Previously reviewed – Atlanta Reign.

Before the official expansion reveal, Canadian OWL fans were hopeful to see a team, somewhere down the road to represent the true north. Unless we are talking Hockey, Canadians are lucky to get a team to cheer for in the major sports leagues, let alone two. So once there is a Canadian team, two things are certain; It will be based in Toronto and out of solidarity, the rest of Canada will cheer for them too.

To our delight though, not only did we get a team – we got two! And when that happens, that solidarity turns into a wonderfully bitter rivalry. Sorry, but as a Vancouver representative, I am looking forward to kicking your ass, Toronto. With that out of the way, on with the review.

Toronto Defiant

Despite the early super edgy Venom leak, we were pleased to see the slightly less edgy true face of the Defiant.

Good – Nothing exudes brand awareness like confidence and being in tune with the community. So when fake Toronto OWL representatives were running rampant on social media, the Defiant have embraced the meme and rolled with it during their official reveal where staff (official this time) were wearing these:

Bad – Not as edgy as the Venom, but still pretty darn close. Toronto sports fans are often regarded as salty and are criticized for constantly feeling underrated and underappreciated by the neighbours to the south, so when you start your reveal with the defensive: “they call us America light” approach, it kind of makes me see where they are coming from.

Mediocre – The red and black colourway and logo, while not bad – are simply generic. To reiterate, you could have put any other city name next to Defiant and nothing would have really changed. Not every Canadian team needs to be a maple flavoured hockey puck wearing a toque, but a slight local touch could’ve added some value.

Next in line, is the Paris Eternal.

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