Photo: Paul Rudderow

Do you know what it feels like to ride a unicorn across a rainbow eating a perfect cheeseburger just after being given a pot of gold?

Neither do I.

But I know one thing that comes pretty close. No, it’s not the vision of Gabe Farfan’s locks flowing in the wind, nor that of Peter Nowak exiting PPL Park for the last time.

It’s those four simple letters we chant when one of our Union men has found the back of the net.

D-O-O-P.

It’s a “word” that transports us to a different place- where the aforementioned unicorn is ready for mounting and to gallop toward a drive-thru.

Part of what makes DOOP so great is that it’s attached to no other meaning. You won’t find DOOP in a dictionary (except for that urban one) and frankly I’d never heard it until it was adopted by the U. Lots of words have lots of meanings. Doop means one thing and one thing only—the Philadelphia Union have found the back of the net.

Sorry Flyers fans, Doop is ours.

And then think about how upsetting it must be to be an opponent when PPL echoes with doop. The Union scores, the fans start chanting—DOOP DOOP DOOP DO DO DOOP DOOP DOOP—it has got to be debilitating. So I like that too—it’s really nice to have a chant that simultaneously picks up your team, puts down the opponent, and unites the fans.

Doop is (pun alert) Fan-tastic. It’s one of the purest fan experiences I’ve ever witnessed. It spontaneously combusts the entire fan base into uproarious dancing and singing like we’ve all become teenage girls at a Bieber concert. And let’s be honest, that’s who we all want to be anyway.

But I rarely see a Union player sing along with us. And that’s fine! Doop is for the fan, by the fan.

The fact that Hackworth’s control has brought back that doopin’ feelin’ shouldn’t obscure the fact that at one point we had scored approximately the same amount of goals as the number of you who’d admit to enjoying one of Mr. Bieber’s jams. It seems like forever ago now, but earlier this season I think I’d forgotten just how great that feeling was.

Now I cherish every single doop.

So as we journey further and further into this topsy-turvy season, don’t forget the droughts.

But for now, mount up and enjoy the ride!