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44 Philadelphia Union What Ifs

We asked for your what ifs, you responded

By Joe Lister
SOCCER: SEP 30 US Open Cup - Final - Sporting Kansas City at Union Photo by Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

As part of our “What If” week, the Brotherly Game staff has been coming up with different scenarios in the Philadelphia Union’s history to see how the team would be different given one change. This time, we turned it over to Union fans to ask them their theories on the team’s history; here are 44 what ifs gathered from responses on Twitter and some other ones we’ve added from our staff and archives.

Philadelphia Union Players

  • What if Jay Simpson had not gotten hurt at the start of the 2018 season? @Rich_Lori
  • What if Jay Simpson had played in a 4-4-2 with the Union? @BrotherlyGame
  • What if Kacper Przybylko didn’t get hurt in the warm-ups against RBNY in the start of the playoffs? @VUmander
  • What if Aaron Wheeler turned out to be an international quality defender? @Bluetooner1
  • What if the Union kept Carlos Valdes? @Marks139
  • What if the Union never traded up for Andre Blake? @Z_is_Binary
  • What if the Union played Zac MacMath? @Z_is_Binary
  • What if Vincent Nogueira didn’t leave midseason? @jacobjr19
  • What if Vincent Nogueira had scored in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup final?
  • What if Chaco was faster than Yedlin? @KeystoneUltras
  • What if the Union had Jose Kleberson in his prime? @HeilJacob
  • What if Maurice Edu wasn’t constantly hurt? @HeilJacob
  • What if Marco Fabian was healthy all of last season? @Andrew_Moul
  • What if Keegan Rosenberry was never sold? @Andrew_Moul
  • What if the Union had selected Chris Wondolowski instead of Shea Salinas in the expansion draft? @richardmcgovern
  • What if the Union had signed Zack Steffen when he was still eligible to sign as a homegrown? @MattRalph_tbg
  • What if Danny Mwanga was the striker he was supposed to be? -Jim Halley
  • What if Freddy Adu ended up being as good as he was projected to be? -Jessica Gusler

Stadium Location/Accessibility

Miscellaneous

  • What if the Union had a different jersey sponsor? @VUmander
  • What if the Union’s ownership realized that a strong front office was necessary to succeed early on? @wavehawk2
  • What if the Union’s fan base accepted its New Jersey-based faction? @Marks139
  • What if the Union bought enough hot dogs for Dollar Dog Night? @Z_is_Binary
  • What if the Union had the money to spend on big-time players? @DaReedBull14
  • What if Jay Sugarman brought in a celebrity investment team like LAFC? @TheDoopScoop
  • What if our fans were always #Posidelphia and not #Negadelphia? @FatherofBen
  • What if the Atoms had survived in a lower league form like the Timbers/Sounders? @richardmcgovern
  • What if Peter Nowak didn’t go power mad and lose his mind? -Jim Halley
  • What if instead of dismantling the 2011 playoff team we expanded upon it? -Jim Halley
  • What if the Kansas City Wizards had moved here instead of an expansion side? @richardmcgovern
  • What if the Philadelphia Union rebranded?
  • What if Philadelphia had gotten an MLS team in 1996?
  • What if our jersey sponsor was Comcast spending Comcast-like money? -Jared Cram
  • What if the housing crisis happens two years before so it was clear the Union ownership group didn’t have the capital to spend like a big market club in the sixth largest U.S. city? -Chad Gambone
  • What if the team came a few years later. The next round of expansion had much bigger money owners. -Jimmy Reed
  • What if Sugarman was able to trust his sporting directors with his money before Ernst. -Michael Borton

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