Who is winning the MLS Cup? LAFC or Columbus Crew? Plus Roster updates and the Messi effect on MLS

Intro [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] n we are two days away from the MLS Cup who will be Crown 2023 champ will it be LFC running it back will it be the Columbus Crew well we've got a lot of uh MLS Cup talk some messy talk and also more to get into but first welcome in hello everybody King crap's first one heing to the show in the Phi Union podcast nice to have you here and you're already drop it in the chat you need Today's Show to go as long as possible since Thursday Night Football is still five hours away although are we rushing ing the Thursday night football I don't think this matchup has me I know I'm not looking forward to I'm I'm not going to watch I'll be honest I'm not watching tonight's game uh we've got Tyler zulie we got JB zabato Renee Washington and a special guest coming on the show from the Music City gonna be joining us a little bit later uh listen with the MLS cup two days away JP you had a great thought of you know what will it take for the Philadelphia Union to be a team that's back in the MLS Cup but also winning the MLS Cup to be a championship team you know that's the end goal all the all the other small very memorable and important I should say Hardware you can win throughout the course of the season is great but the ultimate is to win a championship corre and of course the Philadelphia Union fell short last year which is why I was like as the MLS Cup is getting closer and closer and all the reminders of last year it's like leaving me in my emotions and everything and a little sad because last year we were very much excited heading into the MLS Cup this year very much bitter but let's talk about that because we've discussed a lot that we need to see from the Union what we want to see in terms of changes how we want want to see them play roster moves different things um and I'm going to let you go first of your initial thoughts of what you think it's going to take for the Philadelphia Union to be a championship caliber Team Championship well first of off what's going on everyone happy Thursday to all uh listen uh is a proper replay of a controversial goal count as an okay that's what we're leading with here what is it going to take to Wi a championship correct v no in all seriousness like I look at both these teams Columbus and La first off they' had a fantastic Seasons they are two of the hottest teams in the MLS right now that is why they'll be playing in the MLS Cup this upcoming Saturday but when I look at both these teams T night like the union have scoring goals like if you look at the amount of goals the tops in the League this year lafc Columbus Crew Philadelphia all in the top 10 I think the big factor to this upcoming Saturday these two teams can attack the ball they can score the ball and they do what it takes to get the job done and win but I think the one thing that is the difference between Philly and these two clubs is something we always talk about it's the depth I mean when you have Columbus having a guy like Christian rir is coming in and making a huge impact in two straight games having you know for LFC Kos has been interchanged as a as a substitute he starts obviously d uh Dennis banga is more of that leading guy in that attack but they have different options that they can use in the attack so I think it is quite simple I mean obviously you need the cards to fall in your place Columbus and La have had happened La twice now in in two years which is which is cool for them but I think for Philly it's very simple I mean you just need to build this full 18 out that's been the main problem here when you compare the benches of La Columbus compared to Philly you see the differences here and I think that's the main difference I don't think they're that far off I know we're all very down right now which I I understand why but if you look at as the bigger picture really erns Tanner who has the pressure on him already if he has a good offseason here for Philly you could could be in that conversation again this time next year yeah listen we have talked a lot about it um and I think the more that I watch other games the more I'm like wondering you know what is it going to take for the philadelph union to have that caliber of of a team and when you look at so Sunday for example I was watching Tottenham Manchester City 3-3 tie watch the Atletico Madrid barcel Barcelona one Nothing by Barcelona uh and I was watching especially that three three TI now it's easy to look at a game where there's six goals scored and say wow although one was an own goal but still um wow that's a lot of offense but what I actually took away from it was how they were scoring goals was beautiful and I I'm I will admit you know when I played soccer I'm I'm 5'11 um I was I had a great aerial presence I loved Services Corner kicks crosses I lived for that I scored a lot of goals off of that but I also love when you have the ability to break defenses down and score and now you can combine and I was watching the goals Sunday in in those matchups specifically and I'm like whoa even the chanes they were creating it was a lot more I love when a team can create those Edge ofyour seat hold your breath types of chances where it's like ping ping ping they're combining it's a lot of variety in their attacks so yes they're creating some wide services but also breaking down their opponents in terms of how they're able to make passes and making good runs and now you're sliding the ball across the six from the end line versus like a big booming 30 yard service into the box you're giving your team a better chance to score and that's actually how the own goal happened for the for that three3 tie you know you want to put your you want to consistently put your opponents um on their heels and I for me I'm I'm an attacker I'm a goal scorer so my mind always goes to the offense because it's your job to make sure you're taking the pressure off your back line and when I watch the Philadelphia Union in comparison to Manchester City tottingham Barcelona but even the Columbus Crew and LA see it is just a difference of personnel you know now you look at of course the regular season matchups that they had with each of these teams they're right there they're right there and that's a crazy thing but I think that the Philadelphia Union this season to me were just so predictable and that you never really had any plays where you were like oh what are they going to do like you always knew how they were going to be able to attack how they were going to be able to play so uh welcome in the chat I know I see we're flowing in the chat we got what's up uh yes I am 5'11 a lot of people don't realize that because I have well I don't look that tall I feel like when I'm sitting down um will what's up Will's giving you props I know King Krabs did as well on the Flyers jersey because we're not talking about Thursday Night Football it's goingon to be a boring game today it's all we're talking about the flyers that's gonna be fun to watch very late um but fun but fun to watch and then Dominic you're talking about LFC has the deepest team in the league it's not a surprise they've been able to weather the long season compared to the union absolutely death this huge that's is huge but what also helps with that depth when you talk about Dominic's mentioning they haven't let up a goal in three games their defense peing at the right time the depth Columbus on the other side having the highest scoring offense Dominic's got the The Scouting Report right there for everybody before we even jump into it is the fact thank you King Krabs I guess is the fact that um depth what helps depth is when you're taking care of the ball so the other side of it is if you're possessing playing good soccer you are working the ball around that actually helps the we there's a saying the ball never gets tired players do and that's obvious I mean I don't have to explain that so if you're moving the ball and you don't have to worry about chasing you don't have to worry about always defending having that pressure on that even helps manage your guys to feel you know ready to go versus if you have game after game that wear and tear up down thewire games or you're always playing coming from behind and you're trailing like those types of things help and then as you're creating and possessing and combining you're now feeding off of each other so Tactics if you don't have depth one way to combat that is your your movement your possession so the union didn't really have either of those finding those advantages any which way you can I'm glad you brought up tactics because since erns has arrived