Union becomes the talk of Philly
oHILADELoHIA » Jim Curtin is a Philly guy who hits some of the best restaurants for date night, plays whiffle ball with his kids in city parks and counts himself a big fan of Questlove. For a guy who loves his city, Curtin and his team are getting back plenty of admiration.
The Philadelphia Union hit it big this season in Major League Soccer — as leaders in both social activism and atop the standings — and made it cool in the city to root for the team often overshadowed by its four big brothers down Interstate 95. Walk around the city and the suburbs, and the uptick in kids in Union jerseys, pop- up game night parties and beers brewed for the home team have been on the rise — just like the Union.
Heck, even NBA superstar Kevin Durant thought enough of the Union’s potential to buy a small stake in the team.
Missed out?
No worries, the Union ( 13- 5- 3; 44 points) are poised to clinch their first Supporters’ Shield trophy — awarded to the MLS team with the best regularseason record — with a win Sunday at Columbus.
The game airing on ABC marks just the second time in the Union’s 11- year history that it plays on national broadcast television.
“We get to show the people that already know, but also to maybe some new viewers, that this is a fun team,” the coach said.
The Union’s bid for the top spot suffered a blow when star goalie Andre Blake fractured his right hand when he slammed it into a goal post in Wednesday’s win over Chicago; he will miss the rest of the regular season. The 29- yearold Blake, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, is second in MLS in both goalsagainst average ( 0.86) and shutouts ( eight) and his 63 saves ranks fourth.
Joe Bendik, a veteran of four other MLS teams, starts Sunday. He’ll have plenty of homegrown help to steer Philly toward the title.
The Union took the long way toward the top by skipping big- money signings and developing players through their youth academy that yielded stars like 20- year- old midfielder Brenden Aaronson and 21year- old defender Mack McKenzie. Aaronson and McKenzie already have made their U. S. senior national team debuts.
The Union surprised the league when they walked onto the pitch for the start of the MLS restart tournament wearing “Black Lives Matter” shirts and names on their jerseys of members of the Black community who were victims of police brutality. They’ve continued their push for civil rights, and Curtin said he’ll give the Union off on Tuesday so players and staff can vote. “I’m more proud of that and the activism that we’ve shown as a group because it’s more important than the game of soccer.”