Photo: Stephen Speer

Last year ended with grief.

Between the World Series, the Super Bowl, and of course MLS Cup, Philadelphia sports fans are battered right now. Egos bruised, knees skinned, knuckles bloodied – and all without a trophy to show for it.

Second place is the first loser, right? Wrong.

“You either win or you learn,” said Super Bowl-learning quarterback Jalen Hurts. “I always reflect on the things I could have done better to try and take that next step,” he continued, “that’ll be the same process I always have going on.”

“I know the direction is to rise.”

The climb

The Union have done a lot of learning over the last half decade. They’ve done a lot of rising too.

Revisiting the timeline is a textbook lesson in that mentality, because the Union are in the midst of a breathtakingly direct learning process – a process that isn’t finished.

• 2018: A playoff qualification, but an early exit
• 2019: A quarterfinal, but a clear gap between where they wanted to be and where they were
• 2020: A Supporter’s Shield in the toughest of circumstances
• 2021: A CCL Semifinal and a Conference Final, only undone by a global pandemic
• 2022: An MLS Cup Final, tied and lost on penalties

Zoomed out, this climb looks linear – not a rumble of turbulence in sight. Most Union fans know that line is a myth. The bumps they felt as the team climbed off the tarmac, through the cloud cover, and up into cruising altitude were real and occasionally terrifying.

Even the charming thuds felt in the cabin were terrible, of course.

This is Philadelphia after all.

“Who dares wins”

The English saying – certainly better than “it’s the hope that kills you” – is one that suggests this year’s Union will have plenty of chances at winning, should they dare.

The league, the Cup, the Leagues Cup, the Open Cup, and the Champions League all beckon the Boys in Blue.

A roster that lost its third striker and its second keeper, its fifth midfielder and its third defender has been reinforced with bodies in each place. Some might worry that, using another adage, the Union aren’t getting better but staying a lot the same – and that’s often a recipe for disaster in sports (because nothing stays the same and, as the negative parts of any fan base might point out, the same team is just an older version of one that wasn’t good enough last year)

Yet, to look across the league, there isn’t a single team the Union should fear.

They’ve beaten NYCFC on the road and at home recently (to say nothing of the fire sale of players in the Bronx), done the same to Montreal (where, speaking of fire sales, the darling coach is gone and it feels like there might not be any players left come Saturday either), and shouldn’t fear any other teams in the Conference. Out West, LAFC remains a big club – but is one that dropped points to the Union at home in 2020 and twice in 2022, while between Austin, Seattle, and whomever else might make a run, there isn’t anyone that unbiased observers would put above the home side.

In their international competitions, it’s difficult to glean much beyond wondering who will play given the crowded fixture schedule. Seeing what the team did in 2021 without a consistent striker, and then realizing they have three players on their current roster who met or exceeded that 2021 team’s attacking output, should give fans hope.

The next step is a choice

“Soccer is a funny sport,” said Jim Curtin shortly after MLS Cup last year.

Sports are funny in general – the most honest bit of human theatre left in a modern world where everything seems preordained. No one knows the outcome of a match before it starts, and certainly not the way in which the story will be written.

There are moments before, during, and after the game though that are entirely within team’s and player’s control – choices for what to do next.

Jalen Hurts mentioned reflecting on what he could have done better after losing. He didn’t mention the turf in Arizona, the officials, the other team – only himself.

“You have power over your mind – not outside events,” said Marcus Aurelius. “Realize this and you will find strength”

Both leaders were right, and in 2023, fans will learn if the Union did the same thing.

Did they choose to control what they could control so that they have a better chance of changing the way their year ends? Did they choose the right players to keep, to let go, and to bring here in order to affect that outcome? Did they choose to get better every day of the offseason, in training, at the table, in their lives?

Did they find enough strength to take the next step?

Finding out is the fun part – and if the Union’s past five year trajectory means anything for what’s to come next… will be a really fun part.