We’re enjoying an unprecedented run in Philly sports right now. The Phillies are headed to the World Series. The Eagles are 6-0. The Flyers might not stink. The Sixers won a game and the Union are in the Eastern Conference Final for a second straight year.

For whatever reason, some people get butt hurt when we mention the Union. “No one cares about soccer” and “the MLS sucks” and stuff like this:

For clarity, no one is forcing you to like soccer or care about it. If you don’t dig the sport and don’t watch it, that’s fine. One of the things that hurt the growth of the game over the years was antagonistic phrasing, like “soccer is gonna be the biggest sport ever,” which only served to piss people off instead. That was a counterintuitive approach from people who came before us and didn’t know what they were doing. It’s always foolish to throw things in people’s faces like that, and speak in absolutes.

On the flip side, there are a lot of seemingly insecure Philly sports fans who go out of their way to shit all over the Union, which is disappointing, because they’re a local team playing at a high level and winning games. They’ve enjoyed sustained success for four years now and even won a trophy, and that’s deserving of respect even if you think soccer is for fairy boys. The Union play local kids who were raised in the Delaware Valley and are coached by an Oreland native who went to Villanova and now lives in Queen Village. Common logic would say that if you’re a four-for-four fan who reps Philly hard, then that support should include the squad that actually does have a local coach and local players who are gobbling up individual awards.

As much as we love the other teams in town, the Union actually have the largest local representation among players and staff. That runs in direct contrast to the “they play in Chester” diss, disguised as a credible take. It’s not credible and never has been, because you would never not call the Jets and Giants New York teams, even though they play in New Jersey. If you bring up Chester as a way to discredit the Union, then by extension you’d also have to poo-poo the guy driving in from Delco to watch the Flyers, because he’s not from Philly, right? Is Mike Trout a Philly guy? He’s from Millville but nobody seems to have any issue with that.

Be whatever you want to be, just don’t be a hypocrite. If you support local, then the Union more than qualify. There’s no legitimate counterargument and never has been.

It’s also true that Major League Soccer is not the best league in the world, but that’s a sidebar topic. MLS isn’t the greatest league, but it’s our league, and that’s what’s actually important. Of course we want to have the best sports leagues and the best competition here in North America, and if you want the Union to one day play at the level of a Liverpool or Barcelona, then actively deriding them doesn’t help us reach that goal. You don’t grow the domestic game by shitting on the domestic league and the local team. That’s why there’s a justified annoyance with Philly-based Premier League fans who will watch London-based Arsenal live at 7 a.m. but can’t be bothered to get down to Subaru Park, which is 20 minutes away.

But again, nobody is trying to “force” the Union on you or “make soccer happen.”  Nobody is saying you have to watch soccer or buy a jersey. If you think anybody is trying to dump the Union on you, that would be incorrect. For instance, we do about 2,000 posts a year at Crossing Broad and so far in 2022 we’ve written 19 Union stories, which extrapolates to about 0.0125% of our content. The other mentions of the team are wrapped into stories where the primary focus is the Phillies, Flyers, Eagles, or Sixers. And outside of the Inquirer, Delco Times, and Gambler, there are no major media outlets with consistent reporter presences at Union games and practices. There are zero full-time Philadelphia Union beat reporters. The thought that soccer is being pushed on you is a myth. It’s fake news.

All of that said, it seems silly when people get offended because the Union are included in conversations with the other four “major” teams. Mentioning the U is not damaging any of those teams. It’s not defiling or debasing the sanctity of the “four for four” mentality. Nobody is trying to replace baseball or hockey with soccer. All we’re doing is pointing out that the local soccer team is very good and deserves the same recognition as the other teams, simply for their high level of performance on the field and commitment to finding and developing talented young kids who were born and raised in this region. They play a style that is very blue collar and Philly-centric, with a gritty defense and hard-workers all over the field. They’re all good dudes as well, no big egos and no guys running around with fancy cars and dating supermodels. They’re regular people and represent the region well.

There is absolutely nothing to be upset about.