December 11, 2021: New York City FC Win the MLS Cup

December 11, 2021: New York City Football Club win the MLS Cup.

With the New York Tri-State Area having at least 2 teams in the other sports, and just the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer, there was room for a 2nd team. A revived New York Cosmos never got their act together to get admitted to MLS. So NYCFC was founded in 2013, and began play in 2015.

They played most of their home games at the new Yankee Stadium, due to the New York Yankees holding a 20 percent ownership stake. The remaining 80 percent is owned by City Football Group, owned by Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, brother of the President and de factor monarch and dictator of the United Arab Emirates.

City Football Group also owns Manchester City Football Club, which has dominated England's Premier League since 2012; Melbourne City FC, the Australian team formerly known as Melbourne Heart, so they, metaphorically, "cut the heart out of the club"; and teams in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Uruguay, India, China and Japan.

The UAE is a country whose official policy discriminates against women, Jews and gays, making them anathema to many in the mainly-liberal Tri-State Area. Their own fans don't care. They point out their slogan, "Five Boroughs, One City," and remind Red Bull fans that they play in New Jersey (in Red Bull Arena in Harrison, Hudson County), not in the City.

This came back to bite City fans, known to Red Bull fans as "The Smurfs" due to their blue jerseys, when, not controlling their own venue, they had to move "home games" due to the Yankees controlling scheduling at Yankee Stadium. They were able to move some games to the New York Mets' Citi Field. But they've had to play 2 games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, 116 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Red Bull fans have called City "East Hartford FC."

The low point for Red Bull fans, until the 2021 MLS Cup Final, was their own team's management opening Red Bull Arena up to NYCFC for "home games." The high point was on May 21, 2016, when the Red Bulls went into Yankee Stadium and beat City, 7-0. Despite the Red Bulls being a charter MLS team that had never won an MLS Cup, losing its only Final in 2008, they could still, with much legitimacy, claim, "New York is Red."

That changed in the 2021 Playoffs. The Red Bulls reached the Playoffs in their 2nd season, 2016, for the 1st of 4 straight trips to the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. They got knocked out in the 1st Round in 2020. But in 2021, they beat Atlanta United in the 1st Round, beat the New England Revolution away on penalty kicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and beat the Philadelphia Union away in the Conference Finals.

They faced the Portland Timbers, at Providence Park in Portland. The 1st half was a bit dull, until Valentin Castellanos putting NYCFC on the board in the 41st minute. They thought they had the game won, until stoppage time: In the 94th minute, Felipe Mora equalized for the Timbers.

There was no scoring in extra time, and the game went to penalties. City goalkeeper Sean Johnson saved penalties from Mora and Diego Valeri. Alexander Callens sent the winning penalty kick home.

New York City FC were the Champions of Major League Soccer. It was the 1st top-flight league title for a New York-based soccer team since the original Cosmos won Soccer Bowl '82, 39 years earlier. And it was the 1st league title for a New York-based team in any sport since the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI, nearly 10 years earlier.

New York was now Blue. It was the most humiliating moment in the long, humiliation-riddled history of the New York Red Bulls, and they didn't even play.

*

December 11, 2021 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. There was 1 college football game played that day, the Army-Navy Game. Navy beat Army, 17-13 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors, 102-93 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Washington Wizards, 123-98 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls, 118-92 at the FTX Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets, 113-106 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 127-112 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Nikola Jokić led all scorers on the night with 35 points, and also had 17 rebounds.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings, 117-103 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic, 106-104 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And there were 12 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-2 at the UBS Arena.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-0 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 in a shootout at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Anaheim Ducks, 1-0 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Dallas Stars, 2-1 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

* And the New York Rangers, the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators, the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Hampshire team Southampton, 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

November 23, 2008: The New York Red Bulls Lose Their 1st MLS Cup Final

The Captains, holding hands with the mascots,

leading the teams out: Frankie Hejduk of Columbus,

and Juan Pablo Ángel of New York

November 23, 2008: For the 1st time in their history, the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer reach the Final of the MLS Cup. It doesn't go so well.

The Red Bulls were a founding member of MLS in 1996, using the name of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars until 2005. In 2006, they were bought by Red Bull, the Austrian soft-drink maker, and rebranded as Red Bull New York. The American media, while sometimes using the initials "RBNY," usually sticks to North American convention, calling them "the New York Red Bulls" or just "the Red Bulls," and the initials "NYRB."

Fans of the team's original rivals, Washington-based D.C. United, call them "The Pink Cows." Many New York fans have resisted the rebranding, and still wear their old MetroStars shirts to games, and refer to the team as "Metro" for short, as they always had.

Under any name, they had not reached the MLS Cup Final until 2008. Their closest call was a trip to the Semifinals, in 2000. But, in 2008, under manager Juan Carlos Osorio, with Captain Juan Pablo Ángel, a fellow Colombian, as leading scorer, they finished 5th in the Eastern Conference, beat the Houston Dynamo in the Quarterfinals, and beat Real Salt Lake in the Semifinals.

