For one night, the Union make it fun again

It was a long time coming.

The past eight months have been horrible for Philadelphia Union fans. A winless streak that was approaching the ignominy of MLS all-time winless streaks does a lot to a fan. It stops being fun to watch the team find new and creative ways to not win, be it a David Villa golazo that we will literally never stop seeing or giving up three unanswered goals to Montreal. It wears on you.

Last Saturday felt good. It was cathartic. It re-instilled pride in the team. As Jim Curtin said in the post-game press conference

“I wanna thank our fans, the ones who have stuck with us through this time. To the fans that have bailed on us, we understand and we will work to win you back."

It’s been tough to be a fan over the past few months. I don’t blame anyone who bailed, just as those who have stayed shouldn’t be overly lionized. Sports should be an escape from the problems of the world, and it’s a tough ask to expect everyone to want to try and escape from their problems with a team that hadn’t won in 16 games.

This win doesn’t fix everything. The Union are still twenty-first out of twenty-two teams, dead last in the east, and still have significant issues with depth and personnel.

But take a minute and soak it all in for a second. The Union won a game. We’ll never have to hear about August 27, 2016 again. They’re on a three game unbeaten streak. It’s fun to be a fan again.