the tactics is pretty straightforward it's high pressing it's this diamond compact Midfield they win the battles in that Midfield obviously a strong backline is super important and it's been the same thing now we did see some tactical flexibility this year you saw the introduction of a three-back set it was seen more prominently this year with the with the addition of Daman low which he played spectacularly in that in that role as well but I mean I look at these two teams and one thing that stands out is these guys know how to move and attack with the ball possession is big uh lafc average around 50% of possession Columbus Crew average around 57% that's a lot of possession that's what they want to do they want the ball they want to attack the ball down your throat they want their their the center backs to take those chances and like the three back set that's something that they they love to run and they want their center backs to make take those chances as well I don't want the union to not be who they are that's not what I'm saying because the one thing I talked about before is knowing who you are and sticking to that that's why Columbus and LA are in these positions here so for the union it's yes finding those tactics that work best for you and finding the Personnel that works best for you the three back set that worked for Dam low but that didn't always work for the rest of the Union attack corre the four back set I mean sorry the the four in the Midfield the diamond Midfield work but there was times where it got you know stagnant because teams know what's coming teams know what to expect so it's going to be really important and I know a lot and we're gonna see a lot of probably see a lot of goals on Saturday I'm not gonna lie to you I know it's gonna be cold in Columbus it's gonna be in Columbus but I think there's goingon to be a lot of goals with these two teams but I think the unit's important because something that Jim and erns talked about in the closing presser they're going to reevaluate things like yeah I don't think you can do the same things anymore you need to tweak some things you need to think outside the box but find what you're good at and stick to it and got to let the cards fall in your place I could not agree more and I think this is a great off season for the union to reevaluate and make some adjustments it's time to go back to the drawing board because a lot of their results this season as we know about the draws they had at the conclusion of the regular season six draws that they had in their final nine games uh also just the inability to score at times you cannot have those same woses going into next season and so definitely time for some some changes in terms of Personnel but also in terms of tactics as we're talking about figure out okay what is our best system that our guys play in you know because like you mentioned a three backback could be good for one team but a four back might be good for another team is it a diamond Midfield is it a traditional four across with two wide mides is it a 352 or 451 you know what are you playing in terms of tactics as your main go-to formation but then also how are you attacking through that you know it's it's tremendous that the union have such a strong backline and core in Andre Blake in their in front of them having you know Jacob gnes when he's out there Jack Elliott Damen low whoever steps in that Center back but okay what's your Midfield and forward line going to look like and how can they produce the other difference is lafc Columbus Crew they're scoring goals I mean I was I was watching Manchester City ttam I'm like wow this is how you attack I know I said that before about the Columbus Crew and I I'm one I like to watch what others are doing and learn from it and the union have a lot they can learn from in terms of the movement The Possession as a unit not just relying on Kai Vagner or whoever your outside back is to not great services in diagonally from 25 30 yards out so when you look on paper again it's it's a z00 tie and one-1 tie against Columbus and lafc this season and they're in the MLS Cup so many would say oh we tied them the union should also be in the MLS Cup no you have to score goals you have to be able to outp possess teams out suit teams shots on Target and actually finishing those chances so to me it's it's definitely time for a little bit of a reality check I hope this season was Reality Check to change some things make some improvements and make sure that the union especially offensively look different next season yeah you got to be able to to possess the ball like I know one thing we always emphasize this is a defensive oriented team I mean it's all about that High Press creating those turnovers all throughout the field and and then counterattacking with that with the speed that we have with our attack there but if it's not there what are you going to do when the team is playing keep away from you what are you going to do you have the ball you got to find a different way to score the goal it can't just be on our Counterattack and something that they did struggle with a little bit last year I mean we talked about D New England game I mean like oh that was terrible what they were doing in the final third and so that that's something that they definitely just need to address is finding ways to find uh find a way to possess there but one thing you guys can find a way to make your life easier is using the game time map of course ladies and gentlemen heading right to the game tail ging with your buddies don't have tickets well don't worry that's where the game game time app comes into place it is the best way to buy not only purchase tck tickets for sporting events but concerts and all the events that you were looking for but of course right now make sure you guys download the game time app and for our firsttime users use the promo code phly for $20 off that's right promo code phly $20 off on your first purchase thank you to game time app and make sure you guys are checking the game time app yes well you know as we're talking through ways that the Philadelphia Union can be better and what what'll take for them to essentially be a championship caliber team um you know that's something that a lot of clubs around the league are now scratching their head wondering taking a step back looking at how they can you know re-evaluate in terms of lineups tactics moves that they're making this offseason to help prepare and uh I know down in the Music City it's been a great week for baseball in terms of winter meetings well it's also we're venturing down in Music City to bring in our very own guest for today from Nashville you are play-by-play broadcaster reporter Wes bowling welcome into the show how are you Wes well I was doing okay and then you brought up baseball and I remembered as a lifelong hopeless Braves fan that I'm really mad at your Phillies for the second straight year so uh now I'm going to hop off and finish my workday and hope you have a nice day thank you no things are things are good I was say yeah you know it's been nice having you uh see you now that you said you're a lifelong Braves fan that we got to have some stricter requirements for our guests coming and apparently just let anybody in here yeah we'll let that slide we'll let that slide Wes we're talking about how the union could be a team that's an MLS Cup championship winning team for Nashville coming off of a season you know your fourth the fourth straight season that they make it to the playoffs uh also having a franchise High 13 wins nine of those being at home the defense being the best in the league you know what are your initial thoughts now we've all had a chance to process our respective teams coming out of the Season uh since we're not heading to the MLS Cup what are your ini IAL thoughts on Nashville in terms of this season Nashville that they had which was very great but still of course that one- nothing loss against Orlando City send them home and uh ends the great run that they had the season was fine and I think fine could be interpreted a couple different ways right I mean that you can't argue with the defensive performance it was outstanding home matches the team packed a little more punch at least for part of the year than they had before including some literal punch when sha Moore and jul and caranza got into it when when the union came down to to Music City uh the defense though when when you're that good and when you're built around that then you have to capitalize and that's where things were just fine for this team they weren't able to really ever find the offensive weapons or cohesion outside of leak's cup where it was epic to consistently compete and