Seattle Sounders FC

Buddy, It’ll Be Cold Out There

If the weather forecast holds true for MLS Cup 2016, it will easily set a new Sounders FC standard for chill factor.

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As of Monday evening this was Weather.com’s forecast for Saturday in Toronto.

Temperatures are likely to drop into the mid-20s for first kick at Toronto’s BMO Field after a daytime high of 29 degrees. With winds expected to reach 9 MPH, the windchill will make it feel closer to 10 degrees.

To date, the coldest kickoff for a Seattle match is 34, set for the second leg of the 2014 Western Conference Final at CenturyLink Field (those who attended the 2013 UW-New Mexico men’s quarterfinal on Montlake may recall it was 27 at kickoff).

A gloved Freddie Ljungberg scored in Seattle’s inaugural 2009 road match at BMO Field. That game and the preceding home match vs. RSL both featured sub-40 temperatures.

The road record low is 39 for that very first Rave road game, also at BMO Field, in 2009.

It may warm the cockles to know that each of the three Sounders matches played in sub-40 weather has resulted in a win.

The last time Toronto hosted an MLS Cup, in November 2010, it was a comparatively balmy 43. Saturday’s conditions will rival the league’s 2013 final, when the game time temperature was 22 in Kansas City for Sporting-Real Salt Lake.