The Night Before Santa Comes Linkage: Soccer History in Philly, More Pfeffer, & MLS / World Soccer News

It's Christmas Eve and if you've been a good boy or girl, you're anxiously awaiting all of the goodies that Santa is going to leave under the tree for you tonight.  On the other hand if you've been bad like me, then you're going to see your coal collection grow exponentially by this time tomorrow morning.

But if you don't celebrate Christmas, this entire conversation is pointless.

The one thing that we all celebrate is soccer, so to tide everyone over until tomorrow, here are some links on our favorite team (the Union), as well as some goodies from around the MLS and world.

Christmas Soccer in 1890s Philadelphia [The Philly Soccer Page] – Excellent historical write-up by Ed Farnsworth.

Union's youth movement gets its start [MLSSoccer.com, Dave Zeitlin] – And the Pfeffer pieces keep rolling in. 

Union Signs 15-Year Old Zach Pfeffer [The 700 Level] – The venerable local blog talks about the local boy done good (with video!).

NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL & MLS Total Number of Fans Raw Data (Part 1) – I love statistics – kudos to Tweed Thornton at Hot Time in Old Town (Chicago Fire) for putting this together.  I will definitely be back for the next part.

Timbers ads start to appear around Portland – As a city that just welcomed an MLS team last season, I think we all can appreciate the excitement that Portland Timbers fans are feeling.  Here's an eye-catching ad that appeared on I-84 in the city.  Also, don't forget to stop by Stumptown Footy to welcome these guys to the SB Nation mix.

Yesterday's Arsenal link roundup [The Short Fuse] – Yes, I'm a Gooner.

A Villa Festivus – In late 2007, I spent a night at a pub in Birmingham (UK) with some Aston Villa supporters who showed me that Brummies know how to have a good time. See how our friends over at 7500 to Holte are celebrating their Festivus.