I’m on vacation. Feet in the sand. Drinks in hand. Cares on the mainland.

Everyone should take a vacation.

I’m on vacation from work, from daily life, even from the Union. That one has been a little longer. For the last month plus, I’ve been enjoying the Greatest Show On Earth. Sneaking it in at work, watching it on my phone waiting for my bike to be fixed, and generally consuming all things World Cup.

It’s been a nice break. The drama concerning new coaches, the transfer market, and player positions was replaced by the drama on the field. It served as an excellent reminder of what sports can really bring to the table when you’re not so tied up in the day-to-day machinations of a front office or checking the alerts on what new player is being mentioned in the same breath as your home team.

It’s helped to remind me why I root for the Union. Sure, all of the swirling rumors bring their own excitement. But it’s like rooting for what may be rather than what currently is. Granted, there haven’t been a plethora of shining moments to pull for this season, but it seems more worthwhile to focus on the field.

Besides some good things are happening. We seem to be racking up goals from the box scores I’ve seen. Certainly seems like the defense needs a little work, but there seems to be some personnel issues back there (PLEASE COME BACK CARLOS!). There is still the very real possibility that the Union could make the playoffs and that’s exciting. I’ll of course follow the rumor mill like I always have, but I’m going to make a commitment to spending more time focusing on the team we have and not the team of my dreams. Who knows, maybe these guys can become that.

So, thank you World Cup. You reminded me what I should really be looking at and what matters in soccer is not the team that gets headlines, it’s the team that gets results.