This is the latest installment of We Are TFC. Every week, we’ll sit down with one of the Reds and help you get to know them a little bit better, on and off the field. This week, Devang Desai chats with forward Jordan Hamilton. The TFC Academy graduate scored his first MLS goal last weekend against Orlando. We hope you’ll enjoy this series and let us know which TFC players you’d like to see profiled in the future.
Taking a look at your phone – what picture means the most to you and why?
HAMILTON: It was 2-2 and we were playing Jamaica to qualify for the U-17 World Cup. I came on and with my first touch I assisted a goal for the third of the match and then I scored the fourth goal. My brother was in the crowd. We had just lost some family members. It was just a crazy moment for me.
How would people close to you describe you in one word?
HAMILTON: Humble.
Why?
HAMILTON: Just because I'm a kid from Scarborough and I haven’t changed much.
What’s your favourite pastime?
HAMILTON: Watching television shows. Game of Thrones, Arrow, I’m waiting for Power and How To Get Away With Murder. I also like to play basketball.
What do you think of the latest Game Of Thrones season so far?
HAMILTON: I still have to watch the last episode but it started off pretty boring and got intense in the last couple of weeks.
Who is your favourite basketball player?
HAMILTON: Russell Westbrook because he plays with so much fire.
Favourite soccer player and why?
HAMILTON: I have a couple. Gonzalo Higuain and Harry Kane right now.
Who’s the funniest player on the team?
HAMILTON: [Long pause] I don’t know… no one’s really funny. Who did most people say?
Danny Lovitz has been popular
HAMILTON: Yeah, I guess.. Danny Lovitz. Yeah. I don’t know, there’s no like out and out joker.
Who’s lowkey the funniest?
HAMILTON: Probably Danny. Or Josh Williams.
Any quirks or superstitions before a match?
HAMILTON: Up until last year I was really superstitious and then this year I just let my game do the talking. I’ll eat the same breakfast but that’s about it.
What’s the breakfast?
HAMILTON: I’ll make oatmeal at home and then I’ll walk downstairs to get an avocado, chicken and egg sandwich at Aroma Espresso Bar.
Strangest things you’ve seen your teammates do before a game?
HAMILTON: I don’t know how a couple of guys drink a couple of red bulls before the game
Favourite movie?
HAMILTON: Law Abiding Citizen
Favourite music artist?
HAMILTON: Anyone who knows me or seen me on Instagram knows my captions are Drake lyrics so (laughs) That’s an easy one.
How do you kill time during the off-season?
HAMILTON: Honestly, I have never been on vacation before. It’s usually with like National team youth camps and stuff but we’ll see this year.
Do you have a place in mind that you’d like to go?
HAMILTON: Probably Jamaica because my background is Jamaican, to see all my family.
If you weren’t a soccer player, what would you be doing?
HAMILTON: A lot of people always laugh at me for this but I really want to be a lawyer.
Eriq Zavaleta said the same thing
HAMILTON: Yeah. My mom always told me I’m really good at arguing.
Soccer related: You burst on the scene and play against some of the biggest European clubs. Then you battle through adversity after that and here you are now, scoring your first MLS goal against Orlando. How much of that time with TFC 2 and having to fight/prove your way back into consideration help you mature as a player?
HAMILTON: That was some of the most difficult times in my career so far, playing down at TFC 2. Just the mental aspect of things and not scoring all the time. It was hard mentally but it helped me find myself as a player.
Favourite moment with TFC so far?
HAMILTON: I would go all the way to when I first got called into preseason when I was 15 with Aron Winter. So it’s been a long time coming for me. Almost 5 years now.
Who are your heroes?
HAMILTON: My brother.
Tell me a little bit about your brother.
HAMILTON: He's six years older than me. He went on full scholarship to the states to Oral Roberts in Oklahoma and now he’s an accountant doing his CPA and he works for the NFL.
Is he the reason why you wanted to play soccer?
HAMILTON: It was between basketball, soccer and track and field and I ended up following what my older brother did so I chose soccer. I was also further along in soccer with the national teams and all that because in other sports it starts later.
When I say “Toronto”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Home.
That’s a good answer. Who is your best friend?
HAMILTON: I actually only have two best friends, one is Brandon John, he plays for Seattle Sounders 2 now and the other one is Tamar Robinson, he goes to school for basketball in University of New Brunswick. Tamar I grew up playing basketball with since we were eight. Brandon I met when I was 11 at Malvern Soccer Club and left to go play with Ajax. At my first practice we were wearing the same shoes and ever since then we were close.
What is your ultimate goal in life?
To be happy. Happiness is the key to everything so money and everything else will come if you’re happy.
Let us know who you would like to see featured in the next We Are TFC!
