I was in the car listening to 97.5 when Dave Leno had a first in his career giving the play-by-play on the now world famous raccoon pitch invader at Subaru Park on Wednesday. In a matter of minutes that raccoon has now become the biggest Union superstar in club history. It brought back some fun to a place that is no longer the fortress it once was and it’s pretty cool to see Stephen Colbert talking about anything related to the Union but it’s also not a good thing that it’s a good distraction from a team languishing in 9th place.

In the email today:

1. 🦝 Raquinho the Superstar

There have been many moments in Philadelphia Union history that anyone who has followed the team can rattle off without thinking. The trash truck, the Open Cup Wind Storm, Ale’s gun violence message to Congress, Jack Elliott’s goal, That Other Guy’s Goal, El Brujo’s Jerseys, Jakob Glesnes Shoot and so on.

But the raccoon may just be the moment in Union history that more people who don’t follow the Union will remember.

That raccoon, who has been affectionately nicknamed Raquinho, has been seemingly everywhere. No doubt people you’ve never once talked to about soccer or the Union have asked you about the raccoon or talked about it online.

The content has been highly entertaining but I especially like the Benny Hill treatment Paul Catrino gave it.

2. 🐍 Jay Sugarman Interview Sparks Fan Angst

The timing of Jonathan Tannenwald’s Philadelphia Inquirer interview with Union majority owner Jay Sugarman probably couldn’t come at a worse time, particularly a quote from Sugarman where he talks about not wanting to add players that might block younger players in the pipeline.

“It can’t block the longer-term plans that Ernst has and the players coming up,” he said.

Fans calling for signings to reinforce the team has been pretty constant since the team fell just short of reaching the summit in 2022 but the response. Instead of significant additions from the transfer market, the team has relied more than ever on its highly touted academy players and have invested heavily in even younger players with the signings of Cavan Sullivan and David Vazquez.

Kevin Kinkead captures the fan response in his column with an eye-catching headline and has consistently poked holes in the Run it Back and Run it Back 2.0 approach the team has taken since that brutal MLS Cup final loss.

The Union of course fell short of getting back to the MLS Cup final last year and after an embarrassing exit in the Champions Cup have dropped their last four home games in a row.

Head coach Jim Curtin said after Wednesday’s loss that they are going to have to be the ones to pull themselves out of the hole they’ve dug, which is essentially conceding the fact that there won’t be any reinforcements coming. It’s far from too late to turn things around and bring joy back to Chester but the vibes are definitely at a low we haven’t seen since the early 2010s.

3. 💭 Tweet of the Day: Imagine

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Mood Check

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Hunter Firment recapped “the raccoon game” on Philadelphia Soccer Now.

• MLSPA released their updated salary guide on Thursday.

• This weekend is a big one for local youth soccer with State Cup finals being staged at WSFS Bank Sportsplex in Chester and in Jackson and Oceanport, N.J. featuring local youth teams.

• West Chester United opened their NPSL Keystone West Conference campaign with a 3-0 win over Hershey FC on Tuesday night.

• If you are interested in local lower level soccer and fan culture there’s a newsletter launching soon called For the Love. Subscribe at forthelove.beehiiv.com/subscribe.

Celebrate Philadelphia Soccer heritage with shirts available at OldSchoolShirts.com.

Thanks for reading! Have an item or suggestion for the newsletter? Email [email protected].

Want to support this newsletter? Upgrade your account 
for $1 per month or $10 per year.