to beat teams uh that that they should have beaten and and the other thing that was frustrating I think was that this is a veteran group this is the oldest average uh uh roster age in the league 30.1 the only team 30 plus and yet you saw time and again a group of veterans lose their heads or lose their chemistry late in matches when they were chasing a game and again Philadelphia an example of that where they go down one nil there's a a couple of late red cards some sloppy play that were atypical of what this club has typically done so a a good year four straight playoff appearances on the club and Country podcast we have to regularly remind our listeners all was not lost and yet the hardest thing to maintain in this league is to be fine because either the parody of this league catches up with you and you fall below the pack or your supporters become ambitious because they see that you are good enough to ascend and you either make that Ascent or you take more chances in your attempt to do so and you fall so that's where things are right now at a bit of a precipice I think in Nashville where things were fine but supporters have gone from saying in the first three years hey pretty new club F's pretty good to all right Fine's getting kind of old Wes what's going on this is JP zapato over here real quick because like Nashville you know like Rene said you guys have been pretty consistent playoffs reigning MLS MVP from lash hoone MTAR so without that you would think that the goals would come and obviously it didn't so going to 24 what are you looking for for this attack to get that boost they need I think the first thing is the incorporation of DP Sam Surge from Nottingham Forest he was lightning in a bottle in leak's cup but never really translated to League Play where he scored just a couple times I think giving him an offseason to work with this group to work in particular with hany and perhaps new Talent up top alongside him will be a big benefit I I think the answers to this team's success are largely but not entirely already on the roster and I think that's what needs to come next and and we're all talking and you guys were talking just a minute ago about supplementing a roster with with you know talent and I think this club when it Scouts inside MLS has done great job finding pieces going back to their expansion formation but has a harder time bringing in successful Talent from outside the league that contributes immediately and yet that might be what the Mandate is to find a number eight who's going to pack some punch going forward maybe to go take advantage uh not to to rub salt in the wound of a tough contract situation or discussion and get an Ali badya on in here you know fits the veteran mold and a wing who can help out uh I know you talked earlier this week about you know how that a miscommunication that could totally have been avoided you know what maybe Nashville brings him in he's still he can still retire a union player but maybe he's on a one-year contract with a team option for a second and and he comes in and supplements I think this team just needs that extra little something and with Dax mccardy leaving and Fafa Pico leaving you know I think there are big pieces to replace and I don't think Nashville's looking at its current cast of characters and saying they're going to do all that lifting I think they're going to have to go out and bring somebody else in yeah it's it sounds very similar to what we have this in terms of problems with the Union as well uh for most people as you as anybody will know or may not know actually it's hard to score goals in soccer that's why being able to lock in a goal scorer is so coveted and you look at the fact that you guys have Hy MTAR who's one of the best in the league as you talked about reigning MVP from last season but then also Walker Zimmerman and a team that gave up just 32 goals all season on paper you guys have and you did show to be one of the top teams in the league but much like the union are on the outside looking in trying to take that next step and something you mentioned in terms of roster moves uh you know you're not bringing back everybody obviously uh Dax being one of them you know looking at the roster announcement that came out you know how what were the initial thoughts I should say when you heard the roster decisions um looking at the declined contract options the exercise contract options all the the mumbo jumbo of who's coming back for sure for Nashville next year and who's now going to be testing their Waters in free agency with someone like Dax mccardy and Fafa that's that's on the outside looking in and my first thought was that maybe those two players would enter free agency only to get renegotiated deals with Nashville at lower contract values given their age but then both basically said goodbye to Nashville unless they're just using that as leverage and being really good social media negotiators it sounds like they're out the door and I was not surprised with Dax particularly when it was reported I Believe by Tom bogert that he was seeking a multi-year deal I think that a lot of clubs are going to be hesitant to lock him in for multi-year at this point in his career as integral as he was as the captain for Nashville and so there was automatically then a bit of uh you know poignancy a little little sentimentality that comes with that that you're losing a player who's been such a warrior for this club on the pitch but also off it Nashville only won about 36 37% of the matches that that it played when Dax mccardy didn't start and that's up above 40% for when he when he's in the starting 11 and then Fafa Pico was I think a shot across the bow by this team a year ago when they signed him they wanted to trade for him actually in the August window last year and couldn't get it done and got it done in the off season putting him on one side and Jacob schafberg on the other their intention was to get much faster on the flanks and to then create more space in the middle for honey mutar because Defenders are coming and marking the flanks didn't quite work like they wanted to Fafa had a good year five goals one assist but I think when you look at that veteran salary point I think it was time for them to to talk about ways that they could get younger and unfortunately Fafa is a victim of that beyond that not really surprised by most of the other moves uh you Lucas mcnoon was a revelation as a third Center back that ended up competing for starting minutes and starting a lot of matches and I think that points to the to the larger strength of what Nashville does and what Philadelphia has done so well in its longer history which is to find undervalued assets from elsewhere pretty much any MLS team could go to Toronto and say half that roster is being misused right now and so Nashville has plundered Toronto for Jacob schafberg and now for Lucas MCN and immediately put them to very effective use in Music City and you know I I think I could continue talking about how I think Nashville models Philadelphia in a lot of ways and maybe intentionally so but that's one example and so I'm eager to see MCN back eager to see the core of this team back but I would still expect that we see more roster changes to come and probably um more turnover Nashville's roster going into year five than they've had any subsequent offseason uh West real quick so I want to talk uh manager obviously Gary Smith gone um so for this upcoming year for the new manager what are we looking for are we looking for an American are we looking for some obviously hopefully someone with an attacking background here but what are is Nashville particularly looking for this next manager so so Gary is still here he's still part of the club um he he's still got this job at least for now unless unless something broken the last hour while I was working but but he uh think you're you are channeling the ethos of a lot of the Nashville Lei Community though who I think again as I talked about are kind of tired of being fine and I think maybe undervalue how much work it takes to be good and and I think in Nashville's case pretty darn good uh for four years I think Gary Smith you know has has been consistent at a level that is hard to achieve in Major League Soccer and at a slightly higher level than he was in in Colorado and the benefit of that is that you have an identity and you know Gary comes in he's known for his defense he gets frustrated and privately he's mentioned some frustration when people call this team a defensive team he prefers the term organized I think we could quibble because I I think those can mean the same thing but but I think you know this team has really doubled and tripled down on the identity that