The Final was to be held on neutral ground, at the Home Depot Center, in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. This is no longer done: Since 2011, the Final has been held at the home of the team with the better regular-season record.

The opponent was the Columbus Crew, another charter member of MLS, also in their 1st Final, winners of the Supporters' Shield for best overall record in the regular season, and seeking the 1st league championship for any major league team from Columbus, Ohio, ever -- unless you count the Columbus Bullies, who won the Championship of the 3rd American Football League in 1940 and '41. (That league folded due to World War II. The AFL of the 1960s was the 4th league with the name. And the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets have rarely done well.)

The game kicked off at 3:30 PM, Eastern Time. It was scoreless for the 1st half-hour, but Alejandro Moreno put the Crew on the board in the 31st minute, and it was 1-0 Columbus at halftime. John Wolyniec, popular with Metro fans as he was a local boy made good, from Staten Island, tied the game in the 51st.

But just 2 minutes later, the Crew went back ahead, on a goal by Chad Marshall. The Crew's Captain, Frankie Hejduk, put the game away in the 82nd. Final score: Crew 3, Red Bulls 1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, an Argentine of Italian descent, assisted on all 3 Columbus goals, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player, as he had been for the league in the regular season.

Having previously won it with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002, Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid became the first manager to win the MLS Cup with two different teams. Before the founding of MLS, Schmid led UCLA to the College Cup, the NCAA Championship for men's soccer, 3 times.

Born in Germany, and raised in Southern California, Schmid then left the Crew to become the 1st manager of the revived Seattle Sounders, and returned to the Galaxy before heart trouble forced him to retire. He and Bruce Arena, due to both men having "coaching trees" that extend throughout MLS, are known as "the godfathers of American soccer." Sigi died on Christmas Day 2018, at the age of 65. Within weeks, MLS renamed its Coach of the Year award for him.

Schmid remains a beloved figure in the league. The Crew were favored to win the game. And no one has ever alleged that they used unfair tactics to win, or that the referees blatantly favored them. So Red Bull fans don't begrudge the Crew the win, or consider them to be a rival team. (The Red Bulls have enough rivals: In descending order of hate, D.C. United, New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, the New England Revolution, and the LA Galaxy.) Still, the fact that the MetroStars/Red Bulls have, through 2022, played 27 seasons and reached only 1 MLS Cup Final, and lost it, is galling.

The Red Bulls crashed in 2009, putting together the worst record in the League. It was their last season on the hard artificial turf, and in front of the vast unsold seats, at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands of East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. In 2010, they moved to a venue over which they had ownership and control: Red Bull Arena, in Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, across the Passaic River from Newark, the State's largest city, and closer to their fan base of Irish, Italians, Portuguese, Brazilians, and various Latin American ethnicities in the Newark-Harrison-Kearny corridor.

The Red Bulls, more often than not, have reached the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. But, since 2008, they have only reached the Semifinals in 2014, '15 and '18, and never again reached the Final. Nor have they ever won the American version of the FA Cup, the U.S. Open Cup, losing the Final in 2003 and 2017. They have won the Supporters' Shield, for best overall record in the MLS regular season, in 2013, '15 and '18, so they are not without trophies.

But they are known for their postseason collapses, losing games to teams they were favored to beat. Of the original 10 MLS teams, 9 are still in existence, and 6 of those have won at least 1 MLS Cup. The Red Bulls are not one of them.

To make matters worse, there are teams that have been founded since that lone Finals appearance that have won it, including, to Metro fans' horror, New York City FC, an expansion team that began play at Yankee Stadium in 2015, and winning it in 2021. The Red Bulls have dominated the regular-season series between them, but don't have an MLS Cup. "The Smurfs" (for their light blue uniforms) have one.

With all the resources at their disposal -- they are owned 80 percent by Manchester City, and 20 percent by the Yankees -- they should have reached more than 1 Final by now. But then, with all the resources at their disposal -- Red Bull aren't exactly hurting for cash, and they're also in the New York market -- so should the Red Bulls.

*

November 23, 2008 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. These NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals, 37-29 at University of Phoenix Stadium (now State Farm Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* The New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans, 34-13 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 36-7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers, 45-28 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-12 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Stadium.)

* The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 48-28 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Houston Texans beat the Cleveland Browns, 16-6 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field).

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Detroit Lions, 38-20 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Chicago Bears beat the St. Louis Rams, 27-3 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-31 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos, 31-10 at Invesco Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High).

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the San Diego Chargers, 23-20 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the San Francisco 49ers, 35-22 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Seattle Seahawks, 20-17 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* The preceding Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-10 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* And the next night, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the New Orleans Saints beat the Green Bay Packers, 51-29 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors, 89-81 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors, 118-103 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-80 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Chicago Bulls, 114-101 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 118-108 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. New York wasn't more successful in either of them, but New Jersey was: The New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-3 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. Dainius Zubrus scored 4 goals for the Devils. In the other game, the Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

October 27, 2013: The New York Red Bulls Finally Win a Trophy

October 27, 2013: The New York Red Bulls win a trophy. This might not seem like a big deal, but it had never happened before.

