Bear with me for a second:

Earlier today, Dan Steinberg asked who the 2nd most popular athlete in DC is. This prompted a comment by Beau Dure concerning local athletes that he felt were being ignored in the comments section. Beau felt that Clyde Simms deserved some mention, though United fans commenting on the Sports Bog focused entirely on Jaime Moreno. My thought was that Moreno, Namoff, Pontius, Najar, and possibly Quaranta were all more popular in the stands at RFK than Simms, who we are all probably guilty of not appreciating enough. At the moment, I think Simms is far and away our best player, and he's probably playing as well as he ever has (it's just too bad everyone else is either in bad form or just outright bad).

However, upon reflecting on the topic over a Chipotle chicken salad, I realize I'm not so sure about how well-liked our players are. I'm certain that Moreno is still the most popular player on the team, but after that it could be any number of people for a wide array of reasons. Do you like Quaranta because of his courageous comeback from addiction? Or is it Namoff because of his never-say-die attitude and his steady play? Or maybe it is Simms and I just have a poor read on my fellow fans.

So this is my question: Who are your top 5 favorite current United players? You don't have to go into why if you don't feel like it. I'm just trying to take the pulse of RFK, as it were, and it'll also be nice to talk about something other than how we suck.

For the record, here's my list:

1. Jaime Moreno - 132 goals, 102 assists. Best player in MLS history. This one's easy.

2. Santino Quaranta - Stirring comeback from addiction, Maryland native, potential to be one of the best in the league at his position. Clock's ticking on that potential, though.

3. Clyde Simms - A great example for any of our younger players to follow. Tireless. Plays defensive midfield without being a goon, something rather rare in MLS.

4. Bryan Namoff - Another guy who understands you don't have to be a hack to be a good defensive player in MLS. Don't forget that his MLS career almost never got going after Hudson sent him on loan to Richmond (ask Shipalane what that means for your future).

5. Chris Pontius - The sky's the limit for Party Boy. Even if he never becomes a good enough finisher to be a forward, he should still become an impact player as a wide midfielder.

Edit by Shatz, 5/18/10, 6:00pm

Because I think Jaime is going to run away with it as the most popular player in everyone's mind (just like Ovechkin is far and away the most popular DC athlete as noted in Steinberg's poll), please allow me to add an additional question to the mix, and steer this back in the direction of Steinberg's initial query...  Who is DC United's second-most popular athlete?