Why Philadelphia Union Fans Should Care About the Other 28 MLS Teams

It is impossible to keep track of the other 28 MLS clubs, so here's a glance at why you should care about the non-Union teams in 2023.

Major League Soccer’s continued expansion makes it difficult for anyone to follow all of the 29 clubs. 

Tracking every team will be even more challenging in 2023 since the new Apple TV deal has set kickoff times on Saturday night. The whiparound show on Apple will be awesome to keep up with the action, but we will not know the ins and outs of certain teams. 

Philadelphia Union fans have every reason to care about everyone in the Eastern Conference more because of the amount of games against East opposition. 

The Western Conference will not get as much attention, especially the teams that are not on the Union’s schedule. 

So that’s why I’m here. Instead of writing the same generic season preview that you’ve read at 10 different websites, I’m here to tell you why you should care about the other 28 MLS teams. 

Atlanta United: Josef Martinez is gone, but the Five Stripes still have Ezequiel Barco and Thiago Almada among others. If they put it all together, they could be dangerous in the East, but we also said that for most of the second half of last season. 

Austin FC: The most exciting team you won’t see play the Union this year. Austin signed Sebastian Driussi to a new long-term deal and he should light up the scoreboard again. The Verde made some smart signings as well with Gyasi Zardes and Will Bruin providing support for Driussi up top. Say what you want about Zardes, but that move could make Austin even more effective in attack. 

Charlotte FC: Derrick Jones breakout season? Derrick Jones is only 25? Jones has been around MLS for what seems like forever after he broke in with the Union and Bethlehem Steel in USL. It would be a great story for him to finally cash in on his potential. As for Charlotte as a team, it’ll probably fight one of the lower playoff berths. 

Chicago Fire: Chicago overpaid the Union for Kacper Przybylko and now it wants to get rid of the striker. That’s one of the many moves made in recent years that have doomed the Fire. The Union need to find a new ringer against them with Cory Burke gone. Other than that, it’s same old Fire you’re used to.

FC Cincinnati: The Philadelphia Union Alumni Midwest Bureau will be better. Chris Albright is gutting all the bad contracts and he’s made some shrewd signings. The big key is whether Brenner, who has been the target of big European moves, will be around. Cincinnati had one of the best three-pronged attacks last year with Brenner, Lucho Acosta and Brandon Vazquez.

Colorado Rapids: I’m going to steal someone else’s schtick here. #AMISHMESSI. Keegan Rosenberry carved out a solid career for himself in Colorado. The Rapids have an awesome new secondary kit, but that’s about it. They always seem to overachieve, but we won’t notice that over here until October. 

Columbus Crew:  Be happy to see the Crew on opening weekend and then not again until the end of September. Wilfried Nancy is one heck of a coach and Cucho Hernandez is a pure scorer. They will be dangerous, but maybe not in Week 1. 

D.C. United: D.C.’s most intriguing addition under Wayne Rooney has been Christian Benteke. The former Liverpool and Crystal Palace man has one 10-goal season since the 2016-17 EPL campaign. I wouldn’t be too scared. 

FC Dallas: If you’re based in Philly, you probably only care about FC Dallas if you’re passionate about the USMNT. Jesus Ferreira, Paul Arriola and Co. come to Chester in August, and by then, you’ll have your hot takes ready about how overrated they are and will shout at them for 90 minutes. I personally think they are perfectly rated, but do a quick Twitter search during a FC Dallas game and ohh buddy it’s rough.

Houston Dynamo: Ben Olsen is back! He recruited Brendan Burke and Aurelien Collin to be assistant coaches on his staff. They signed what I’m sure is MLS’ first player with the first name Djevencio. So that’s a fun fact. 

Sporting Kansas City: Sporting KC comes to Chester on April 1 and you probably won’t care about them after that point. Did you know Peter Vermes is from Delran? You’ll hear that a few times during the buildup to that match. A lot of people will pick them to be a dark horse in the West, and if Alan Pulido is healthy, they could be that.

LA Galaxy: The Galaxy fans hate club president Chris Klein. When you try to google him, the actor from American Pie comes up first. They are going to live and die by Chicharito and a shaky defense again. 