The franchise began in 1996, the inaugural season of Major League Soccer, as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, playing at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey.

In 2006, they were bought out by the Austrian soft drink company Red Bull, and were rebranded as Red Bull New York, or "the New York Red Bulls." Sometimes with the abbreviation NYRB, sometimes as RBNY. But the team's original fans continued to call them "Metro," and still do. Some still wear old MetroStars jerseys to games. 

There are several trophies available to MLS teams. There is the Supporters' Shield, given to the team that finishes 1st overall in the league in the regular season. There is the MLS Cup, given to the winner of the league's Playoffs. There is the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a tournament that is run concurrently with the league season. In effect, it is America's equivalent to England's FA Cup.

And there is the CONCACAF Champions League, for which 4 teams from the United States qualify: The MLS Cup winner, the Supporters' Shield winner, the winner of the regular season title in the other Conference, and the U.S. Open Cup winner. If one of the Conference Champions is one of MLS' Canadian teams -- FC Montreal, Toronto FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps -- and that team also wins the Canadian Champions' Cup (Canada's version of the FA Cup), then the 2nd-place team gets the 4th U.S. berth.

Despite having the advantages that come with playing in the New York market, they were never an especially good team. In 2000, the MetroStars won the Eastern Conference. But unless the Conference winner is the overall 1st place team, it does not receive a trophy. And they were 3rd overall. The team reached the MLS Cup Final in 2008, losing to the Columbus Crew. It reached the Semifinals in 2000. It reached the U.S. Open Cup Final in 2003, losing to the Chicago Fire. It reached the Semifinals in 1997, 1998 and 2000.

In 2010, their 1st season playing at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, they signed forward Thierry Henry, who had been the best player in the world while with North London team Arsenal. Even that boost wasn't enough: Although they finished 1st in the Eastern Conference, they were only 3rd overall in the league. They got to the Quarterfinal of the MLS Cup in 2010, and again in 2011, and again in 2012.

Finally, in 2013, it looked like they might have put it all together. With Luis Robles in goal; a back four of Connor Lade, Jamison Olave, Markus Holgersson and Heath Pearce; a midfield of Eric Alexander, Tim Cahill, Dax McCarty and Jonny Steele; and Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips leading the line, the Red Bulls won 17 games, drew 8 and lost 9, to collect a team record 59 points.

On the season's last day, October 27, they beat the Chicago Fire, 5-2 at Red Bull Arena. This clinched a finish of 1st overall. They had won the Supporters' Shield. At last, they had won a trophy.

But they blew it in the 1st round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the away leg, against the Houston Dynamo, they had a 2-0 lead, but allowed the game to be tied. Olave was sent off with a dubious straight red card, and the Dynamo tied the game in stoppage time. In the home leg, Metro took a 1-0 lead, only to be tied. Unfortunately, MLS doesn't have the away goals rule, so, instead of Metro advancing that way, extra time was necessary, and Houston won 4-3 on aggregate.

The Red Bulls have won the Supporters' Shield again in 2015 and 2018. But they have never won the MLS Cup. Of the 10 original teams from 1996, only the Red Bulls and the New England Revolution are both still in business and have yet to win an MLS Cup. The 1st 26 MLS Cups have been won by 14 different teams -- including the last one, won by New York City FC, in only their 7th season. That was the most humiliating moment in MetroStars/Red Bulls history, and they didn't even play that day.

For comparison's sake: It only took the New York Rangers 2 seasons to win their 1st Stanley Cup, the New York Islanders 8, and the New Jersey Devils 13; the team now known as the Brooklyn Nets needed 7 seasons to win their 1st ABA Championship, and the New York Knicks 24 to win their 1st NBA Championship; the New York Giants first won their League in their 3rd season, the New York Jets theirs in their 9th; the New York Mets won their 1st World Series in their 8th season, the New York Yankees in their 21st.

The WNBA's New York Liberty have now played 25 seasons without a championship, having gone 0-4 in Finals, so that's comparable to what the MetroStars/Red Bulls have done.

(UPDATE: In 2024, the Liberty and the Red Bulls each made their leagues' Finals. The Liberty won. The Red Bulls lost.)

*

October 27, 2013 was a Sunday. There were 4 other games played in MLS that day:

* The Houston Dynamo beat DC United, 2-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew, 1-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium in, well, Columbus.

* The Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw at what's now Lumen Field in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Colorado Rapids, 3-0 at BC Place in Vancouver.

