New Union gamer introduced by burning NYRB, NYCFC jerseys

If there were questions about where the Philadelphia Union’s newest eMLS Cup representative’s loyalties lie, they were pretty well answered with his intro video.

In the video posted online Tuesday, Yonkers, N.Y. native Jeffrey Acevedo (JisforJeff) drops a match on a New York Red Bulls and NYCFC jersey.

Acevedo is the second eSports athlete signed by the Philadelphia Union. He joins Cormac Dooley (Doolsta), an Irish teenager from West Chester who won the team’s eSports Open back in March and represented the team at the first eMLS Cup in Boston in April. Dooley, who was recently featured in an FS1 documentary about eSports, had his contract renewed for 2019.

Acevedo earned his spot by winning the Union’s eSports College Clash in October. He joined the competition admittedly under false pretenses.

“When I registered, I had to use a fake address because I was over 75 miles away from Philly,” he said in a Q&A on the Union website. “But I really wanted to be part of this tournament and be part of the Union eMLS team. So I put down somewhere in South Philly close to the other stadiums, I can’t remember the exact address, but I did it because I was striving for eMLS.”

The 20-year-old who attends Concordia College (and played on the soccer team his first two years) was already a Philadelphia Flyers fan so joining the fold of the blue and gold wasn’t that big of a stretch.

“I know how dedicated fans are to their teams,” he said in the Q&A. “I know that fans are with their teams through thick and thin, ups and downs. And that’s what teams need, fans that are supportive no matter what. And that’s why I wanted to be with Philly.”

Torching those New York jerseys was a good start.