Lamar Hunt, 1932-2006

Even when titanic figures in MLS or US Soccer pass-on, the DCenters usually remains silent unless there is a direct DC United connection. Lamar Hunt is no exception, except for the fact that his influence was so big, so important, that we must note and pay our respects to the man. If nothing else (and there was so much more), Hunt's attachment with MLS conferred more respect on this league and its legitimacy as an aspiring sports organization than any other individual I can think of. Investors knew that Hunt is one of the few people who had already successfully taken on the established sports hierarchy in the USA and won. Since the AFL/NFL merger, we have seen countless organizations bid for America's attention and fail to achieve much notice. The WLAF, XFL, Arena Football League, and USFL all took shots at trying to carve a niche out, and all have faded back if not out of the picture entirely. The AFC is still around. So is MLS, and if there's no MLS, there's no DC United. He may not have given a second thought to this market, but it didn't matter. His presence alone gave us space to work in, and a chance to establish what we enjoy. The appreciations of Lamar Hunt deserve to be wide-ranging, and I'm glad they are. Thank you Lamar. Thanks for giving us MLS, and keeping it here long enough for my DC United to beat your Wizards in 2004. Even as your team lost, I hope you knew that to some degree, we all owed you one.