Game 4 of the World Series was played that day, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Boston Red Sox found a way, whatever that was, to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2. Jonny Gomes hit a home run. Red Sox closer Koji Uehara picked Kolten Wong off 1st base for the final out, the 1st time a postseason game had ever ended with a pickoff. I have a separate entry for this event. The Sox tied the Series at 2-2, and won it 3 days later. *

Being a Sunday, there was NFL action:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 15-7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The New York Jets lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 49-9 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-17 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 42-10 at what's now EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Buffalo Bills, 35-17 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-30 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 44-31 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rookie Cordarelle Patterson of the Vikings returns the opening kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown, tying an unbreakable NFL record. But that would be the highlight for his team.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns, 23-17 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kanas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Washington Redskins, 45-21 at what's now Empower Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 27-13 at what's now State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* And the Oakland Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18 at the Oakland Coliseum.

The preceding Thursday, the Carolina Panthers had beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-13 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. And the next day, on Monday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams, 14-9 at what's now Lumen Field in Seattle.

And the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers and the Tennessee Titans had a bye.

The NBA season didn't start for another 2 days. There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat their arch-rivals, the Florida Panthers, 4-3 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 in a shootout, at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

September 23, 2017: East Hartford FC

September 23, 2017: New York City Football Club's best claim to moral supremacy over the New York Red Bulls is shattered -- not by success on the field, but by the location of their field.

Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field opened in East Hartford, Connecticut on August 20, 2003. It was supposed to be the 60,000-seat new home for both the New England Patriots and the football team of the University of Connecticut.

But, as it turned out, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was just using Connecticut to get a better deal right where he was, in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts. So the stadium was scaled back to 40,000 seats, and UConn are its main tenant.

New York City FC had to play a "home game" there on September 23, 2017, after 3 years of their fans mocking the New York Red Bulls for playing in New Jersey. They were held to a 1-1 draw by the Houston Dynamo.

NYCFC had to play there again in 2020, but, that time, it wasn’t their fault: Because of COVID restrictions, Toronto FC couldn't play in Canada, and played their home games in East Hartford. But in 2022, because Yankee Stadium and Citi Field weren’t available, NYCFC had to play another "home game" there, 115 miles from Midtown Manhattan. In contrast, Red Bull Arena, in Harrison, is 11 miles from Midtown.

In mockery, a Red Bulls fan made up an altered version of NYCFC's "old-time subway token" logo to read "EAST HARTFORD FOOTBALL CLUB," with the logo used by the NHL's Hartford Whalers before they moved away in 1997. And a Red Bulls supporters group invited the man who played Pucky the Whale, the former mascot of the Hartford Whalers, and since then of Hartford's minor-league hockey teams, to a game at Red Bull Arena, where he got a great reception.

Ever since, Red Bulls fans have mocked NYCFC as "East Hartford FC." But, since 2021, NYCFC fans have been able to remind Red Bulls fans who won an MLS Cup in just 7 seasons, and who has been a charter MLS franchise but hasn't won one in over 25 years.

Through September 23, 2022, the U.S. men's soccer team has played 8 games at Rentschler; the women's team, 9. Liverpool FC, Celtic FC, and the national teams of Brazil, Belize, Cuba, Guatemala, Japan and Venezuela have also played there.

*

September 23, 2017 was a Saturday. This was also the day LeBron James called Donald Trump "U bum" on Twitter. I have a separate entry for that event.

These other Major League Soccer games were played that day (with some league games being played the next day):

* The New York Red Bulls couldn't laugh too much, as they lost to the Columbus Crew, 3-2 at Mapfre Stadium (now named Historic Crew Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio.

* The New England Revolution beat Toronto FC, 2-1 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Philadelphia Union beat the Chicago Fire, 3-1 at Talen Energy Stadium (now Subaru Park) outside Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania.

* D.C. United beat the San Jose Earthquakes, 4-0 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. They played one more game at RFK, losing to the Red Bulls on October 22, and then used temporary venues until Audi Field opened in the middle of the 2018 season.

* Minnesota United beat FC Dallas, 4-1 at TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium) in Minneapolis.

* Real Salt Lake beat the Seattle Sounders, 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium (now America First Field) in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah.

* And Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Colorado Rapids, 2-1 at BC Place in Vancouver.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Sonny Gray was the winning pitcher. Greg Bird and Todd Frazier hit home runs. Aaron Judge went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals, 4-3 at Citi Field. Noah Syndergaard had to leave the game with an injury after only 1 inning. Matt Harvey, scheduled to start the next night, came in on short rest, and allowed 3 runs in 4 innings. Former Met Daniel Murphy led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at SunTrust Park (now Truist Park) in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Eduardo Rodríguez pitched 7 2/3rds innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Carson Smith and Joe Kelly completed the 3-hit shutout.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-2 at Guaranteed Rate Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Travis Shaw hit a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 12-6 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-0 at Petco Park in San Diego. Jhoulys Chacín pitched 6 innings of 1-hit shutout ball, and 4 relievers completed a 5-hit shutout.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Madison Bumgarner outpitched Hyn-jin Ryu. Denard Spain went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 1-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Raúl Alcántara pitched 5 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and 4 relievers completed a 4-hit shutout. The only run came when Khris Davis led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a home run.

* And the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Alabama beat Vanderbilt, 59-0 at Vanderbilt Stadium (now FirstBank Stadium) in Nashville.

