The Esky Award, for the D.C. United fan favorite

The Esky Award is named for Alecko Eskandarian, former D.C. United forward whose career was cut short due to concussions. Eskandarian vaulted into fan favorite territory with his spitting out the Red Bull goal celebration, which remains one of the best goal celebrations in team history. This award isn't for the best player of the season (that comes later), but for the one for whom you have the most warmth, the most happiness, the most joy. Past winners of this award include Jaime Moreno and Chris Pontius.

1. Perry Kitchen: The ironman in the center of the midfield, Perry Kitchen is the future of the club for years to come. In a team where players keep getting injured, Kitchen is always there and is always willing to play any position that the team asks of him. And he is getting more skilled each year, to boot.

2. Lewis Neal:

3. Bill Hamid: Hamid was another stalwart this year, and was often the only reason that D.C. United was in a game. Hamid can make all of the saves, and has improved his decision making (he didn't get any red cards this year!). His distribution, while it still needs to improve, also got better this year: I noticed how many times he played the ball out of the back rather than punting it downfield. While he is not long for the District, Bill Hamid is the passionate center of D.C. United.

4. Ethan White: After not appearing in any games for D.C. United last year, and languishing on the bench for the first half of this year, Ethan White exploded back onto the scene. He was handed his chance and grabbed onto it with both hands, with only injuries slowing him down.