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For the second time in three years there will be a former Philadelphia Union goalkeeper lifting MLS Cup when LA Galaxy hosts the New York Red Bulls on Saturday afternoon in Carson, California. John McCarthy has a chance to win his second while Carlos Coronel is hoping to lead an unlikely finalist to victory. Either way the long slog and the seemingly endless postseason are finally coming to an end.

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1. 🐂 What the Red Bull?

A seventh seed in the East will play on Saturday for an MLS Cup title.

That it’s the Red Bull is both infuriating and strangely hopeful for Philadelphia Union fans.

The infuriating part is that it’s fun to hate the Red Bull, fun to cheer the U to victory at one of the finest stadiums for soccer in the U.S. and even fun to listen to Red Bulls fans argue that teams that play 100 miles apart off the same interstate aren’t actually big rivals. Did I also mention it’s fun to sing “Go back to North Jersey” to away fans in Chester?

All of that aside, the Union has been pretty dominant over their North Jersey neighbors (14 games unbeaten) which has made it all the more enjoyable, despite the fact that their playing each other with their different versions of the Red Bull Way hasn’t exactly pushed the sport forward in this country. Effective on a budget it is but easy on the eyes it often is not.

The Red Bull philosophical connection and the sometimes insufferable way both teams play – hunting the ball, emphasizing physical over technical play and anti-golazos over a pretty goal from intricate possession and movement – is actually the part that should give Union fans some hope. No, unfortunately Jay Sugarman doesn’t seem motivated to splash the cash to get an Emil Forsberg but the way the Red Bulls have turned their season around in the postseason has served as a reminder once more that in MLS it really is possible to be a mediocre team limping into the playoffs (3 wins in their last 18 games!) and win it all.

The Union of course were so bad in 2024 they couldn’t even limp into the postseason (17 points in their last 18 to Red Bull’s 18) but the arguments Ernst Tanner and Jay Sugarman have made in their full throttled effort to throw Jim Curtin under the bus and blame him for all their woes does start to make a little more sense when you see how the postseason has transpired. Like NYCFC winning it all in 2021, it’s often not about the makeup of the team or the actual performance during the regular season if you can make the playoffs and get hot. Phillies fan should definitely relate to that.

That doesn’t make the prospects of the team after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017 feel any rosier, of course. The Union were not just good in 2022; they were historically great. And yet they couldn’t complete their dream run with a trophy, thanks in part to stupid MLS rules not honoring goal differential as the first tiebreaker but also in part because John McCarthy is damn good at penalty shootouts. Don’t think for a second he doesn’t already have the Red Bulls number should it go to kicks on Saturday (oh what fun that U.S. Open Cup afternoon game was).

Though there are zero excuses for how little the Union spend and the difference in spending between them and the Red Bull might be the reason for their opposite positions this season, the difference in their payrolls is basically one Emil Forsberg. The Union selling their two best players over the summer was probably more to blame than Curtin’s subbing patterns or anything else he did or didn’t do developing players he was stuck with (and forced to square peg into a circle). There’s a reason why watching MLS closely requires you to never get too high or too low about any team at any given time. Curtin himself has repeatedly acknowledged that you get humbled quickly in MLS. The Atlanta United cliff is as inevitable as teams with first round byes losing. It’s partly why MLS is entertaining and downright terrible all at the same time.

There’s little rhyme or reason to MLS most of the time but it doesn’t take fully boarding Jeffrey Mitchell’s Posidelphia bus to realize that a new coach and some smart signings really could put even the Philadelphia Union of 2024 back on track. A new general manager could do that too in 2025 if the recovery doesn’t go as hoped.

We shall see but in the meantime (with apologies to Carlos and Cory) let’s go Galaxy.

2. 🐍 Kai Wagner Transfer Rumor Mill Back

Transfer rumors swirling around Philadelphia Union left back Kai Wagner are almost as sure of a thing as the weather getting colder in December.

After an offseason last year where he seemed he might really be gone this time – he even had a goodbye party for his neighbors – the 27-year-old returned on a new deal. Now a year later come reports that Burnley and Coventry are among the potential suitors looking to sign him in the winter transfer window.

As in the past, the rumors of Wagner’s pending departure are just that.

Philadelphia Union fans probably shouldn’t put too much stock in any reports until he returns his recently acquired Cybertruck and posts a photo on Instagram of himself signing a new contract elsewhere with a scarf or jersey with the new team’s colors in hand.

3. 🧤 Tweet of the Day: Once Again

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Curtin Fire Reaction

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• If you’re looking for some gift ideas for the soccer lover on your holiday gift list or want some ideas of how to spend gift cards or money you get, here’s a Soccer Gift-Buying Guide.

• There are plenty of local storylines in the NCAA men’s tournament quarterfinals.

• The last remaining local college team alive in the postseason - Jefferson women - were eliminated from the NCAA Division II tournament on Sunday, but it was a memorable season for the Rams with far more ups than downs.

• South Jersey native Carli Lloyd is part of the five-member 2025 National Hall of Fame class. Unsurprisingly the USWNT star made it in her first year of eligibility.

• Shawnee High School was a soccer power long before Brenden Aaronson’s one school year as an enrolled student but this year they’ve reached new heights even for the school’s high standards. The boys team won state title No. 8 and the girls their first after capping a 25-0 season.

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