* Number 2 Clemson beat Boston College, 34-7 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 3 Oklahoma beat Baylor, 49-41 at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas.

* Number 4 Penn State beat Iowa, 21-19 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

* Number 5 University of Southern California (USC) beat the University of California, 30-20 at California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley.

* Number 6 Oklahoma State were upset by Number 16 Texas Christian University (TCU), 44-31 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

* Number 7 Washington beat Colorado, 37-10 at Folsom Field in the Denver suburb of Boulder, Colorado.

* Number 8 Michigan beat Purdue, 28-10 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Number 9 Wisconsin were idle.

* Number 10 Ohio State beat the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), 54-21 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

* In an all-Top 20 matchup, Number 11 Georgia beat Number 17 Mississippi State, 31-3 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

* Number 12 Florida State were upset by North Carolina State, 27-12 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

* In a rivalry game, Duke beat North Carolina, 27-17 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Notre Dame beat Michigan State, 38-18 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

* Among the service academies, Army lost to Tulane, 21-17 at Yulman Stadium in New Orelans; Navy beat Cincinnati, 42-32 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; and Air Force lost to Number 22 San Diego State, 28-24 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* And New Jersey's team, Rutgers, lost to Nebraska, 27-17 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, lost to neighboring Monroe, 21-19 at Hugh Walsh Field in Monroe.

August 26, 2000: Clint Mathis Scores 5 Goals

August 26, 2000: The New York/New Jersey MetroStars beat the Dallas Burn, 6-4 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Clint Mathis of the MetroStars scored 5 goals, and he remains the only player to score 5 goals in a Major League Soccer game.

He opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, and scored again in the 26th. Dallas pulled a goal back in the next minute. Mathis got his hat trick in the 40th, before the Burn scored in stoppage time of the 1st half. In the 54th, the Burn tied the game, and they took the lead in the 64th, 4-3. Mathis took matters into his own hands -- or so to speak; it's soccer, where you can't use your hands -- by tying the game in the 68th. "Metro" were awarded a penalty in the 83rd, and Mathis converted it. They got one more in the 88th.

Born on November 25, 1976 -- a Thanksgiving Day -- in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers, Georgia, Mathis became a star forward at the University of South Carolina. He played in MLS from 1998 to 2010, helping Real Salt Lake win the 2009 MLS Cup. He also played a season in Germany for Hannover 96. He helped the 2002 U.S. national team win the CONCACAF Gold Cup and reach the World Cup Quarterfinal.

Both teams in this game have changed their names. In 2004, the Burn were rebranded as FC Dallas ("FC" for "Football Club," like in the rest of the world). In 2006, the MetroStars were bought by Austrian soft drink maker Red Bull, and were renamed Red Bull New York -- usually written in New York media sources as "the New York Red Bulls," and usually abbreviated "NYRB" rather than "RBNY."

*

August 26, 2000 was a Saturday. These other MLS games were played that day:

* The New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew, 2-1 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts. 

* D.C. United beat the Miami Fusion, 2-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Chicago Fire played to a draw, 3-3 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Like their Florida rivals, the Fusion, the Mutiny folded after the 2001 season.

* The Colorado Rapids and the KC Wizards played to a draw, 1-1 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. The Wizards became Sporting Kansas City.

* And in the league's best rivalry, the California Clásico, the L.A. Galaxy beat the San Jose Earthquakes, 3-0 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

It was the opening day of the college football season, and 4 games were played:

* Number 2 Florida State beat Brigham Young University (BYU), 29-3 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

* Number 8 Kansas State beat Iowa, 27-7 at KSU Stadium (now Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium) in Manhattan, Kansas.

* Louisiana Tech beat Mississippi Valley State, 63-10 at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana.

* And Texas Tech beat New Mexico, 24-3 at Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-6 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum). Orlando "El Duque" Hernández was the winning pitcher, while A's starter Mark Mulder didn't get out of the 3rd inning. José Canseco, in his regrettable tenure with the Yankees, hit a home run against his former team. Luis Sojo and Clay Bellinger each got 3 hits. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1 at Shea Stadium. The Mets got a good 7 innings from Bobby Jones, and Armando Benítez pitched a scoreless 9th, so he didn't blow it, as he so often did for the Mets and other teams. Instead, it was Rick White who allowed 4 runs, on 3 doubles, a single and an intentional walk, in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4, with an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* A doubleheader was split at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays won the opener, 4-1. The Baltimore Orioles won the nightcap, 2-0. Mike Mussina pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, Buddy Groom pitched a hitless 8th and became the winning pitcher, and Mike Trombley struck out the side in a perfect 9th.  In a rare event between 1982 and 2001, Cal Ripken Jr. did not play, in either game.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Mark McGwire did not play, but Will Clark hit 2 home runs for the Cards.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Florida Marlins, 3-2 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sammy Sosa went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres, 6-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Brewers scored a run in the top of the 10th inning, but in the bottom of the 10th, James Mouton singled home 2 runs to win it. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers, 9-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Anaheim Angels, 9-5 at Edison International Field of Anaheim. The Indians are now the Cleveland Guardians, the Angels are now the Los Angeles Angels, and the ballpark is now Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-5 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat South London team Crystal Palace, 5-3 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge

Dane Richards (left) and Wayne Bridge

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge begins at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. As Tony Reali of ESPN's Around the Horn would say, "And by football, I mean futbol!"