he's built for this team which is to be tough to beat to be direct in the attack on the Counterattack and that's why they added speed along the flanks for instance in in Pico and jaffle BG so I think there's frustration with Smith because he is not going to give you um a pardon the term but a balls to the wall attacking mentality uh but I think when you do that when you if you were to bring somebody in that changed that approach again you're removing your floor not just your ceiling and I think Gary Smith is a high floor manager uh there have been many who have called for his dismissal departure uh I I'm not one of them I I will defend him I also know him personally and really respect a lot of what he stands for as a manager and a person but I think when you have a firm identity you have to show growth within that Identity or you're going to Foster impatience and Nashville didn't grow last year they didn't show that growth and so I think that bringing in an assistant or two who can challenge Gary Smith tactically uh when you have a good manager you give him resources to make him better uh you don't abandon him just because he's not great at the moment and think Nashville has a good manager and they need to give him the resources to to get to that next level that includes a couple more players too yeah I know Dominic in the chat is agreeing with you uh you know talking about Gary Smith very similarly to Jim curtain um there are a lot of similarities between Nashville and and and the union which is probably why every game between them becomes a tough battle red card to name it because it's like you're you're playing yourself uh in that sense of just how their style is both very defensive units well coach um but also teams that are struggling offensively to really turn that corner have that consistent offensive prowess um but un you know you look at the two teams in the MLS Cup they haven't really had that issue which is why they're playing this Saturday in the MLS Cup so LFC looking to win their second straight of course uh their first La last year was their first ever whereas Columbus MLS Cup predictions Crew looking to win their first since 2020 which will be their third title um you know we have been teetering around some MLS Cup talk I'm curious to know your initial thoughts on the MLS Cup in terms of predictions what are you expecting out of this matchup well looking back for a second I'm just thankful cincy's not in it um that's my first feeling you guys may share that feeling after some controversy in that one y u it's going to be a a great game and I heard you JP mentioning before I came on that you think it's going to be a high-scoring match I agree I I on our podcast this week picked a 3-2 final when it's 3-2 it's a coin flip as to who's going to score the three and who's going to score the two but I think in that coin flip you go to make this happen even on the road and what's going to be a a rockus environment so I like lafc in that one but I have never put a scent down on a sporting event and especially in this freaking League I never will uh because I would lose my house and home so now that I say that it's gonna be three nothing Columbus yeah seriously seriously uh I I knew your balls the wall comment was going to get some laughs in the chat because we've got some really interesting Minds in our in our usual suspects that tune in that I knew as soon as you said I'm like all right king crabs and different people are going to be chuing at that one are is there going to be any like cool like watch parties in Asheville do you know of any you know we have a restaurant sponsorship deal on our podcast I should probably have call them up we're two days away from the game might be a little late but the but the wife's going to be out uh actually that day so it's going to be me and my three-year-old so maybe I'll take him and and we'll get some french fries and have a boy day and go watch I don't of any of anything but there is a blossoming supporters culture here got a long way to go to to equal the sons of Ben and they're ill uh but we're we're trying here in Nashville so hopefully uh hopefully we can get there and you know I wantan I want to Echo to a thought about this these similarities between Nashville and Philadelphia because I think that that Nashville in a lot of ways is trying to be a microwave Philly you know it took a while for things to cook in Philadelphia right it took a while to go from but but but there was a plan and Jim curtain was there he was along for that plan that consistency I think has really paid off and I think when you look at elements of their identity you know of the supporter identity of the team identity there are similarities teams that are tough to beat Strong veteran presence uh consistent lineups these two ranked at the bottom of the League last year in number of players used uh Philadelphia was 23 Nashville was 24 and I know you guys talked I think Tuesday about you know play more players get some more guys involved when you have a hugely veteran group group and you're taxing those legs that could be a good thing or a bad thing but there's consistency there and what Nashville's been able to do I think is to model after a club like Philly and maybe do it a little faster on the front end but not to the same level just yet that Philly has allaha 2021 playoff loss uh there within PKS uh and so I I enjoy following Philadelphia and listening to you guys because I think we can see our future a little bit here in Nashville when we look at Philly based on the trajectory at least that that Nashville supporters would like this thing to go yeah I mean the union have come a long way from the Nix kevich days and and you know the initial uh years oh gosh yeah when you talk about uh the microwave version It's I guess I'm glad we can model it um but it is also frustrating as you talk about just the lack of use of players we've talked a lot about the depth and lack of but then on top of that both teams in Nashville and the union Are teams that are very defensive focused which means you have a lot of z00 one nothing two1 types of games so you're using less players and you're having a lot of your games go down in the wire and you're not scoring a lot not a great recipe so let's change what this microwave TV dinner uh you know option that we're putting together and make something that's a little bit more offense if we're going to mirror each other let's mirror each other on the other side of the field too so you're suggesting a mutual aggression Packa that both teams will sign a contract to be more aggressive next year works for me I like it well you guys are homegrown system away from becoming Philly I feel like what and that's what's next that's I think the first Academy player my prediction is the first Academy player for Nashville will make his debut next year ADM cic he's a striker remember the name he's like 17 uh he U is also part of the I believe Bosnian Youth System and uh I know that's exactly why everyone tuned in to learn about the Bosnian Youth System in Nashville's Academy but but I do think that's another element you know it's a residential Academy it's of course extremely young in its operation but I think there's a lot of optimism about the the talent that's coming through there and the leadership and that's it you know I I called matches for Nashville and USL as well and seeing Bethlehem Steel that's what they were when they played us in USL you know and and I mean getting to see Mark McKenzie in person uh Brendan arenson played in a match um against Nashville SC and USL at First Tennessee park at Triple A baseball stadium and that is my trivia whenever he's on TV now playing abroad and and so I think there's a lot of optimism around what's developing here but yet again you look at Philadelphia and the talent Market in Philadelphia the Homegrown options available way richer than here in Tennessee for now uh we're diversifying we're growing as a city but Philly is a model there as well for sure for sure my my last question for you um is as we talk about the similarities between Nashville and the union you know a lot of different components in terms of tactics that are MLS season so far the same but also in terms of the wear of the the season and the amount of games that they're playing and I know we've talked a lot about on the show here and I'm sure you've had plenty of conversations around it as well first of all I love the fact that you tuned in to our Tuesday show so thank you for that Wes um but also but also looking at the MLS season as a whole because we are two days away from the finale in the MLS Cup what have been your thoughts on every aspect I know i' I've kind of asked every