One of the greatest rivalries in MLS continues tomorrow evening as the New York Red Bulls pay a visit to RFK Stadium to take on D.C. United in a match with major playoff implications in the Eastern Conference. The two teams have split the season series thus far, but with United holding an advantage in goal differential, a win or a draw would bring the all-important (note sarcasm) Atlantic Cup back to D.C. The match is at 8:00 PM and Galavision will carry the TV broadcast.
Every so often, I get a bit concerned that the Red Bulls are going to do something crazy like win an MLS Cup or something. Its a valid concern. They're a damn good team, with a wide array of attacking options. But then I remember something. The truth remains that they are still the Red Bulls. And the Red Bulls just don't win trophies.
New York has had some good teams in the past, just like today. None of those teams had any legitimate success, and this one won't either. It doesn't matter that Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill are among the most talented players in the league. In their time, so too were Tim Howard, Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Tony Meola, Jozy Altidore... The list goes on and on. Those players didn't help the Red Bulls win any trophies. These players won't either.
This all reminds me of my all-time favorite B&RU meme. Inspired by a harmless exchange between this blog and Once A Metro (the SB Nation blog for NYRB), I told an imagined story last year that concluded with a proven fact: the number of wild African tigers that Ben Olsen has decapitated is greater than or equal to the number of trophies won by the New York Red Bulls.
So today we're bringing back the meme, and you can help. Tweet using the hashtag #NYRBtrophies and list an object that is greater than or equal to the number of NYRB trophies. The quantity of the first item may be unknown, but at least we know its >= #NYRB trophies.