MLS Power Rankings, Week 10: Optics

By now, you've probably heard that the two New York metropolitan area teams, the Jersey-based New York Red Bulls and the Bronx-based (for this season, at least) New York City FC, squared off this past Sunday for the first time in Major League Soccer.  All week long, we heard about this historic matchup and in the buildup to the first Hudson River derby, the tagline of choice was over which color was New York: red or blue?  Red Bulls supporters, of course, maintained that New York was red, while the City fans declared that New York was blue.  It was similar to the back-and-forth that fans of Manchester United and Manchester City will have before a Manchester derby.

Yet, after a week's barrage of red vs. blue and blue vs. red, both teams took center stage at Red Bull Arena Sunday night, and what did they wear?  White jerseys for the Red Bulls, and black jerseys for NYCFC.  A bit of advice for MLS teams from here on out:  if you're in a match where you're hyping which color will a team's fans use to paint the town, it's bad optics to, you know, not wear the colors you're "defending" on the field.  NYCFC decided, at the last minute, to not wear their primary blue jerseys and went with their secondary jerseys.  The Red Bulls, hyping the fact they believe that the Big Apple is red, don't even have red jerseys.  Sure, their primary white jerseys have red sleeves and shorts, but that's just terrible to proclaim a color you can't even wear predominantly on the field (I'll save the rant for why I think the Red Bulls should be in red for another day).  In the end, after all that banter, the visuals of having two teams not wearing the colors they're telling their fans they're fighting for just resonated way more than the product on the field.

As for the rankings, the number one spot finally is taken by our beloved team in the Black-and-Red, D.C. United.  Even though the team had to deal with injuries to key plays and the Fabian Espindola suspension to start the season, they have battled their way to the top of the Eastern Conference and are riding an incredible home unbeaten streak.  Some teams still don't know what they want to be, while the terrible teams are starting to sink all the way through the bottom (I'm looking at you NYC, Philly and Montreal).  But, for now, our boys are #1.  With 2 matches this week against Orlando and Philly, let's hope they stay number one.

Now, it's your turn.  Is DCU the top team for you?  Who do you see faltering or soaring over the next couple weeks?  Sound off in the comments below!