This Thursday night at 8:00 PM, DC United will host the New York Red Bulls in one of the biggest rivalry matches in MLS. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
And it should be a good one. Its youth vs. experience. Its south vs. north. Its America vs. the world. Its rebuilding the right way vs. spending lots of cash.
I'm not going to say good vs. evil, but if you want to get there on your own, go for it!
If you're a fan of other sports teams in the D.C. area, then this might sound familiar to you. One team has rebuilt itself almost overnight by bringing in the most expensive free agent players that are available, whether they fit the team's system or not. Chemistry be damned! And if a few long-time assistant coaches get fired along the way, so be it.
The other team is built to last. They've added young players with potential for greatness. Young players with skill sets that will allow them to be competitive, and grow towards something bigger at the same time, all the while communicating with the fanbase that this is a process that might take a little bit of time to fully develop. Long-term success is in our sights.
Personally, I'm a fan of both the Washington Redskins and the Washington Capitals. But I'm only a fan of one front office.
Thierry Henry is Albert Haynesworth. Clyde Simms is Brooks Laich.
And if you're from out of town, an MLS fan watching on ESPN2 without any real bias in either direction, you should find it easy to root for the guys in black. United's starting lineup on Saturday in a 3-0 win against Toronto FC included only one international player - Canadian defender Dejan Jakovic. And when Jakovic exited in the second half in favor of Perry Kitchen, United's team was 100% domestic (Fred da Silva has a green card). Meanwhile, the lineup that the Red Bulls sent out to face the San Jose Earthquakes included only one player who calls these great United States his home - Tim Ream.
Isn't developing U.S. Soccer one of the reasons that MLS exists in the first place? Hey New York, you're doing it wrong.