Article content continued

“But if you’d asked me when I was 18 years old … I wouldn’t have expected to make a living off soccer.”

While Wiedeman’s MLS career ended in 2014, he speaks just as fondly about toiling in lower leagues.

“I spent a good part of my time in MLS not being concerned with Saturdays,” he said. “I wasn’t involved in them.

“That’s not enjoyable once you see the other side of it, when you contribute to success on the field.”

The other side of it included a stop in Ottawa, where the Fury made an unlikely run to the Soccer Bowl.

Wiedeman hailed his move to TD Place as a “great playing experience” amid praising coach Marc Dos Santos.

“The fact we were able to go to the final was nothing short of remarkable,” Wiedeman said.

Then came a two-year move to FC Cincinnati, a USL side that’s currently pushing to join MLS.

“Cincinnati speaks for itself,” Wiedeman said, referring to the club’s “Bailey” supporters as being like nothing he’d experienced.

“Nobody knew what to expect. Two years later they’re in the hunt for an (MLS) expansion franchise.”

Some of his teammates are looking to make that jump. Wiedeman, though, is looking ahead to something else.

“I never would have wanted to go back to an MLS team,” he explained. “There’s just something to be said for being a part of the success for the club you play for. If I’d gone back to MLS … my success would have come on Friday, when they put out the roster.”

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t continued to follow MLS. Although Wiedeman’s TFC memories include Terry Dunfield constantly “kicking water bottles” and Milos Kocic “yelling nonstop” and the media’s constant criticism, he praised TFC fans for being supportive during the lean years.