Club vs Country

Today and Wednesday, Wizards fans have choices to make. Because on both days, not only do the Wizards play, but so do the US national team. Today while the Wizards play in New England, the USA will be playing El Salvador. And on Wednesday while the Wizards play DC, the US will be taking on Trinidad and Tobago.

Fans now have a decision to make on which team is going to get the majority of their attention for those four games. As a whole, this is an issue that MLS has to deal with eventually. The issue of MLS playing on FIFA international dates is one that Commissioner Don Garber has commented on in the past saying that MLS can not give up weekend dates at this time due to the poor drawing ability of midweek games and the climate in many of the leagues cities that keep the league from starting earlier.

That point aside, I personally am a club over country person. My attention both tonight and on Wednesday will be focused first on the Wizards. I focus on the team that means more to me, and that is my team that I can see play live multiple times during the year (no matter how poorly they are playing right now). Don't get me wrong, I still support the US team and cheer them on when they are playing, but when it comes down to a conflict of teams, I'll choose the Wizards every time. They're the team I feel more of a connection to, probably because of the fact that they are KC's team, they are right here in front of me, I can see them all the time.

People may completely disagree with me, saying I should support my country first, that they're the better team, or that country should be above club. To me, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter the lack of quality from them or MLS as a whole, they are "my" team and I'll be supporting them over any team, any time.