TORONTO – Milestones provide a good opportunity to look both forward and back.

Drew Moor reached such a mark in Sunday's 4-0 win over NYCFC at BMO Field, making his 350th regular season MLS appearance.

“Tired,” quipped Moor afterwards when asked how he was feeling. “It was a tough game, tough conditions, but it was a fun way to celebrate it.”

The 350 puts Moor 12th on the all-time list, poised to move up with just five active players – Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman, Brian Carroll, Bobby Boswell, and Chad Marshall – ahead of him. He also quietly passed the 30,000-minute mark this season to sit in the top ten all-time, the same five ahead.

Speaking post-match, Greg Vanney said he always knew Moor had the potential to reach such a lofty plateau: “I played with him in his first year. I knew [then] he was a guy that was going to have a long career and was going to play a lot because the basis for how Drew plays the game is between his ears.” 

“He reads the game, communicates, organizes. He's a true professional on and off the field; he takes care of himself,” continued Vanney. “That's how you get to 350 games. You have to be good, you have stay healthy, be reliable. Drew is every bit of that and a leader. Drew is very deserving of it. And I think he can get to 450 if he keeps doing the things that he is doing.”

That next milestone is one Moor hopes to see, as for getting there: “I just take it one game at a time. I'm on such a good team, play in a good position that allows me to stay physically and mentally fit. It's a lot of fun right now.”

One of the aspects of Moor's character that helped him achieve this feat is, according to Vanney, that, “he hates missing days. If there's a game, he's going to be available.”

With 14 matches added to his tally this season, despite the cardiac arrhythmia scare that sidelined him for seven games, Moor shows no signs of slowing down, nor does he want to.

“I want to play another 13 seasons,” declared Moor ahead of the July 23 match against Colorado, one of his former clubs. “People keep telling me I won’t be able to, but soccer has given me so much, I want to give back to it as much as I can, help my team as much as possible. If that's on the field, great. If that's on the bench, great. If it's in the locker room, great. Any way we can get three points, I want to be a part of it.”

Moor would have to wait an extra week to reach the 350, before he did the veteran centre-back took some time to reflect on the progress he has seen the league make since his rookie season in 2005.

“Everything has changed, everything has progressed. It's great to see,” said Moor. “I'm proud to be a part of this league. From its humble beginnings back in '96 – I was at the first ever Dallas Burn game, back in the ol' dribble-up shootout days, they beat the San Jose Clash – the way they take care of players, where we stay on the road, the food we eat, the environments we play in.” 

“Sometimes you have to remind the young kids. I don't want to be the grumpy old man, who says 'I had it way worse than you,' but I did,” smiled Moor. “I was happy back then; you can only imagine how happy I am [now]. It's one of the reasons that gets me out of bed in the morning, that drives me forward, that makes me want to stay as long as possible.”

One accumulates many stories over the course of a thirteen-year career in professional football.

Quick to point out that humble beginnings are important, Moor recalled some of the peculiarities of MLS in the early days: training in a different location than the locker rooms, necessitating a drive to the field, all taped up and ready to go, sometimes for thirty-plus minutes, and the quality, or lack thereof, of accommodations.

“First ever preseason down in Bradenton, Florida, we pulled into our hotel and I heard one of the veterans at the back of the bus say, 'Welcome to MLS rookies',” recounted Moor.

A particular favourite was: “When FC Dallas opened their stadium – Pizza Hut Park, now Toyota Stadium – the locker rooms weren't ready yet. We had [them] in trailers, outside the stadium, right next to loading ramp that went all the way down to the field.” 

“They offered golf carts to drive us down. It wasn't that long of a walk,” continued Moor. “Guys from away teams would get in the cart, get down the ramp and jump out and [say] we don't need this cart, the field is right here.”

Moor has some advice for those wishing to follow in his footsteps: “Take good care of yourself. It's a 24 hours a day, seven days a week kind of job. If you play it like that; have a bit of luck. I've been versatile, able to play couple different positions, which has helped.”

Even an individual milestone such as this, requires some help along the way, from friends and family, but four former teammates have stood out.

“You learn as you go how to take care of yourself, how to be a good professional,” said Moor. “Watch the older guys who have been in the league for a while.”

“I've had a lot of good role models,” he continued. “Vanney is one. We played centre-back together for a couple seasons at FC Dallas. He was such a good professional, coming from Europe, involved with the national team. He took me under his wing and was a great example.” 

“Bobby Rhine, somebody no longer with us, [who] I was able to room with on the road and learned a lot from. He played ten seasons; just a wonderful guy. Oscar Pareja, his last season was my first. He, on the field, was such an engine, just ran until he couldn't anymore. And Pablo Mastroeni,” listed Moor. “The way he plays. He's no different now than he was as a player: leads by example, wears his heart on sleeve. There are many more, but those four were big influences.”

Moor celebrated the milestone in the most understated of ways, posing for a few photos on the pitch at BMO Field post-match with his wife Shelby and infant son Joey. The couple are expecting their second child in the coming months.

Now his home field, Moor recalled his 2007 visit: “I remember my first game at BMO Field. It was right before they [hosted] the U20 World Cup. TFC were going to be gone for two months and the place was absolutely bananas. It was such an amazing atmosphere; an afternoon game on the turf. They beat us 4-0 [Maurice Edu, Danny Dichio, Carl Robinson, and Jeff Cunningham scored the goals].” 

“I remember thinking this is an incredible place, this is awesome. You could tell the city loved their team and they were going to be a big advantage for TFC teams that played there,” said Moor. “That atmosphere has remained. The stadium looks a little different now, but my first game was an incredible look at what BMO Field and Toronto could be as a soccer city.”