Day three, and I'm heading north of the border to consider Canadian side Montreal Impact.

The Impact are heading into the 2009 USL season riding the wave of enthusiasm created by their improbable run into the CONCACAF Champions' League quarter-finals. Despite a breif flirtation with MLS, Montreal will remain in USL for the foreseeable.

Montreal has always fascinated me, and there are several reasons that the Impact might do well in the Project scoring system.

I'm wondering if I should just stop saying "jump"...

Geography

I'm fairly certain that Montreal is in Canada, which means that it's in a different country than my own. Still, I have an affinity for Canadians and wouldn't mind supporting a "foreign" club that plays in a predominantly American league. I'm also in the bag a bit for the French thing; I took three years of high school French, feel like I could pick it up again if I had reason to, and wouldn't be happy walking into a hotel in Montreal and saying "Une chambre pour le nuit, s'il vous plait" (I apologize if I butchered that; in an misguided attempt to be charming, I'm not going to check if it's right). Even if the guy behind the desk speaks perfect English. Remember that these scores are arbitrary, and there's no rhyme or reason for most of them.

Score: 8

History

The Impact have been around since 1992, though the city's soccer history goes back to the NASL days. In recent times, the team has certainly been one of the most successful in USL First Division. Big points all around here, I think, especially since I've just decided to include that last three months in the "history" I'm examining; that means that the CONCACAF Champions League run gets included, a giant pleat in the Impact's soccer cape.

Score: 8

Name/Colors

I'm struggling with this one. On the surface, there's nothing wrong with either the colors or the name "Impact", though it does smack of that 90's marketing trend that led to too many sports franchises being labeled with singular nicknames. I have to take points off for that, just because it would be against my stated principals if I didn't. At the same time, the logo is pretty cool, even if it is a little over-stylized. I am a fan of the fleur-de-lis being worked in, but don't like the trails on the flying ball. So conflicted...

Score: 6

Supporter Passion

As you would expect, this is a major scorer for the Impact. Not only did the club get 50,000 to show up for the home leg of their CCL series with Santos Laguna, the Montreal Ultras provide fantastic support for every Impact home match. Noise, motion, smoke; it all gives the Ultra's the right to call themselves one of the best supporters' groups in North American. If I did sign on to be an Impact fan, I'm sure I would have a blast watching a game among the Ultras.

Thanks to reader Steve, who pointed me in the direction of videos showing off the Ultras passion. Here's one of many:



Score: 8

Total Score: 30

Montreal Impact, early leaders in the clubhouse. That's a pretty big lead, and a score that reflects the affinity I have for the club. I'll admit to being swayed by their CCL run and the success they had filling Stade Olympique; I'm not so cyncical as to ignore something like that. Even when they're not playing in the big stadium with the big crowd, I get the feeling that Montreal is a great place to follow a soccer team.

A few links:
Montreal Impact Official Site
Montreal Ultras (French)
Montreal Impact Wikipedia Page