“We’ll see what it evolves into,” Abrams continued. “It’s also a process of learning about teams and the great players of the past. This phase of it is sort of a tribute to these players. They are important cultural figures for our time. There’s a beauty in their movements and in the colours that they wear and what it represents to us as we’re watching.”

And, the Impact scored early and often as it overwhelmed the reigning NASL champion Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-1 at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, while Toronto FC overcame a terrible start in a torrential first-hald downpour to overcome USL-Pro’s Orlando City 2-0.

The games from the Walt Disney World Classic are archived on YouTube, so that offers the chance to not have to spend a prime Saturday afternoon watching any Toronto FC and Montreal’s preseason matches.

The Montreal Impact concluded its Italian tour of friendlies with a 1-0 win Thursday over Fiorentina.

For fans of the Montreal Impact, Thursday’s exhibition loss to Bologna was part of the team’s post-MLS season cool down. For fans of FC Edmonton, it was a chance to see if midfielder Bryan Arguez will fit into the MLS team’s plans for 201

“I think that the energy, effort and commitment that everyone showed from the top to the bottom was at a very high level and something to be very proud of but, in the end it’s a results-oriented business and for me, especially considering the way the season ended, it wasn’t good enough,” declared the first-year gaffer.

“We do not want to be close to the playoffs, we want to be in the playoffs. We want to reach our season-ticket subscription objective. We do not want to experience a dip in attendance like we had in our first game at Saputo Stadium. We do not want to leave points on the pitch by allowing so many late-game goals.”

The New England Revolution came to town looking to salvage a bit of pride and avoid being swept by a first-year team in their season series, but the Impact had something more tangible to play for: The top spot among Canadian pro teams and along with it the right to face FC Edmonton in the opening round of next year’s Amway Canadian Championship.

It was the indifference that might be the most worrying thing for the Reds as they finish their sixth straight year out of the playoffs — out of the announced 16,151 in attendance at BMO Field, the majority of the noise seemed to be coming from the 150-odd Impact fans in the visitors' section.

The Impact pressed the host Fire early, and took a 1-0 lead thanks to some guile from striker Marco Di Vaio, but the Impact’s experience in the defence was outweighed by its lack of movement, as it surrendered three unanswered goals.