Union
MLSSoccer.com has a piece on five rivalries to look forward to in 2011. Of the I-95 Corridor derby you’ll be happy to learn that “so many Union fans are ex-Screaming Eagles,” that “the Sons of Ben maintain United’s animosity toward everything NY-related” and that “the Union [have] already made major offseason acquisitions.” Point of fact: I have never met one of these many former United fans; to say the Sons of Ben “maintain” United’s animosity toward everything NY-related is like saying atom bombs “maintain” gunpowder’s relationship with explosives; “major” offseason acquisitions?
The Union debut comes in at number nine on the Goal.com Top Ten Moments for Major League Soccer in 2010 list.
MLS
MLS Talk throws some love at local product Jeff Larentowicz of the Colorado Rapids.
Someone actually thinks the NFL, MLB and NBA could learn something from the playoff system used by MLS. “Say what you want about soccer. It does have its problems, but why is it that one of the least popular sports in the USA have the only valid playoff format?..The MLS has what we all crave, the 8 BEST teams making the playoffs.”
Good ol’ ‘Arry Redknapp elaborates on ‘is interest in David Beckham. “‘E’s a real goer, that one is, innit ‘e? Get ‘im ‘ere at Spurs with the rest of the lads on a short term loan and, cor blimey, Bob’s yer uncle!”
Here’s another silly season rumor for you: “Benni McCarthy is plotting a move to America in 2011.”
Elsewhere
The exodus of youth players from Argentina means that Argentinian clubs are missing out on millions of dollars in potential revenue.
Sepp Blatter says he will set up an anti-corruption committee at FIFA: “I will take care of it personally, to make sure that there is no corruption at FIFA.”
Just to be clear, Ronaldinho is not headed to Blackburn Rovers.
Xavi’s appearance in Barcelona’s 2–1 win over Levante was his 549th for the club, which equals a club record.
Kaka is set to return to action today with Real Madrid, who face Getafe today. You can watch the match from 4pm on GolTV.
When you see Diego Maradona’s grandson Benjamin “Tentu” Aguero Maradona lift the World Cup trophy in 2026, you can tell all of your friends you knew he had a foot on him when he was 2 years old.
Given that 2 of the 3 SoB founders are ex-Screaming Eagles, and some/many of the initial (i.e. Charter) members were as well, might lead to over-exaggeration on Major League Soccer Soccer.com’s story. I’m proud to say, I was the odd man out of those 3 … although I had a glancing curiosity of the league since its inception, I couldn’t support a team that was NIMBY. And who cares about United’s animosity? Philly phaithful should despise anything and everything related to sports in the Big Apple (or North Jersey for that matter).
I’m embarrassed to say I really had no idea before reading the article of the connection between the Screaming Eagles and the SoBs. That said, the connection shouldn’t be particularly surprising. I wrote before the start of the Union’s first season that there are probably plenty of Philadelphia-area MLS fans who may have already formed allegiances to other MLS teams. Of course, I wrote that as a comment to a post PSP Mike (who grew up in Northern Jersey) wrote in which he said he couldn’t yet call himself a Union supporter and then had the temerity to say that the SoBs weren’t his style, which resulted in a flood of very nasty comments, but that’s another story.
I did find the suggestion that Union fans might need any direction from DC when it comes to animosity toward NY teams pretty funny, though. Looking forward, I’m curious to see what will happen should the New York Brand Identity, also known as the Cosmos, enter the league. Just imagine – we’ll have two NY teams to despise!
It’ll be like the 2 MLB teams in New York, Ed. Phillies’ fans already hate the Mets with a passion, and EVERYONE hates the Evil Empire. More to go around.
Yeah, as a DC fan, I can say that notion is a little silly. In fact, I would describe the relationship between DC fans and Philly fans before the Union existed as friendly (though it was clear the Philly guys were waiting for their own team), partially because it made it easier to hate on NY. That was pretty much a given right from the jump.
That MLS article is pretty poor. The fact that New York exists is enough for Philly sports fans to hate teams from there. I can’t speak to the origins of the SoB, but I know one of the founders is from Delaware and there is some Washington/Baltimore overlap in the First State. I say we sign Tentu, he can pick a corner!