What does one do with a day like Sunday, when the tectonic plates upon which your worldview sits shift, shaking your beliefs about life and love and soccer to the ground, leaving you nothing to do but to bury your dead, dry your tears, and walk into the vast desert that’s left of your dreams? How does the traumatized mind compartmentalize a day that started with its preferred EPL team (yes, that one) having cup…
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The stumbling Philadelphia Union welcome a New York Red Bulls team riding a three-game winning streak this Sunday at PPL Park. With the Union playing ugly anti-football and the Red Bulls pressuring the Eastern Conference-leading Wizards in the standings, the Union have three ways to win this game: 1. Get really lucky 2. Have key Schalke players impersonate Union players 3. MLS suddenly switches to golf-style scoring The (New Jersey)(Pink)(Dead)(Soda)(Cows)(Bulls) This week, you get to…
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  How many times can the same themes be explored, over and over, by the same weary commentators that are just as tired of exploring them as fans are of seeing them played out on the pitch, week after week?  At what point does the loop reach critical mass, as each and every renewal of the same issues adds another layer of ennui?  It’s been said that insanity is defined by the expectation of different results from the…
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  It was a 2 hour drive from the Poconos to PPL Park, the hallowed place a certain unreasonable facsimile of a pseudo-soccer journalist was hell-bent on getting to before 7 o’clock.  Having just enjoyed the Pennsylvania countryside in somewhat unconventional fashion, my tired, bleeding, freezing, and only recently electrocuted little self kept the pedal to the medal, kept conscious only by the knowledge that the Union had finally found a little form.  This would be my reward, this my comfort. I…
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The Philadelphia Union plays host to the San Jose Earthquakes Redux in this weekend’s 7 PM clash at PPL Park. Coach Petey “Pablo” Nowak will be sitting this one out after receiving a two game suspension for his actions in last weekend’s bloodless “melee” at the Home Depot Center. Ever loyal, Gabe Farfan and Keon Daniel have chosen to sit this game out in protest of the sanctions against their favorite coach. Either that or…
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The blind squirrels have found their nut.  By upholding the high defensive standards that have come to be their most reliable asset, the Union was able to sneak away from PPL Park with 3 points by way of a single penalty kick. While it’s fantastic to see the that the Union defense is decidedly back on track, and the Union’s movement and possession were much improved, and it’s just plum wonderful to put a “W”…
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The Blue and Gold faced no one whatsoever this weekend, in a clash that was widely hailed as being no worse for the team than the last several games.  The bye week saw the 0-3-1 Union continue their struggle to find winning form, as head coach Peter Nowak resumed his characteristic tinkering with the lineup and formations. In a typical display of dogged perseverance rendered moot by reticence in the final third, the Union managed…
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  Nothing happened. For all the attempts of journalists and bloggers alike to extract a narrative from the day’s cagey and inconsequential action, the clash produced nothing that would inspire a Union fan, or disappoint one.  The restored back line, topped off by MacMath’s continued competence, revived faith in a defense that never should have faltered in the first place.  The offense was as impotent as we’ve grown used to this season.  No surprise there,…
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Addicts will tell you that no one can start on the path to redemption until they hit bottom.  In the latest installment of the embattled Union’s descent into the depths of the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Fire put a fine point on the realization that’s now dawning across the Delaware Valley- that the salad days are gone.  We probably have more heartache to endure before things get better.  Let’s not fret about it too much….
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I have never understood the phenomenon of naming sports teams after catastrophic events. The San Jose Earthquakes, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the New England Patriot Acts remind locals of sad, tragic events. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 killed hundreds of people and obliterated over 3 square miles of the city. Isn’t a bit insensitive to wag that type of imagery in the face of a city that was almost destroyed? Anyways, the Philadelphia Union…
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