The host New York Red Bulls, with newly-signed superstar Thierry Henry, the Arsenal legend, took on Arsenal's arch-rivals, fellow North London team Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. "Spurs."

In 1961, Spurs won the Football League and the FA Cup tournament, becoming the first English team in the 20th Century to "win The Double" or "do The Double." They also won the FA Cup in 1962, 1967, 1981 and 1991 -- but that's it for major trophies. They've since won the League Cup in 1999 and 2008, but teams that consider the League Cup a "major trophy" can hardly be called a "big club."

Spurs fans also like to talk about their hooliganism. But there was no way they were going to be able to pull any of their usual stuff at Red Bull Arena: The home team has a great security system, searching for weapons and tossing out anyone outside the designated supporters-club sections (in other words, anyone inside the "family sections") that gets out of line. Besides, do they really think London is tougher (or "harder" as they would say) than New York and New Jersey? It is not.

Anyway, both teams went through the 1st half with most of their starters, including the newly-signed Henry, who scored his first goal for his new team. It wasn't a vintage "Henry... What a goal! What a goal!" shot, but it counted just the same. A lot of Tri-State Area converts to the Arsenal cause (a.k.a. Gooners, from the team's nickname the Gunners, from the cannon on their crest) went mental, watching the greatest player in team history (some would still say that's Dennis Bergkamp) score for their real home team.

Henry had already been embraced by the Metro fans, and he embraced them in return. He told reporters that he even took the PATH train from Manhattan to Harrison. I wonder how many people recognized him? He did do a Gillette razor commercial with Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, although for most U.S. broadcasts, that ad was Federer, Woods and Derek Jeter.

Anyway, Metro's Number 14 didn't get the treatment Pelé got when he came to play for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to '77, but Henry did have the advantage of the increased TV coverage from the NASL's time, being that, aside from the '70 World Cup where he led Brazil to victory, most Americans hadn't really seen Pelé up until '75.

In contrast, with Premier League action from England, La Liga action from Spain, Serie A action from Italy, and Bundesliga action from Germany now available via satellite, and Henry's appearances in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups for France (winning the former as a substitute and reaching the Final of the latter as an already huge star), most Americans who care about sports know who he is, having seen him play on TV, first for Arsenal and then for Barcelona.

In the 2nd half, Red Bulls manager Hans Backe took out Henry, and some other starters, including the goalkeeper, the Senegalese wizard Bouna Condoul, replacing him with Greg Sutton.

Two big mistakes. Not only did those substitutions take out our best offensive player, but switching goalies was a bonehead move. Sutton may have been Canada's Number 1 -- that is, the starting goalkeeper on their national soccer team -- but he was no match for Spurs, whose manager Harry Redknapp left in his starters, including Robbie Keane, Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić. Keane and Bale both scored in the 2nd half to give Spurs a 2-1 win.

Needless to say, the Spurs fans were their usual selves, thinking they were "taking the piss on our manor." Dimwits, they were losing against the starting lineup of an MLS team! An MLS team! This, after they managed only a scoreless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in their last game, and the Quakes, at the time, were only 5th in the MLS West! At least the Red Bulls were 2nd in the MLS East!

Most Europeans who observe the MLS say that it's about as good as England's second division, "The Championship." (No, I don't know who named it that, or what drugs he was on at the time. Nor do I know who named their third and fourth divisions "League One" and "League Two.") So, last night, Spurs were losing against MLS starters, and only beat MLS scrubs. In an exhibition, or, as soccer fans would say, a "friendly."

And they took the piss? They're lucky there wasn't a fight: The New Yorkers and New Jerseyans would have mussed 'em up but good, the dirty chumps. Wait, sorry, forgot to "speak English" there: The locals would have given them a right hiding, the bloody bastards!

The Challenge continued the next night, as another English club, Manchester City, takes on Sporting Clube de Portugal, a.k.a. "Sporting Lisbon." With Red Bull Arena being right across the Passaic River from the Portuguese-heavy (and Brazilian-laden as well, due to the language) Ironbound section of Newark (it's a 15-minute walk from Market Street and Ferry Street bars across the Jackson Street Bridge to the Arena), Sporting were a natural for this weekend, led by Portugal national-team stars, striker Liédson and goalie Tiago.

Man City, also stuck with Second Team Syndrome behind Manchester United (which barely beat MLS expansion team Philadelphia Union 1-0 the preceding Saturday), had recently been bought by Arab investors, making it the richest sports team on the planet. In the 2010-11 season that was about to begin, City won the FA Cup for the 1st time since 1969. The next season, they won the League for the 1st time since 1968, and went on to become English soccer's next great dynasty. But all that was yet to come.