guest that we have on here I'm always interested in everybody's answers uh what are your thoughts on how the league rolled out so many new components whether it was the TV deal or even of course we had Messi coming into the League this season you know a lot has happened this year also even the international mix of games and competitions of you know tapping into the the Mexican community of soccer Talent so what has been your takeaway from the way this 2023 season has really planned out I've loved it I think that major league soccer needs to be a league that tries stuff uh and I think that any club that tries to for instance you know Montreal a few years ago Club to foot uh you know they they changed their branding and they said we want to be a global brand are you really going to be are people in France going to embrace a a club for Montreal in Mass unless one of their stars goes and plays there no I think you have to do things differently you have to zag when everybody else is zigging and I think Major League soccer's going to going to take some chances when they do that and some of them are just going to flop they're just not going to work I mean you look like the runup shootouts in in the early days you know things like that like Hockey style shootouts they're a lot of fun I don't recommend bringing them back but that set the DNA of this league toward trying things and so I think League's cup was trying something and I think it worked beautifully and I'm not just saying that because Nashville was a penalty kick away from winning the dang thing saying it because I saw the Mexican fans come into geotus park the ones that that live like that Stadium's in a very diverse area of town and they live in many cases walkable distances from jodas Park and yet many didn't cross the threshold until America and Monteray came to town that's great for the for the club they can win over fans they can diversify this thing which they should be doing uh I think that across the leag that was the effect and it was it was wonderful to see but I I think also that the messy thing I mean that's ambition and I think we all looked at Miami maybe you guys are like me you looked for several years and said yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah you're linked with every player in the world I'll believe Messi when I see it well we got to believe it now and you know time will tell I think Messi could end up having the Dion Sanders effect a little bit uh you know if you guys are you know college football junkies like I am is Messi coming in to really Elevate things or is it a temporary burst of passionate excitement that goes away and becomes a remember when he was at Miami type of situation I think you know there's incalculable Global impact and impressions in Miami and for this league in the short term more so than Dion in Colorado even and he's Time Sports person of the year for some weird reason but but I think you know time will tell is their lasting impact of him coming to this league at the very least you you've planted a seed with people you've done something a little bit differently and ambitiously and he's playing for a pink team in a bunch of weather delays and and that's that's kind of exciting it's different it's Unique and uh you know it's it's I love Grant Wall's book The Beckham experiment because it talks about whether this was really about Beckham or was it about Maj League Soccer I don't think MLS was positioned to understand or capture Beckham's success then uh his Q rating I think it's better positioned now the TV deal brilliant brilliant I had questions like everybody did even as a friend of a lot of those broadcasters who got great gigs with apple and it went beautifully I thought with some minor quibbles that I could get into over a beer maybe we should do that next time I'm up in the Northeast there you go but again this League's gonna try stuff and it should never try to assimilate to just be like a top five Global League because ironically the way that it gets to becoming a top five Global league is by standing out not by fitting in and I love its desire to stand out even if I'm not going to agree with every chance it takes I like that how many uh since the season's ended for you guys how many pink jerseys you seen roaming around Nashville they would probably get eggs thrown at him if if I if there were any not Billy thr our playoff game against New England oh man someone just chilling in a section with the pink with pink Messi I'm a big University of Tennessee guy it's like going to to Tennessee Florida game and seeing a Georgia shirt like everybody's looking everybody on both sides like wrong place buddy you wear that at home uh it was interesting the number of Nashville SC season ticket holders whose kids showed up in messy jerseys the night of that game and you're like you know what all right first of all it's a kid yeah you do your thing you're you're you're you're you're still young and dumb whatever but but you you forgive it even from the adults because they're so enthusiastic about this game uh and and you think hopefully that will spill over into passion for the hometown team one of these days too so um you take the win along with the loss I guess I love that I love that well Wes it's been a pleasure having you on I know we opened up talking baseball and I'm gonna raise it one more because B in the chat is wanted to make sure you got a special thank you on behalf of all of us here in Philly to all of you in Nashville and down in Tennessee for AJ Brown so uh set our franchise back five years so you're most welcome we appreciate everybody you're representing all of the Tennessee and all the Titans fans and that so thank you for AJ Brown yeah you wonder why people in Nashville are resentful of everybody but the Flyers these days geez you guys taking all of our talent very true well it is beautiful down in Nashville geodas Park is incredible I've seen it in person oh my gosh and it's been great to see the way that you know the team has really evolved season after season um not when they're playing the Union don't enjoy well I enjoy those games too I should say but for a different reason so it's been a pleasure having you on and we'll have to do this again sometime thanks watch next time you're in Nashville look me up sounds good West bowling guys joining us down from the Music City uh Philly is death row yeah babita is saying poor Wes he's a Braves fan he's a University of Tennessee fan probably a Titans fan too you know anybody I always tell people if you're frustrated and tired of losing with your teams come on to Philly being part of some winning team yeah yeah I know that's that's always my to death row come on over to Philly sign with us you're going to win we're literally death row over here we are death row we are death row and and and like he said we're not the only fans that will throw throw things at people I mean you might get an egg Thro at you if you're wearing a messy difference is we we make national news though that happen right and that's I know we're not the only place I'm gonna maybe my next my new job I'm gonna I'm out of here I'm gonna just start focusing on uncovering all of the other fan bases that do ridiculous things you just got Rene yeah I'm going to be on like those on what is it like those mystery shows like Snap and stuff I'll be sitting there down in Nashville there was a person throwing an egg and I'll be like sharing all the behind the scenes and whatever else all right I love it that was a good interview though good stuff fun yeah it was fun and honestly I like what he said about Messi and and I want to get I want to touch on that but I first want to talk about the MLS Cup because we haven't had a chance to do so quite yet and it is coming up in just two days uh as of the time that we're having this conversation I know you mentioned you're expecting a lot of goals goals goals goal I would love to see a lot of goals goals goals goals because uh first of all not a team that I'm cheering for in it so I don't care what the fun result is have lots of goals scored have it be a wild insane game um everybody stay healthy and uh make sure it's some great soccer that's like really all that I'm looking for but it is pretty intense when you think about all the chaos that's happening leading up to the game and we're going to start with the tickets because tickets as we talked about JP before the show continue to be an issue as we all have been discussing the growth of the league and the access and the opportunities why aren't there opportunities for fans to be able to get to the MLS Cup games again and I know I was reading somewhere like the cheapest ticket you can find at like $500 but