LAFC: Revenge. You all want sweet revenge. The bad man from Wales is gone, and so is Cristian Arango. When September 23 comes around, I won’t be surprised if we’re calling that match a MLS Cup preview again. Until then, you’ll probably hear about how awesome of a job LAFC has done to replace those players. Unfortunately, they aren’t going anywhere. 

Inter Miami: Here’s your underrated team to be scared about in the East. Phil Neville is a competent manager. He showed that last year. Josef Martinez is hungry as hell to come back and score 20 goals. Leo Campana is a sneaky good striker. We’ll probably be talking about the Herons as a top-five, or better, team in the East. 

Minnesota United: The Union don’t play Minnesota. Emanuel Reynoso is suspended without pay for not showing up in preseason. The Loons don’t have any superstars and are perfectly average. They probably won’t get much of our attention. 

CF Montreal: If Montreal found a way to bring back Ignacio Piatti, I’d be way more interested in the team. Hernan Losada failed upward from his time in D.C. and landed with CF Montreal (They are still, and always will be, the Impact to me.) You’ll probably look them up in September and Romell Quioto will have 10+ goals, but that’s about it for them this year. 

Nashville SC: They were in the West, then the East, then the West, then the East and I think they’re back in the West now? But wait never mind, they’re actually in the East. Hany Mukhtar is a stud, but also he stole the MVP away from Andre Blake and Daniel Gazdag.

New England Revolution: I’m personally still bored by the Revs after they played the Union like eleventy billion times in the COVID-affected seasons. To no one’s surprise, Bruce Arena has built a behemoth in New England. The Revs will be very good and let’s just hope everything is locked up before Decision Day on the Gillette Stadium turf, which I’m sure will have NFL lines on it by then. 

New York Red Bulls: You all hate the Red Bulls, right? I don’t need to give you another reason to care about a rival team, but if there is one, it’s Cory Burke’s production in north Jersey. 

New York City FC: It’s time to follow the Valentin Castellanos strategy and kick NYCFC while it's down. Ok, I know it was a push, but you know what I mean. NYCFC is going to look drastically different than years past. For that reason alone, I think the Pigeons are a fascinating team to keep eyes on, even if they are not as high up as usual. 

Orlando City: Orlando City made a lot of signings in the offseason. The Lions could be good, could be bad or just average, like they have been recently. I think they are fascinating to keep an eye on just because of how new everything is. 

Portland Timbers: I had writer’s block when I hit Portland, so I asked my wife, who doesn’t watch MLS, to give me a line on the Timbers.

“Their kit is quite pleasing to the eye this year and you can’t miss them.” 

You know what? She’s not wrong, so I’m keeping it. 

Real Salt Lake: Former Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath is RSL’s No. 1. He had 10 clean sheets in 34 starts last season. There’s an individual to root for when you flip on the west coast MLS matches on a Saturday night. 

San Jose Earthquakes: You can guarantee that San Jose will be on your television late at night after the Union are done playing. Jeremy Ebobisse thrived in his first year in San Jose last season. Jamiro Monteiro had a decent season as well. The Quakes should be better with former FC Dallas manager Luchi Gonzalez now in charge. It won’t be the same chaotic soccer of Almeyda-ball, but they should still be fun. 

Seattle Sounders: I started writing about Seattle and then got this comment from my marriage’s foremost Cascadia expert. 

“I confused Portland and Seattle and I take back my comment about Portland. You can miss Portland. They blend in with the trees. You can’t miss Seattle because all of their sports teams wear neon colors to cut through the pacific northwest fog.” 

Again, not wrong. 

St. Louis City SC: St. Louis City SC is new. The expansion side will have eyes on it just for that reason. We have no idea what the team will look like, especially with no superstars. Former Union first-round pick Josh Yaro is on the expansion roster. 

Toronto FC: You’ll hear this about Toronto FC many times this season. Bob Bradley had an offseason to revamp the roster and the Reds will be a contender in the East. I firmly believe that. Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi will score a ton of goals when healthy and Sean Johnson will make them better in the back. 

Vancouver Whitecaps: I haven’t paid much attention to Vancouver lately, and you probably won’t either because the Whitecaps do not play the Union and they aren’t the first west coast team you think of to watch. The Whitecaps have the feel of a team we would watch more of in the second half of the season if they get better, but there’s no real draw right now.