Soccer Bowl '84
Soccer Bowl '84, also known as Soccer Bowl Series '84, was the North American Soccer League's postseason championship final of the 1984 season. The event was contested in a best-of-three series between the Chicago Sting and the Toronto Blizzard. The first game of the series was held on Monday, October 1, 1984 at Comiskey Park, in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting won it by the score of 2–1. The second game was played at Varsity Stadium, in Toronto, Ontario on October 3, 1984. Chicago was again the victor, this time by a score of 3–2. In winning the first two games of the series, the Sting were crowned the 1984 NASL champions. This would be their second league title.[1][2]
Background
The Chicago Sting and the Toronto Blizzard respectively won their semifinal series games. This earned both teams the right to compete for the league title.
Match summary
Championship results
Game One
Game Two
1984 NASL Champions: Chicago Sting
Post-match controversy
Earlier in the year Sting ownership had requested a one-year leave of absence from the NASL, and were denied. With only a few games remaining in the season, Sting chairman Lee Stern announced that 1984 would be the Chicago Sting's last in the NASL. They, along with three other teams had been granted full admittance to the MISL.[10] The Blizzard, who were run by former Sting president Clive Toye, were one of the franchises fighting to keep the NASL going.
In the immediate aftermath of Chicago's title clinching victory, Toye's actions and subsequent words were unsporting in nature. He refused to honor the long-standing tradition of entering the winning side's locker room to congratulate the victors. He then followed that up by taking verbal jabs at both Willy Roy and Karl-Heinz Granitza to reporters, by referring to them as "cheats" and the Sting as "unworthy champions"[11] among other things. While in the midst of Chicago's post match celebration, not surprisingly, Granitza responded likewise. In the end the lack of sportsmanship by both mattered little, as Chicago left with the league's final trophy. The next spring, with Toye as the NASL's interim president, the league would cease operations.[12][13][14][15]
See also
References
External links
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