then the league did something weird with they like bought all these tickets were kind of bought out and now people are getting just the resale tickets like the the season ticket holders didn't have access to lower.com field tickets and as we know as a team that's been in many championships when you make it to a championship or even the playoffs your season ticket holders kind of get priority yeah and they got the wrong end of the deal and now there's a lot of uproar going on in Columbus because the crew can't have their usual crew in attendance put attendant there but you know don't get me started on resale conversations this is a household over here trying to get Taylor we got Bad Bunny tickets but Taylor Swift tickets so don't get me started on on wait you did get Bad Bunny but you did not get Taylor Swift I was trying to get the fiance tayor Show tickets but that didn't work out Bad Bunny was a mess in its own right but that that's like a whole topic we could probably do a pod on resell the resell issue we have going on I hate it but it I I go back to you know last week the MLS put out the whole you know am I under Miami sold all their season tickets you know who got screwed over in that those fans who were there in day one when they were garbage they and that's what people are saying like how are we not taking care of our own people like this is a baby of a league right and let's remember that like if you look at like the the early 2000s like the MLS was close of dissolving and there was a core fan bases in these in these cities like what was it eight nine 10 teams we had back then like that stayed supportive of these teams and even through this day some of those OG teams are garbage now and they're still supporting and like we're not taking care of our own people I listen I understand capitalism I understand like you know Money Talks right but like a good business business ethic to have too is to take care of the people that supported you from day one so you can't get them a freaking ticket I I think it's it's ridiculous so um Michael gon I think he's just a oh he's a sideline reporter I'm sorry he's a sideline reporter here for Univision and 2dn um so he put out a tweet per LFC team's ownership is flying the entire organization plus the players families guests to Columbus on Friday Friday uh that's about 400 people in total two charter flights and there will be 750 supporters for lafc in Columbus um I think we gave or no I'm sorry nycfc uh got like somewhere around 2,000 during the 2021 I saw if I remember that correctly I just remember nycfc complaining that whole playoff Runabout away tickets and whatnot but it's just you gotta you got to have a more organized type of type of way of doing this and the bigger we get you know you see I mean you see the Super Bowl I mean I was watching that Kelsey documentary hearing the prices that Kelsey's family had to pay just to get the family to the Super Bowl that that Jason's playing in $100,000 and their supporter group 32 52's privileges have been suspended after an investigation because in the last game there was a delay in the game if anybody remembers and that was because the supporter group decided to bring in so they smuggled in flares set the flares off and uh it's about 20 flares that they set off that were not authorized by the MLS and the flares created so much smoke that's what led to the game being delayed and so now after all of that there's some investigations going through uh because those privileges are going to be restricted in the next in the MLS Cup I should say but also I'm sure moving forward for next season is what I I'm I'm reading yeah I mean listen at the end of the day rules are in place and we have to follow them I Smuggling flares mean like smuggling flares I I get why you did it but like rules are in place so we we have to follow them but the bigger picture and the bigger issue here one thing I've always criticized the MLS and since I've started covering the union I felt like this and I still think we're still in this like there's this like stigma that we're like the Suburban family league right and like that's fine like you know there's nothing wrong with having a bunch of suburban families coming here with a cheap ticket trying to take the kids out but like we need to evolve from that we need to make it more inclusive where where is that crazy soccer environment you see in Argentina or in Germany like we need to allow that to happen like at the end of the day flares I mean they're not they're not a bad thing and if like you don't like it there are other sections that you can sit at um it's funny too though I do find a little hypocrisy here by the MLS because it's crazy that we can use 3252 to Market our Le with those same exact flares but then we got to go ahead and do an investigation throw punishment so like what do we what are we doing here at MES this looks terrible it's a nice nice little black guy for the league here that's a good point actually uh I know there were my question comes down to security and Jose is actually in the chat asking the same thing that I was wondering well I wasn't wondering Jose's exact question because Jose is asking how they how they hid the flares and he's like never mind I don't want to know um yeah and I know you guys are ready to take that and run with it so my question is a little bit more of like how did it get past security not like how did they I don't need to know how they hid them I need to know because I'm a little concerned that you're able to bring in a flare for anybody that's never seen a flare before they're a good size those aren't like a cigarette size thing like they're pretty solid they've got some size to them so if you're able to snuggle that into a game I'm very much concerned about security that that wasn't picked up on and I am also concerned about where it was it's it's ging it's giving the meme where like that security cards literally it doesn't even care it's just like tap like that's literally what it's giving yeah it just it's it's very dangerous and it's very concerning for security but also for the people because where where were those 20 flares on your body I mean I've seen people try to sneak in tall boys into Subaru park it doesn't always work but you know teach their own I guess as women there's an advantage because we have other like our clothes and different things I bet you didn't think that's where I was going with that comment we've got shoes that can hide things uh we've got you weren't expecting that Tyler they're requesting you here need to hear zulie yeah um no Ty you definitely hit The essentials some stuff in CB CBP don't lie now so I I am like I am like the essentials and that's it like I am not bringing anything in that I have to carry if it's like a a a partially warm partially cool day I'm either the jacket stays on the entire time or there's no jacket like I am minimalistic to the point of if I have to hold it in my hand for more than a a fraction of a second and it's not my phone I'm not bringing it in so like I I have I I have no um I have no like anything extra not happening see I'm actually kind of the complete opposite like I will have a whole bunch of things but I'm I'm like that in clear bag that they have to bring in yeah like I'm like that in general like even when I come into work I have bags on bags like I'm a bag lady and I always have extra stuff and I remember like even when we went down for the Phillies games and the weather at that time you know ta sow gating is warm it's cold by the game so I'm complete opposite of Tyler where I'm like all right I have a I had a bag that like folded up into like a small little thing so I could stick in my pocket and I had a hat in the in that bag had things that I had to layer for later then I also had my snacks because I go everywhere with snacks had my drinkar I always yeah so I had I'm literally complete opposite where I always smuggle stuff in now I'm not smuggling flares in but I absolutely smuggle in snacks drinks layers po possibly if you want a blanket I mean that's not really a smug it was actually Rene with the flares and 30 it was me guys it actually was me I was the one doing it and then I do wear like that's why I said your clothes for women because I wear like a lot of boots and I've stuck so many things in those boots so many things I remember I went into the into the bar um I've definitely done that like sneak in like a little liquor into and I had a whole I had a whole spread in those boots I was like what do you guys want for dinner what do you need I got this in the right leg I got this in the left leg what you want so I'm definitely all about like every once in a while smuggle things in plus what