In 2010, they featured 2 former Arsenal stars, the much-admired Senegalese/French midfielder Patrick Vieira, and the formerly-cheered, now lustily-booed-with-good-reason, Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor. But in this game, City lost 2-0 to Sporting, as Yannick Djaló scored both goals.

And on Sunday, July 25, there was a doubleheader, which I attended. Sporting and Spurs drew 2-2, while the Red Bulls beat Man City 2-1.

The standings for the Challenge worked like this: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 1 point for each goal scored. With 2 losses and 1 goal, Man City got 1 point. For a win, a draw, and 3 goals, the Red Bulls got 6. With a win, a draw, and 4 goals, Sporting and Spurs each got 8 points. But Sporting had the superior goal difference, +2 to +1, and so Sporting were declared the winners and were awarded the trophy. No Player of the Tournament was named. Attendance for the doubleheader was 23,228, probably a sellout when freebies were counted. (Red Bull Arena officially seats 25,000 even.)

*

July 22, 2010 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-4 at Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hit home runs. A-Rod had 4 RBIs, and he and Mark Teixeira each had 3 hits, supporting CC Sabathia.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, supported by a home run from Matt Kemp.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Carl Pavano -- yes, Yankee Fans, that Carl Pavano -- pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 8-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tim Hudson pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Ronny Paulino's singled drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Over 11 innings, Phillies pitchers, including Cole Hamels over the 1st 8, allowed just 1 hit. Placido Polanco won it with a home run in the top of the 11th.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Matt Cain pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-6 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. The Mariners scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, but an RBI double by Eric Patterson won it for the Sox in the top of the 13th.

* And the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays were not scheduled to play.

April 20, 1996: The New York Red Bulls' "Curse of Caricola"

Left to right: Eddie Firmani, Roberto Donadoni, Nicola Caricola

April 20, 1996: The New York/New Jersey MetroStars play their 1st home game, at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It doesn't go so well: They lose 1-0 to the New England Revolution, on an own goal in the 87th minute, by Nicola Caricola.

The MetroStars' 1st manager was Eddie Firmani, a South African of Italian descent, who had played as a forward in England for Charlton Athletic; and in Italy for Sampdoria, Internazionale Milano and Genoa. He had won the North American Soccer League title as manager of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1975, and the New York Cosmos in 1977 and '78. The MetroStars fired him after 8 games. As of April

20, 2022, he is still alive, 88 years old, but has never managed another club.

The original MetroStars included Caricola, who had been a star in his native Italy, with Bari, Juventus and Genoa; Roberto Donadoni, a legend with AC Milan; Venezuelan forward Giovanni Savarese; and established American stars Tony Meola, Peter Vermes and Tab Ramos. But they ended up losing their 1st 3 regular-season games. After winning their next 3, they then lost 5 out of 6, and later on had another 4-game losing streak.

They still managed to finish 3rd in the Eastern Conference, but lost their 1st Playoff series to D.C. United, which went on to win the MLS Cup in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. As a result, MLS is the only league in which the New York Tri-State Area has a team whose biggest rival is a team from Washington, D.C., as opposed to another Tri-State Area team, or one representing Philadelphia or Boston: As much as the team's fans now hate New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union or the New England Revolution, they still refer to United as "The DC Scum," and the week of playing them as "DC Week."

Known as the New York Red Bulls since 2006, and playing at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey since 2010, the Red Bulls have won 3 Supporters' Shields (regular-season league titles), and have reached the Final of the MLS Cup once and the U.S. Open Cup twice, but have never won those. Some Metro fans (many RBNY fans resist the corporatization of the club) attribute their failure to this home opener, and call it "The Curse of Caricola."

Caricola retired before the next season began. He now runs a coffee company in South Africa.

*

April 20, 1996 was a Saturday. These other game were played in MLS that day:

* The Los Angeles Galaxy beat D.C. United, 2-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Mutiny beat the Columbus Crew, 2-1 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The Mutiny folded after the 2001 season.

* The next day, the Colorado Rapids beat the Dallas Burn, 3-1 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. The Burn later became simply "F.C. Dallas."

* Also the next day, the Kansas City Wiz beat the San Jose Clash, on penalties following a 2-2 draw, as MLS rules then allowed. The Wiz later became the Wizards, and then Sporting Kansas City. The Clash later became the Earthquakes, moved to become the Houston Dynamo, and were replaced by a new Earthquakes team.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Andy Pettitte and Rick Aguilera started. The Yankees scored a run in the 8th inning and 2 in the 9th, to make a winning pitcher out of Bob Wickman and a losing pitcher out of Eddie Guardado. But on August 23, the Yankees would put Wickman in a trade package with the Brewers, replacing him in the bullpen with Graeme Lloyd, which made a big difference in the postseason.

