Grant Wahl is not a name you want to bring up in Minnesota soccer bars right now.
Though he is a successful and respected sports journalist for the likes of Sports Illustrated and Fox Soccer TV, Wahl is something of a pariah in the Minnesota soccer scene after writing an article during the offseason that claimed many of the managers and other front office staff he spoke to about Minnesota United thought they would be the worst team in MLS history.
To add salt to that already salty wound, he went on to peg Minnesota’s over/under at just a paltry five wins.
The backlash from Minnesota fans was as fierce as it was immediate. In fact, Wahl’s name remains something of a meme, occasionally popping up as a way to emphasize how greatly the sporting world had underestimated the nascent squad.
A New Leaf
All that said, Wahl is the last person you would expect to see publicly making plans to travel to watch Minnesota play a home match. But that’s exactly what happened on Planet Futbol, Wahl’s podcast, on Thursday.
Just over a half-hour into the show, the subject turned to Minnesota United. Wahl chuckled and immediately offered a mea culpa for his pre-season prediction concerning the Loons. He also implied that some of the backlash was, at least in his mind, misdirected as the fans attacked the messenger, so to speak.
It’s not an altogether bad point. The story in question cited a number of managers and club staff, so Wahl’s defense that he was merely reporting what front office personnel thought is an accurate statement.
That said, he did himself no favors when he put the over/under of Minnesota wins this season at five. Even for a new club with a boatload of question marks around its roster (remember, this was back when we were still trying to find bodies to add), five wins over a season is an insultingly low bar.
Part of me wants to believe Wahl saw something in the way the team was coming together that was his rationale for putting our win tally so low, but I suspect an over/under of five came more from buying in to what the unnamed front office staff were telling him and less to concrete reasons for concern.
No, we weren’t making flashy signings like Atlanta United did at the time (and still aren’t, for that matter), but the Minnesota game plan was never to be the darling of the league. It was something akin to Moneyball; find underrated and available talent and put together a winning squad.
A few short months later and the Loons are looking like a completely different team. As many sports predictions often do, Wahl’s is looking quite foolish. That’s not to say it was an uncommon sentiment before the season began. United have had a chip on their shoulder and something to prove since day one. But with a rejuvenated backline acting as the cornerstone for a team that is now tied in points with Atlanta, apocalyptic predictions made before our squad even set foot on a pitch seem not only premature but inconsequential.
For what it’s worth, I sincerely hope Wahl joins us at TCF Bank Stadium for a United match this season. It’s the mark of a good sport to offer to eat crow in such a public fashion. Heck, maybe our Dark Clouds can find time to write a song or two for him, too.
Check out the entire episode of Planet Futbol below. Even with his underestimation of the Loons, Wahl is still an authority on the sport and a great podcast host to boot.
