Reflections on the Union’s game versus Inter Miami and being a Philly sports fan

The immediate reactions were, to make use of the blunt response Jim Curtin gave last season after the Leagues Cup match with Inter Miami, “not good.” Vitriol. Disbelief. Disgust. Frustration. The comments flooded social media, with Twitter (excuse me, “X”) becoming a timeline of contempt and anger toward the team and organization. Those in the River End with me looked at each other with a tired sort of sadness, hurt, and disbelief. Even some of the most faithful I know seemed to have reached their breaking point. What started as a jubilant crowd erupting in cheers in the third minute after Mikael Uhre’s goal ended with resounding boos as the referee blew the final whistle. How did the Philadelphia Union manage to blow the game while up by two men after Ruiz and Aviles were ejected with red cards?

I have to admit that I had not felt that emptiness since November 5, 2022. If you need to look up what that date is, you probably are not a close follower of the Union. Like that night, I had a restless sleep because my brain just will not switch off. It keeps processing and replaying. It’s just a game, though, right? Of course. The sun will rise again and we move on. Teams have bad games, bad seasons… it is part of these silly games that we get so wrapped up in. Philly fans though are a different breed. The passion, the living and dying with your teams… it can be a blessing and a curse. I am proud to be a lifelong fan of all Philly sports, and a former multi-sport athlete who is admittedly sometimes too highly competitive for my own good. My other half of this duo we call “The One Team We Agree On” keeps me grounded. I am not going to rehash the entire game versus Miami here. This is purely an opinion piece from the perspective of a fan, not me with my media hat on, and an honest take on what is happening with the Union and the fan base.

We’ve been here before

I was a young kid when Joe Carter broke all our hearts and I got my first real taste of disappointment. I had gotten so wrapped up in following the Phillies and that iconic ‘93 team. Years later, I witnessed the Eagles coming so close to the Lombardi Trophy, only to fall victim to Tom Brady (and Andy Reid’s clock management among other things). There were many highs and lows, as every fan base experiences if you stick around long enough. There are dream teams and rebuilding years. The Union were minutes away from winning it all and there was a hopeful joy inside us there at Banc of California Stadium, and many of our fellow fans watching from Subaru Park and elsewhere. Then a Welsh version of Joe Carter snatched away the joy, and it was finished off in PKs, which we had to relive every time a certain tire commercial came on the next season during Apple TV broadcasts. And yes, that very same evening, the Phillies lost the World Series. Pain. Then the organization decided to run it back… and then run it back again.

Did precisely what many envisioned was going to happen, indeed happen? Are we going to quote the movie “The Waterboy” and say things like “Oh no! We suck again!” as the people who have been around long enough know the team has had low, low points in the past. There is still half a season left and Columbus Crew won it all after being in 6^th place, so perhaps there is a chance for improvement. Maybe the Union organization will decide to invest in a game changer after losing Julian Carranza to Europe, or the team digs deep and finds some magic within them. Maybe they decide to punt and just become sellers. It has felt like the decline of the Phillies after they had that magical run from 2007-2011, not to mention that Philly fans had to endure the Phillies blowing it in the 2023 NLCS and the Eagles having a collapse in the 2023-2024 season. While the Phillies have a special team this season and are maybe the one thing keeping the sports side of my brain sane, the wounds are not still fully healed from the last year. 

So where do we go from here?

“Let it go… this too shall pass” – OK Go

I sit on a plane typing this on the way to a much needed vacation that we embarked on right after the Union game versus Miami. The music on shuffle seems to be a little too on the nose.

“There will be days when you fall apart, someone else will break your heart” –Blue October

The swim team that I coach, York YMCA, has a sort of unofficial mantra that the swimmers have embraced. “Suffer, suffer, suffer.” They take pride in embracing the hard work and “suffering” it takes to achieve greatness. I feel like it’s been a lot of “suffering” as a fan lately and keep telling myself when the team does ultimately win it all (because I do have faith it will happen… someday) that victory will be sweet and it will have all been worth it. I’m not kidding myself: I’m not one of those players, or part of the coaching staff. They are the ones really feeling it right now. You see it in Coach Jim Curtin’s pressers and with the players’ responses- the dejection and frustration. The fans have the right, however, to be displeased that the ownership has not spent money to bring in talent that can be game changers. When you are doing things like shelling out money for games, food, away trips, and merch, and costs go up while the quality of the “product” goes down, there is bound to be discontentment.

We have gotten this far and I have barely talked about the game against Miami. What more needs to be said other than the Union lost to a Miami team that was missing Messi and Suarez and were down to nine men on the field. Yes, the Union were missing a bunch of players too, including the team’s best striker, Julian Carranza, who is reportedly heading to Feyenoord. Uhre and Flach were the bright spots to me. The ball watching and a tired Glesnes that led to Miami netting that stoppage time winning goal was horrendous, and does Andre Blake probably save that first goal? I think so. Oliver Semmle has done a quality job, but he still is learning. The way the stadium erupted in cheers when Miami took the lead? That was gross. It made me sick to see that amount of pink in the stadium and hear the cheers in what had been a fortress. I guess I now know how Red Bulls fans have maybe felt the last few years when the Union fans have gone up there and been loud. Kyle and I joked that we should have brought the mini microphone and interviewed people in Miami jerseys, asking where in Florida they were from or asking if they could name any players besides Messi and friends.

I wish the narrative could be so much more fun. I wish we could find out what celebrating a win at Union Yards feels like, because it’s bumping even after draws and losses. The crowd started off decent; it felt amazing to not concede first and get that early goal and wave goodbye to the Miami players who got reds. There was the tenuous feeling that hey, maybe we can finally right the ship. But, like Mae says in “Ted Lasso,” it’s the hope that kills you.

Union fans: let me end by saying this. The people who have been around long enough know it can get worse. They saw the lean years. They also still had a lot of fun as fans- just ask them. Winning is of course way more fun and everyone wants that for the team. The fans have the right to be upset with ownership and want them to do more. I do not agree with the “close the Curtin” sentiment from some, and could see an Andy Reid situation where Jim goes to another team and has major success, especially if given the resources. Am I giving up on this team? No way. Am I going to stop covering them? Of course not. Am I still renewing my season tickets? Yes, because the husband and I enjoy being at the games and we love our Union community. The Union have meant a lot to us since we started attending games. I fear, though, that in a sports market that favors the other four major sports teams, there will be a downturn in attendance and notice just as people were really beginning to buy in. It is up to the organization to make some big moves, or, as Kevin Kinkead noted in his article on Crossing Broad, admit the greatest run in Union history is over and start the rebuild- otherwise, the situation becomes the definition of insanity.

Note: Kyle will not be doing a travel article this week for Cincinnati as we are on vacation. We will still be watching that game though and covering the press conference.

Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.