Rubén Sierra went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs, but he wouldn't be there at the end, either: On July 31, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Cecil Fielder, who also turned to be key to the World Series run the Yankees made. So did Jim Leyritz, who hit a home run in this game. Rookie shortstop Derek Jeter batted 9th, and went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-3 at Shea Stadium. José Vizcaino singled Rey Ordóñez home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, making a winning pitcher out of John Franco, who had previously blown a save for Mark Clark. Todd Hundley hit a home run.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. After 8 innings, Alan Benes of the Cards had allowed only 2 hits, while former Mets star Sid Fernandez had allowed 3 hits and struck out 11 for the Phils. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. In the top of the 9th, Phils reliever Ricky Bottalico walked Royce Clayton to start the inning, got Pat Borders out, walked Willie McGee, got Ron Gant out, and let Brian Jordan single Clayton home.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 6-5 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Braves trailed, 5-2 in the bottom of the 6th, but scored 1 in the 6th, 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th to win. No home runs were hit in this game, but Ryan Klesko went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Braves. Tony Gwynn did not play for Padres.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-4 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds (presumably, not yet on steroids) and Steve Scarsone hit home runs.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 6-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Brady Anderson hit 2 home runs. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Former A's player Tony Phillips went 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs for the White Sox.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run.

Football was out of season. There were 5 games played in the NBA, which was winding down its regular season:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 121-99 at The Omni in Atlanta. Jayson Williams scored 35 points in defeat for the Nets.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 75-73 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Chicago Bulls, 100-99 at the United Center in Chicago. The Bulls fell to 71-10 on the year. They would finish 72-10, still the best record for a team that went on to win the NBA title.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings, 104-92 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 106-82 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Cedric Ceballos scored 36 for the Lakers.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, but only 1 game was played: The Colorado Avalanche beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

April 13, 1996: The MetroStars (Red Bulls) Debut

April 13, 1996: The sports rivalry between the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, dormant in soccer since the Los Angeles Aztecs folded after the 1980 North American Soccer League season, resumes, as each area's 1st team in Major League Soccer began play, against each other.

At the Rose Bowl in suburban Pasadena, California, the Los Angeles Galaxy played the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. A crowd of 69,225 attended, and the game was broadcast nationally on ABC.

Cobi Jones opened the scoring for the Galaxy, in the game's 37th minute. Arash Noamouz scored another in the 56th minute. Giovanni Savarese pulled one back for the MetroStars in the 77th, but that was as close as they would get: L.A. won, 2-1.

The "Gals" have gone on to win 5 MLS Cups. The MetroStars, or "Metro" for short, became the New York Red Bulls in 2005, but they and the New England Revolution are the only original MLS teams that have not yet won an MLS Cup.

Despite having had such stars as Savarese, Peter Vermes, Tony Meola, Tab Ramos, Clint Mathis, Lothar Matthäus, Eddie Pope, Juan Pablo Ángel, Thierry Henry, Dax McCarty, Tim Cahill, Sacha Kljestan, and the brothers Shawn and Bradley Wright-Phillips, the Red Bulls haven't gone all the way. They've won the Supporters' Shield, the overall regular-season title, in 2013, '15 and '18; and also finished 1st overall in the Eastern Conference in 2000, '10 and '16. They've reached the MLS Cup Final in 2008, but never won it. They've also reached the Final of the U.S. Open Cup in 2003 and '17, but never won that, either. (UPDATE: They reached the MLS Cup Final again in 2024, but lost it.)

*

April 13, 1996 was a Saturday. Other MLS games on this date:

* The Columbus Crew beat D.C. United, 4-0 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

* The Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) beat the Colorado Rapids (Denver's team), 3-0 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* And the Tampa Bay Mutiny beat the New England Revolution (Boston's team), 3-2 at Tampa Stadium. The Mutiny folded after the 2001 season.

A full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers, 10-6 at Yankee Stadium. Jim Leyritz hit a home run. Wade Boggs, Paul O'Neill, Ruben Sierra and Joe Girardi each got 2 hits. But it wasn't enough, as Dwight Gooden didn't get out of the 6th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 14-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 14-3 at the SkyDome in Toronto. (It's now named the Rogers Centre.)

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 9-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 9-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-5 at the new Comiskey Park in Chicago. (It's now named Rate Field.) Tony Phillips singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-23 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Shawon Dunston singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

There were 8 games played in the NBA:

* The Washington Bullets beat the Boston Celtics, 122-108 at the FleetCenter in Boston. (It's now named the TD Garden.)

* The Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets, 116-106 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-104 at the Orlando Arena.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Vancouver Grizzlies, 105-82 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers,  92-76 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. 

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-90 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns, 103-79 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. 

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Sacramento Kings, 108-89 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

And tbere were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Washington Capitals, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat their arch-rivals, the Florida Panthers, 2-1 at the Miami Arena.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. The Sabres would play just 1 more home game there, having missed the Playoffs. The next season, they moved into the Marine Midland Arena, now named the KeyBank Center.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 7-3 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Edmonton Coliseum, as the Northlands Coliseum was temporarily known.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat their arch-rivals, the San Jose Sharks, 6-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.