my rule is like I will smuggle something in that if it gets taken I'm not going to be upset about it like I wouldn't smuggle in like a drone or something like I'm simple I'm smuggling things I could lose then I'd be fine with like food I'm I'm with I'm with Tyler I'm simple wallet keys phone that's all I need charger the pocket P down right the the the the the wallet Keys phone pat down you're good that's all you need it is different when you're going as media cuz I have the book bag and everything media is different me and I have sandwiches I got like I have I brought real dinner for that even though they give us food I still bring my own food just in case I don't want the food that the media gets so the media as a media member I I first also bring extra shoes because I don't usually wear my shoes in that I'm wear once I'm inside the stadium like I'm probably wearing heels I'm going to wear something I can move quickly in oh yeah we we can have a whole show on what how you smuggle things in I remember reading one spot that at tison Bank Park somebody like had bought this whole thing up that you can bring in spaghetti I know we talked about in the Philly show one time you can bring spaghetti in a bag in a ziplock bag like there's ways guys there's ways to be able to do things funny oh yeah little spaghetti in a bag that that is pretty hilarious Joe I appreciate this see Joe knows I for Everton up to nothing let's go toffees Tom Bogert uh yeah also just saw Tom bogert with some bogert with some breaking news we got a Boog bomb around a Boog bombb R Rapids are in advanced talks over potential deal to sign goalkeeper Zack stefen from Manchester City so it is possible I we were weirdly talking about Manchester city today because I was just watching them play uh it is possible to bring in some big names from International clubs Philadelphia Union we're looking at you but you know where else we're looking Zone too that's oh yeah that is actually uh I yeah many stories there many stories he's from this area but there's another spot that you can go that you can make sure you're always taking care of and you can smuggle in some great things that's herob bread because they've got delicious bread wraps rolls uh if you're looking for anything breakfast lunch or dinner herob Bread's got you covered now over at herob bread they have options that are fluffy delicious high fiber ultralow net carb zero gam sugar per slice and also fewer calories in the leading National brand and they give you the opportunity to now make sure regardless of your lifestyle allergies diets you have a chance to have some delicious nutritious options at herob bread so head over to hero. use code phly and be able to get 10% off of your purchase you can also shop for them on Amazon and again hero. using Code pH gets you a nice 10% discount so that you can have an opportunity to try out herob breed's delicious nutritious option that they have there for you and your family this holiday season that's tougher Zach I mean I know he's had his issues with injuries and playing time and Manchester City coming back home yeah I think that's a good get for Colorado but I definitely feel for Zach not sure what that means for his us uh usmnt perspective there we'll have to ask Larry Henry about that one but that is interesting then we also had um an interesting one from St Louis city they did trade for Chris Durkin uh the midfielder from DC United uh good two good twoe player so uh St Louis building a strong Squad maybe some depth there too so Tommy bogs is definitely busy these days it's funny like people like Tom bogs Adam Sher season's over you think like ah they get to relax it back it gets even crazier during the offseason as well oh yeah it is it definitely does uh without a doubt and Zach Stephan that's where like I'm like okay I just saw breaking across my phone um but it is great Zach Stephan as you talk about specifically from the area uh played at the club that I used to actually coach out of uh with FC Delo and it's got some great ties to the area and and you know it's a great hey good for good for Colorado I guess but you know what else has been good for the MLS that's the messy effect because I know the final episode of messy meets America is dropping or has dropped I guess today um I actually binge that yeah I'm I need to binge things I don't like to watch it and have to wait so I'm all about binging for sure but I know that I was reading somewhere and uh there was it kind of surprised me a little bit as you know we now have had a chance to kind of process the fact that Messi came to the MLS this season I know you know David Beckham was a name that was one of the first to absolutely come um come over to the MLS and now we're seeing more and more and more names and and big names that are you know coming over and Messi's been a big part of that and so you know when you look at Messi specifically and what he's done for the league obviously huge impact in terms of just getting more butts and seats more merchandise sales more people interested in downloading Apple TV and following and so I I kind of go back to like which happened first was it Le lonel Messi that helped make this season successful or was the season going to be successful and Messi helped that out like it like I don't know like I I know obviously the T TV deals and everything happened first but when you look at what Messi has done to improve the league the talk around the league I know uh Thiago alad was saying like far before he even was was thinking about the Ms Messi was already kind of like in his mind talking and thinking about mls in the United States and being in United States soccer like that was like what um but for Messi I don't I don't know if this season is as successful without the deals in place like was the league ready for Messi or was Messi the one that helped the league make those St I don't even know if that question makes sense I I get what you're saying which came first I don't know which came first the league or like I mean I know which came first but you know check ear like you're dumb I was clearly MLS so I I think that without Messi this league would have kept going and theory was already going in the quality on the pitch has been improving I think this year has improving as well the issue was the amount of matches and you saw how that affected the quality towards the end but even if you look at what created the extra matches leagues cup that was an entertaining tournament yeah besides the messy effect there was a lot of good soccer being played and that brought a lot of eyes to the other matches that weren't included with Miami off the pitch yes we took Leaps and Bounds because of Messi when I have like people texting me yo you have tickets to Union and Miami that I haven't talked to in forever we don't even care about soccer I mean we're doing something right as a league here and I think going forward into year two we talked about it on Monday you know Luis Suarez possibly coming to inter Miami as well that's going to be a fun team to watch and they're gonna have a full season to get it right I I mean Miami success could really bring even more butts and eyes to the game and for sure it sucks because you know me I'm a union KN I'm an MLs I bleed the blue and gold but I know the bigger picture is I know what Messi brings to this league and it's G to keep getting bigger I mean even for like those smaller markets like a like look at like a like a market like Chicago yeah a 90s Club from the 90s came in in 96 I'm sorry 90 no 98 98 and so they have been here for a while obviously really stagnant because they've been terrible over the past decade and so when Messi comes in town you see what the effect that does Soldier Field is packed and so off the pitch Messi has really helped this league become more part of pop culture and I think MLS would like to be part of that you know get to like you know like that Tris and that that Taylor Swift type of status so I think the MLS has become more of a popular League yeah I think this year The Messi Effect you know when you look across Sports of the names that really helped Elevate leagues and the conversation around leagues whether you like it or not it's Deion Sanders with Colorado overall with the college football scene it's um showy Otani right now in baseball with how you know he's been such a big name that everyone's following and track could use some of that to be honest yeah it's been Travis Kelsey on on the heels of more Taylor Swift but the Travis Taylor Duo and it's been L me like Messi's been the guy that's been the main one that's everybody around the MLS or the soccer World is talking about and now has other International stars like