First ever post geared towards DC United

A post by "Blake the Megalomaniac" To see more posts click here

I don’t dislike soccer, but like most Americans I’m bombarded with so many top level sports that are embedded into the fabric of our society, making room for a worldly sport like soccer is a bit difficult.

Lets face it, the NFL is king.  MLB and the NBA are strong no matter how many detractors they have.  The NHL especially in Washington D.C. is in the midst of a comeback and the Canadian sport looks to be on a mission to unseed MLB in the hearts and minds of patriots.

And then, there’s soccer.  Everyone in the world besides the 300 million people here in the U.S. are infatuated with the sport.  To be fair, the MLS and the other secondary leagues have a strong following but are nowhere close to the major sports.  Wait, did I say secondary leagues?  I didn’t even know that American soccer had any other conglomerates but they do.  This post was going to be strictly about the MLS and specifically D.C. United, but I need to start with what is the framework for American soccer.

Just as soccer leagues across the world have developmental, semi-pro, and secondary leagues, the U.S. has one too.  Although Major League Soccer has 15-teams, they’re is no merit based promotion between leagues like in most European systems.  Meaning: because the 15 teams entities awarded by the MLS are totally unaffiliated with the United Soccer League (USL), which includes the 2nd and 3rd tiers of soccer in North America, the sucky teams aren’t relegated and up-and-coming teams aren’t promoted.  A merit based system has been established but is largely ignored b/c, as I said, the MLS teams are franchises awarded by the league, not autonomous clubs like say a Real Madrid or something.  This brings me to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup which  is an American soccer competition open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams all the way up to the top professional clubs of Major League Soccer.  Guess who won it in 2008? Yah, the D.C. United.

We’re showing a lot of love lately to the Washington Capitals.  It’s well deserved b/c the team is run correctly.  Winning at that level isn’t just good fortune or luck, it starts with the top with a business model that may not be sexy at first but ultimately works.  Ted Leonsis it seems is less concerned about revenue and more worried about winning Lord Stanley’s Cup.  The Capitals barely turned a profit this year and that’s even with selling out most of their games.  I won’t even get into the Redskins and Snyder because you’re from here and already know the dichotomy between the two franchises and ownership models.

Well now, we have to add the D.C. United into Washington D.C. lore.  They are the most successful team in MLS history; the soccer version of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Boston Celtics, and New York Yankees.  Peep their list of accomplishments from Wikipedia:

“The club has won the U.S. Open Cup twice and holds the record for most MLS Cups and MLS Supporters’ Shields with four apiece. Further, D.C. United is the only club to be awarded the MLS Supporters’ Shield back-to-back (2006 and 2007) and the first club to win back-to-back MLS Cups (1996 and 1997). In 1998 D.C. United became the first American club to win the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup and the Copa Interamericana.”

I don’t even know what much of that means but it’s impressive nonetheless.  D.C. United stands first in the eastern conference right now with a Saturday win over FC Dallas, 2-1.  Anytime, any D.C. sports team is beating Dallas, I’d say that’s a win.  And with players simply named, “Fred” – it’s all good in the District.  Who knew that soccer and hockey would trump basketball and football?

Fan Chant: O CAMPIONE
Ooooooh Campione
The one and only
We’re D Cee United!
They say our days are numbered
We’re not famous anymore
But United rules the country
Like we’ve always done before
Oooooh Campione

udothedishes…