It’s Officially Philly (and the SOBs Rejoice)

I’m guessing we have some hungover SOBs in Philly this morning.

(SOB = Sons of Ben. What did you think I meant?)

Sons of Ben, if you’ll remember, were the supporters group without a team. The gang from Philadephia who have been working and pushing and hoping that the gods of MLS expansion would someday smile on them.

And now, at last they have gotten their wish. The official announcement was yesterday. In one of the worst-kept secrets in history, Philadelphia are the newest expansion team. They will begin play in 2010.

“We are thrilled to welcome Philadelphia to Major League Soccer,” said Commissioner Garber. “Philadelphia brings in one of the most passionate sports markets in the country and provides a natural rivalry with the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United.

“Thanks to the steadfast commitment of Jay Sugarman’s group and the vision of Pennsylvania government officials, MLS is coming soon to Philadelphia,” Garber added. “We look forward to celebrating the world’s most popular sport in the country’s fourth-largest market and in a state-of-the-art soccer-specific stadium.”

(Cue requisite gnashing of teeth over “recreating the overexpansion sins of NASL” and “dilution of the talent pool.” The Sons of Ben are big boys. They can handle it.)

I spotted this cool video over at Center Holds It. It’s of the post-announcement celebration, with SOBs and the ownership group. Breton at CHI is apparently an SOB himself, pictured in the video. Who knew? (My thought after watching: This is a really, really male group. This is probably why they’re not called “Daughters of Ben.”)

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Category: MLS