AUSTIN, Texas -- It isn't always easy for Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie to watch Union games these days, because prime-time kickoffs at Subaru Park are in the middle of the night over in Europe, where they play.
So while they weren't able to see the team's Supporters' Shield-clinching win live this past Saturday, they certainly caught up the next morning. And they were as thrilled as anyone.
"For them to go and win it like they did was unbelievable," Aaronson said. "It's a credit to the coach, credit to the players. ... They don't have many, I guess you can say, star players, but they're bought into the system and make it really, really hard for the other teams -- and listen, they got stars out of it."
That was also the case the last time the Union won the Shield, in 2020 -- the first and only major trophy in team history until now. It was Aaronson and McKenzie's last season before moving to Europe, and they both played significant roles, the former in midfield and the latter at centerback.
Each had already gained some fame by then, but they really shot to prominence that year -- especially Aaronson, with his highlight-reel plays at the MLS Is Back tournament during the pandemic. And by the end of the year, they each had earned $6 million moves to Europe, Aaronson to Austria's Red Bull Salzburg, and McKenzie to Belgium's Genk.
A lot has changed in MLS since then, especially with the arrivals of global superstars Lionel Messi in Miami, Thomas Müller in Vancouver, and Son Heung-Min in Los Angeles.
The Union's roster has changed a lot too, with just five players left from the 2020 squad: Andre Blake, Alejandro Bedoya, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo, and Kai Wagner. But the club as a whole has remained successful, with the most regular-season points of any team in MLS since that year started.
"Since we won that Supporters' Shield, I think the team and the club have done a phenomenal job with showing a level of consistency, a level of desire to be more than just a one-season wonder," McKenzie said. "You talk about winning the Supporters' Shield [in 2020], getting to the Eastern Conference final [in2021], and then you get to the MLS Cup final [in2022]. Now it's going to be winning the MLS Cup final after a full year of work."
If only it was that easy, of course. But whatever happens in the playoffs, this year's Union squad will be remembered for claiming a trophy that Messi, Müller, and Son all had shots at but didn't get.
"The club's always been built around rolling up your sleeves, being gritty, grinding out our results, showcasing our ability and our quality but being efficient when you get the opportunity; being efficient when you have the ball," McKenzie said. "And the team has done that this year. There's no mystery as to why the team has won the Supporters' Shield this year again; I think that is a testament to the club being true to itself."
How does the first Shield compare with the second? Most observers would probably say this year's was harder to earn, between the quality of opposing teams and the fact that the 2020 season had a long stoppage when the world shut down. When the regular season resumed after that tournament, the league regionalized schedules to cut down on travel, so there were repeat opponents.
"I think it's definitely harder [this year]," Aaronson said. "You had to travel a lot [this year]; you had to go to all these places," where we weren't traveling too far."
He is convinced his team could have won the Shield that year in normal circumstances, which is as close as either player came to playing the “back in my day” card. And as he also admitted, “I didn’t have to play against Messi.”
But let’s not forget how hard 2020 was. The pandemic’s restrictions took a big emotional toll, from quarantines to travel, practice and game rules, and how players’ families dealt with things at home. That summer’s social justice movements also impacted many players, McKenzie in particular.
"To get through all of that, and to come out of years of making it to the end and not crossing that line, and finally you get to that point and you're able to bring a trophy home, it was special," McKenzie said.
Next month, the U.S. men will play Paraguay in Chester, ending a six-year wait to see the team back in town. Aaronson and McKenzie were in the midst of their first seasons as first-team pros during the Americans’ last game here, a Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinal.
If they make the November squad and play in that game, one can only imagine the roars they’d get from the home crowd.
"It would mean the world to me, getting to be able to play back home in Philadelphia," Aaronson said. "But of course that's me having to do my job and just put myself in the best position, which I'm trying to do."
McKenzie said it would be "like a full circle moment, I think, something special." And he was equally quick to acknowledge he has to earn the chance.
"God willing, I get the opportunity to do that," he said."I'll be extremely excited; extremely humbled."