Editor’s note: To read all posts in the Raves series, click here.

Once upon a time, The Philly Soccer Page ran an annual series called Raves, and it was good.

It was our answer to a frequent trend in sports, particularly in Philly. We hear people rant and and complain about players and their team all the time.

We wanted to see something other than rants.

Hence, the Raves series.

In each post of this series, we pick someone with a tie to Philadelphia and soccer. Then we tell the world why that person is awesome.

No rants. Just raves.

(No, there are no stupid light sticks or dance clubs involved. Yes, we beat you to the joke.)

Our first Rave ran on Sep. 29, 2010, when PSP original Adam Cann wrote the definitive Rave: about Sebastien Le Toux, otherwise known as Our Favorite Philadelphia Union Player of All Time (and the guy who should still be on the roster as a valuable role player!).

We ran the series for four years, until the lingering bad taste of Peter Nowak’s destruction of the Philadelphia Union Happy Place just got too much for our writers to overcome and we took a break.

We didn’t expect that break to last five years, but hey, that’s the way it goes. Raves have to be true, or they fall flat. Peter Nowak was just that awful.

Well, we’re ready to go again.

Right now, the Union are playing the most entertaining soccer that they’ve ever played. Professional soccer is fun to watch again in the Philadelphia area.

With that most visible level of the local soccer scene clicking like that, we can write this series a little more authentically, without having to avoid the ugly elephant in the (court)room.

Over the next two to three weeks, we’ll be running one Rave per day.

You may see some creative approaches. For example, Johnny O’s forthcoming Borek Dockal Rave may have broken the mold. There may have been a time machine and Czech punk rock in the first draft. (I may have left him just enough time to sneak it back into his final draft because I’m regretting my editorial guidance to take it out.) One never knows.

Basically, we’re going to try to hit you with some awesome for a couple of weeks.

True, there is some slightly bad timing in launching this right after a big Union loss and heading into the team’s roughest part of the season, but we’ll deal. They have been winning games and playing entertaining soccer. It’s the sort of thing we haven’t seen in a while. It deserves notice. It’s nice to enjoy watching the home team again.

Get involved: Write your own Rave to join the series

If you are interested in offering up a guest piece to join the series, let us know! We may have space for you. Here’s what to do.

1. Contact us: Email me at dwalsh@phillysoccerpage.com with your top 1-3 choices of who you want to rave about.
2. Assignment: If your choice isn’t already taken and you genuinely want to write it — convince me you’ll follow through! — you get the assignment. Posts should run 450-900 words in length. (Yes, 451 words is fine. Long does not equal good.)
3. Deadline: Email me your post by Sat., Sep. 29. (Any later than that, and it may not run, because once the series ends, we’re done for the year.)
4. Guidelines: The rules are simple: Soccer and a tie to Philadelphia. That’s it. Creative approaches are welcome! (No Borek Dockal and a time machine though. That’s already taken!)
5. Who deserves a Rave: These do not have to be professional soccer figures, though they can be. If you have a Rave about a fan, high school or youth coach, soccer pub bartender, local soccer scene organizer, or whoever, have at it! These are the ones we’d love to see.