Expanding the franchise
Philadelphia Union is officially introduced.
Expanding the franchise
They came with a string band.
Seriously.
We were all standing at Dilworth Plaza wondering when the press conference to officially introduce Philadelphia Union would start. Then, all of a sudden, a few hundred Sons of Ben came marching out from City Hall, belting out "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" at the top of their lungs as the Polish American String Band played the tune.
I've followed Major League Soccer for a long time, including a few years spent covering the league before I moved to Philadelphia. I've never seen anything quite like that.
Yet it was so classically Philly. For a sport that defines itself as being the most global of games, this was the ultimate local spin on the kind of passion for which soccer fans are so well-known.
They came witth a sense of humor, too. MLS Commissioner Don Garber got the perfect reaction from the crowd when he said that while they might applaud him now, they won't be when he suspends a Union player for the first time.
He got booed, of course, but there was plenty of laughter first.
And they came with a spirit of inclusion. From the top of the front office on down, team officials talked about how they wanted to draw not only the youth soccer players and Europhiles, but also the Mexican population in South Philadelphia and the West African community that plays pickup games in University City's Clark Park.
You can hear from Garber and Union president Tom Veit in the audio player below.
If it all comes together, the atmosphere in Chester could genuinely be unlike anything this city has seen in quite a while. Yes, that may sound like hyperbole, but from what I've seen, soccer fans in this country are a bit of a different breed from fans of other sports I've covered.
The biggest question left now is whether and how all those fans that Union wants to attract will go to the stadium every weekend. It will be answered in due time.
For now, though, I'll reiterate something I've said before: if I'm still blogging on here come the summer, I intend for soccer to be a significant part of what I write about. I know that a number of Sons of Ben read this blog and I've certainly noticed the spikes in traffic on here when I write about the sport.
So I ask you: are you interested in this team? How do you think it will fit into the local sports landscape?
And can we please get a string band playing at the games?
2 seasons, then crash and burn.— dutchman
Comment removed.- Philadelphia professional sports teams all play in Philadelphia. Why is the MLS team named "Philadelphia Union" if they are playing in Chester. Thought number two...who cares about soccer?— mernst
- What is the signficance of the snake thing on the logo? I like the light blue/yellow combo— duffers
- The snake goes back to Ben Franklin's writings and political cartoons. So says the press release from the team...
- Comment removed.
- The Union? Does that mean they will get to pay 15 players to do the work of 11? Get paid triple time if the games fall on holiday?— Ramon
- It will never come close to the Big 4 sports in Philly, but there are lots of soccer fans in this area and the team is affiliated with PA & DE youth organizations. It'll be a winner. Bring it on!— ebradlee10
- Great event and a great name and logo. I've got a down payment on some season tickets.— chapka
- philly.com haters out in force, as per usual. I think this is exciting.— cesegal
- @mernst Why aren't they called the Meadowland Giants and Meadowland Jets instead of New York? A lot of Pro teams don't actually play in the city they are named for if you look at where stadiums actual addresses are. Philadelphia is much more marketable than Chester on the national scale— who123
- Calling them a Philly team is logical...you never want to name a team anything that rhymes with molester.— Joe Funk
- Good work Jonathan, keep it up! The crest is fantastic, and I believe the name will grow on people (once they realize the meaning of it). This team will gain faithful supporters in the years to come. Everyone that is bashing the team/sport now needs to give soccer and MLS a try. For every person that takes time out of their day to respond negatively to this article is interesting to me. Do these same people "waste" their time bashing other sports they don't like? Probably not. Soccer is growing in this country. You people need to accept that.— jeff518
- Good luck to them. I'm not sure if MLS will last despite the claim that soccer is 'growing'. It has been for decades, but mailny for younger kids. Once boys get bigger they tend to move to other sports.— DMo
- How much did the city charge them for this rally? They did charge them, just like all others that want to use public facilities in the city, right?— Smokey
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
