time he laces up the boots at BMO Field, he hopes it is not the end of his time with TFC.
“I came to this decision knowing that my light is starting to shine brighter off the field than it is on the field and with that comes a lot of joy,” anticipated Morrow. “I know that I want to make this world a better place.”
“I haven't decided which way is the best way to do that yet. Maybe it's politics, maybe it's nonprofits, maybe it's running a big company, but I know I want to start with helping this club win. I want to stay around, I want to stay in Toronto,” he explained. “This club is so meaningful to me. It's close to my heart.”
“I've had some positive conversations. It would be amazing if I was sitting in the stands when Toronto FC wins the next MLS Cup, knowing that I helped contribute from a different position than I did before,” Morrow added. “That's what this club deserves, to be on the top, and I want to help get us there.”
Even in a season that has not gone to plan, Morrow has been “excellent” for the team, according to Javier Perez.
“Not only because of the experience he has, but as well we have [had] many challenges in the back-line and every time that we ask him to step up he does it for the team,” detailed the coach. “I wish he didn’t announce his retirement because he still has some football in his legs, but it’s going to be a special day for him. He will be surrounded by his teammates and his family, which are the most important people in his life. It's a special day for him. It's a special day for us.”
After 277 MLS appearances, over 22,000 minutes, it is fitting that this chapter ends at BMO Field.
“That he can enjoy the day, enjoy the game,” wished Michael Bradley for his long-time teammate. “His last MLS game is at BMO, which is obviously a place that I know means a lot to him. So just those starting points have come together in a great way.”
“I know if you ask him, he's really excited and looking forward to the occasion, but also really looking forward to the fact that we have a cup final against Montreal. And when you talk about ways to finish your career, for someone who's played at Toronto FC as long as he has and for someone who's given as much to the club and the city as he has, to finish with a final against Montreal... that part's really special,” he continued. “In the meantime, we want to play well. We want to send him off with a win. We want to make sure that he gets honoured and he gets the respect and appreciation and the love that he deserves from everywhere.”
There may well be one final trophy in the cards to cap off an excellent career.
“I've been a part of a group that has won a lot of trophies here,” said Morrow. “I'm itching for the chance to play for another trophy in front of our fans here.”
“It would be a great way to have a bright spot in the season that we've had and, for me, personally, to go out lifting that trophy in front of our fans... it would mean a lot to both of us,” he added. “It's something that I'm looking forward to; it's something that the team is looking forward to as well.”
