Soccer in general may be getting a lot of attention ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup next month, but that doesn’t mean that every local MLS team is known to everyone in their city. The latest case in point comes from a Fox 29 Philadelphia (WTFX) segment after the Phillies‘ win Sunday night that sent them to the World Series. There, some fans recited off other Philadelphia teams, but were perplexed by a mention of MLS’ Philadelphia Union.
Fox 29’s Kelly Rule was out interviewing fans on the street in the aftermath of that Phillies’ win, a tactic which often produces quite the results. A couple of those fans tried to tie the Phillies’ success into the wider recent success of the NFL’s Eagles (6-0 after a 26-17 Sunday Night Football win over the Dallas Cowboys), and threw in the NHL’s Flyers (who have started the season 4-2-0) and even the NBA’s 76ers (who are 0-3). Rule added “The Union!”, as that team will host the MLS Eastern Conference final against NYCFC (for the second-straight season) next Sunday following their 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati Thursday. That led to one fan responding “The who?”, and then later adding “Like, the blue-collar workers?”
That exchange can be seen beginning at the 0:17 mark of the clip below. (The interview of the guy at the start of the clip is unrelated, but his “This is the greatest day in the last couple of years of PHILADELPHIA!” illustrates the whole celebration vibe here, and was too good to leave out.)
Fox 29 Philly post-game interviews last night had quite the moments, including "This is the greatest day in the last couple of years of PHILADELPHIA!" and "The Union!" "The who? Like, the blue-collar workers?" pic.twitter.com/uyWoAfMUHt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 24, 2022
Of course, being a fan of one sport doesn’t mean you have to be a fan of other sports, or even aware that those teams exist. There are probably plenty of people who haven’t heard of the Union (a club only founded in 2008), even in Philadelphia. It just was funny to see Rule reasonably add in the Union (who are doing significantly better than the Sixers!) only to meet with incredulity from the people she was talking to. But Fox 29 is certainly doing their part to promote the Union, even featuring a dog dressed in a Union cheerleader outfit Monday as part of a morning show segment on a “Bark In The Park” event:
But the Fox 29 morning show today was quite aware of the Union, featuring a dog in a Union cheerleader outfit on a “Bark in the Park” segment. pic.twitter.com/cbd1QTCMAr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 24, 2022
And, as one person noted, it is quite possible to support both the Union and unions:
Cackling bc the girl on the right is one of my best friends.
She wants to let y’all know to support the union and also to support NURSES UNIONS ‼️‼️ lets get these chips and also these safe staffing ratios https://t.co/uX5uX1Ryoy
— The ORIGINAL Jalen Hurts Stan Account (@jaxcitybish_) October 24, 2022
But with the full senior roster making $84,000 or more (all the way up to Mikael Uhre’s $1.4 million), the MLS Union probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind with “blue-collar workers” for many. (They do have some blue jerseys, though.) But maybe they will come to mind for some more Philadelphia fans following this clip.
[Crossing Broad on Twitter]
