Have you heard of the New England Revolution?
While diehard fans might be well aware of the reigning Major League Soccer Supporters’ Shield winners, a majority of New England is oblivious to the club. In the latest New England Sports Survey, conducted by Channel Media and Market Research, only two percent of respondents selected the Revolution as their favorite sports team ― compared to a whopping 48 percent selecting the New England Patriots.
Some people think they are Robert Kraft’s pet project compared to the giants that are the Patriots. Some have an irrational hatred for the sport of soccer. And then there are others don’t take MLS seriously.
Right now, the New England Revolution are the closest team in the region to winning a championship. If this was Europe, it could even say that the Revs were champions last season, as they were the best regular season team in the entire MLS.
Under Head Coach and Sporting Director Bruce Arena, New England had a historic regular season, tallying 73 points in 2021 ― an MLS record. Led by MVP Carles Gil, the Revs looked like they were destined to win their first MLS Cup Final in the club’s 26-year history, but disappointingly lost in the first round to New York City FC (who ended up winning the MLS Cup Finals).
New England’s success helped the club get more eyes, as 43 percent of respondents watched the club more in 2021 than in 2020.
In 2022, New England is bringing back a majority of its roster from last season. The biggest loss will be Tajon Buchanan, who was sold to Belgian Club Brugge for $7 million. The interest abroad doesn’t end there. Goalkeeper Matt Turner has been linked to Arsenal in the English Premier League and Adam Buksa is linked to Pisa, at the top of Italy’s second division.
But the Revolution also went out and made some acquisitions of their own, including United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) midfielder and MLS veteran Sebastian Lletget. Lletget joins a squad that features multiple players from Arena’s time with the Los Angeles Galaxy (who lifted the MLS Cup in 2014) such as A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, and Emmanuel Boateng, who has experience with Arena dating back to 2016.
On top of acquiring championship-caliber talent and players who are garnering interest abroad, Arena and New England have players who are impressing on the international level. Stateside, Matt Turner is currently competing for the top USMNT goalkeeper spot and now has 13 caps under his belt. Lletget is a veteran of international competition with over 30 caps to his name. Defenders Henry Kessler also has appearances at 21 years old and DeJuan Jones was recently called into January camp by USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter.
Outside of the United States, Buksa has scored five goals in five appearances for the Polish National Team and Arnor Traustason has 40 caps for the Icelandic National Team.
On top of producing superb on-field talent, fans also get their money’s worth when attending a game at Gillette Stadium. While the average ticket price rose from $36 to $55 according to SeatGeek, that’s still cheaper than the average ticket price for a Patriots game, as well as the Boston Bruins, Red Sox, and Celtics.
New England will surely be a successful club in 2022, so now is the perfect time to join the bandwagon. Soon you could find yourself wearing a soccer scarf and chanting songs throughout Gillette Stadium.
That doesn’t sound so bad does it?