a Luis Suarez you know who are even considering or interested in coming to the MLS you know people follow Messi Messi is the goat Messi is a household name and most people that don't don't even know a thing about soccer no Messi and so that's where he has been I I like what you mentioned that crossover of like pop culture Entertainment Sports the intersection of all of that Messi has now United Soccer that regardless if you're the casual fan or you know a true fan that's followed soccer your entire life and watches Premier League games and Champions League games and all these you know Messi everybody knows Messi I don't know if you saw faan rankles tweet today but uh the vot put out like their 2023 like fashion like Staples this year could you believe that Messi's pink jersey got put in that list that is a fashion that is a fashion Staple in 20203 are you kidding me I've been wearing Union jerseys this whole time what you where my props so all you guys rocking Messi jerseys you are fashionistas and you didn't even know it that is pretty wild actually s pink messy Jersey you're an influencer there you go the messy effect and and listen as we get into the off seon more and more we're going to see even more of how the Messi effects play plays out because we haven't had a chance to see a full season yeah of Messi in the MLS so I'm excited because I've always been a true messy fan I always say he's he's on my list of favorite players of you know of all time for All Sports and it's been great to see you know I think everybody like Wes was even talking about whether it's your kids that are rocking messy jerseys or you know he's been he's been around for so long that a lot of us grew up on Messi myself included and so now to be able to have a chance to see him in person and see him playing in in the league that we follow and watch it's awesome it's awesome so it's definitely made a lot of conversation and apparently even a list for fashion Aces out there that if you're rocking a mass New Jersey you too are basically the next GQ cover you know model basically is what I got from what you just shared yeah so I mean listen you don't have to wear the messy Jersey if you don't want to but if you're looking for some gear and you're looking for some sports merchandise and memorabilia we got the place for you folco thank you to FCO for sponsoring us here today they're the leading manufacturer in sports and entertainment merchandise the product line that includes apparel accessories toys collectibles novelty items and much much more right now foco got you hooked up guys for n pre-sale items use the promo code ph10 you'll get 10% off of that ladies and gentlemen that's right use the code ph10 at the checkout page 10% off thank you so much to FCO and make sure you guys check out our friends over at FCO well while we are talking about the international presence and the growth of the sport uh tonight is an exciting night of course it's the draw for the 2024 Copa America and that's happening in Miami um at James night Center and it's an opportunity to be able to see you know where and who teams are going to be playing of course it's cop America's going to be hosted in 14 different cities around the United States June 20th July 14th I know JP you are so excited for this um we all are it's great and obviously it means again much like you talk about Messi being in our backyard cob America's in our backyard and so that's going to be a huge huge huge opportunity because of course you've got the defending champs none other than Argentina and Mr L Messi himself so so it's going to be fun it is going to be fun it is going to be fun uh seeing the South American game this tournament I it means obviously the world to me but for a lot of South Americans it's extremely important you know it's very close to the World Cup depending on who you ask yeah um but it's cool to have it here in our backyard I obviously will be watching as much Columbia that I can in person um but the uh the the the sites the the the stadiums the venues that we're using that's where I I have my question marks here I don't I don't know what we were thinking here um so they obviously announced the these cities that we will be having these um these games in and uh Philadelphia did not make the cut uh we have three in Texas like two in in California uh we have two in Kansas C I'm like trying to think where are we playing I guess children Mercy's Park and and Arrowhead but like I don't I feel like um Children's Mercy doesn't hold a lot of people yeah um the in the Northeast we have obviously North Jersey right we have I feel like that but it's usually it's usually either it's usually both It's usually the link and the Met Met Life I'm surprised by that too actually they decided to go with Charlotte um and Mercedes ben Stadium well yeah I mean you you know they're G they're gonna go with the Ben but this listen I don't want to disrespect Charlotte because I really feel like they can provide a really good soccer environment I mean you've seen what was it the first home match they broke Atlanta's record um so I I don't want to give that give take it away but when you're talking about the sport we're talking about a sport um I can't think of many cities in America that gives a better experience as far as Sports watching than Philadelphia and that is what we're missing out here on cop America you got to come to Philadelphia I just don't get how you don't obviously it's done now but that was my head scratcher there no Philly there but hey we'll travel around but but especially like it would have been a good warm-up for the World Cup that we're having here in 26 but they didn't see the same thing yeah I think uh when you look across this list Atlanta makes sense to me Vegas of course makes sense La um also Austin yeah I think this the head scratchers are and I don't know if it's an attempt you know you're trying to spread out so to speak and be able to hit as many markets as you can not sure where they why they chose these was it based on attendance from you know MLS or even nwsl games of these respective markets in these areas you know I'm curious what and then also I'm assuming based off what I've heard from World Cup talks um you do have to be able to provide certain things so that could possibly get too you have to be able to provide certain things like training facilities and other resources outside of the actual games themselves so maybe part of the reasoning for these 14 chosen cities for the 2024 cop America comes down to who could have provided all of that uh but I do think instead of having like two venues in Kansas City do one in Kansas City why do need two in Kansas City it's not that big uh one in Kansas City and then one somewhere else um that to me would have been the vote and then maybe you scratch between Santa Clara and I mean Arizona's pretty cool I guess we have Houston and Arlington it's the awes one I mean I just and like I like do we really want to use MLS venues for this tournament like is still going to be pack guys like listen people are going to travel for these matches we have hu especially like it's clear that they wanted to play in heavily Latin population populated areas that's a good point that's why that's a lot of Southern parts of the country as well too I'm sure so like why are we playing no disrespect to our league but why are we playing in ml1 stadiums for this tournament yeah well we will find out more JP I know you've got a bone to pick with Copa America and we will find out I'm coming for you oh man the whole Copa America JP's coming for you watch out so the draw does happen tonight 7:30 p.m. um and that'll be exciting to see as those details get finalize but uh listen it's it's a lot going on right now internationally within the MLS of course we're always keeping an eye on the Philadelphia Union and so uh you know for for all of us here at pH Union podcast we will continue twice a week Tuesday Thursdays we'll be able to unpack a lot of soccer news uh whether it's the fact that Everton won three nothing hey or the fact that you know maybe there's a big trade happening or signing happening we're following it all here on ph Union podcast so make sure you're following us on Twitter phore Union you're keeping up with the show you're subscribed you're tuned in we also have a great deal for anybody that's interested in being a diard we have a great deal with our di hard memberships 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Eastern time we will be live back here for Tyler JP myself Rand our special guest West bowling from down in Nashville thanks for tuning in and have a great weekend let's see what happens in that MLS Cup [Music] D we allting like the mayor