Underneath Yankee Stadium, under the seats and actually under that hallowed ground, is a massive hallway that rings the stadium. A hallway large enough to smash atomic particles in, or to drive tractor-trailers through, which, I suppose, is actually the point. And I am standing in it, just outside the home locker room only minutes after watching NYCFC beat the Philadelphia Union. I am waiting for Sam Cooke (no, not that one; NYCFC\u2019s VP of Communications) and Nicole Chayet to give us the high sign so we can ask the players the inane questions we routinely ask them.<\/p>\n
And while I\u2019m waiting I\u2019m thinking about what we saw on the pitch. A match that, frankly NYCFC not only had<\/em> to win to maintain pace in the standings<\/a>, but that they probably really really wanted<\/em> to win \u2013 as a loss would probably have predicated a regimen of two-a-days from Patrick Vieira for the next two weeks.<\/p>\n But NYCFC beat the Philadelphia Union. It was a match in which they came from behind. In which both goals were scored by members of the backline. In which the knock-out blow, as it were, didn\u2019t come until the 85th\u00a0minute. It was a match which ended with the Philadelphia Union throwing everything at NYCFC short of the kitchen sink, the Liberty Bell, Earnie Stewart, and all the crusty seed rolls at John\u2019s Roast Pork<\/a>.<\/p>\n Standing next to me in the hallway is Dudes in Blue<\/a>\u2019s Joe Amato and as we wait he asks me about David Villa. Or rather, he begins opining about what was, it must be admitted, a less than satisfactory outing for the captain. And as he talks it occurs to me how much David Villa has come to rely on Rodney Wallace. That Wallace\u2019s speed and technique have made him such a threat to opposing team\u2019s defenses that the blanket coverage Villa has experienced essentially since he signed up with City has lessened. And that gives him space in which to operate. And when Wallace is not there \u2013 as he was not today when NYCFC beat the Philadelphia Union \u2013 teams are able to focus again on El Guaje, muscling him, crowding him and generally forcing him into the kinds of shots that one saw on Saturday.<\/p>\n As we talk, Alex Ring emerges to do some sort of television remote interview. And while it would be easy to point to him as the reason NYCFC beat the Philadelphia Union today and drew the New England Revolution on Wednesday, there\u2019s a more important point to be made, and it\u2019s this: The communication between Ring and Maxi Moralez is really something special. If you\u2019re a fan of soccer, you should watch it. And if you\u2019re a fan of NYCFC, you should be very encouraged \u2013 especially since it echoes the relationship Moralez has developed at the top of the formation with David Villa.<\/p>\n As I\u2019m thinking about all this, a grand posse of clearly important people rolls up, and the temperature perceptibly rises in the gaggle of journalists around us. I, as you would expect, am largely clueless. Joe turns to me, pale as a ghost, his eyes large as saucers. \u201cDo you know who that is?\u201d he asks me. I don\u2019t. \u201cThat\u2019s Danny Carey.\u201d Nothing. \u201cTool?\u201d Oh. \u201cThe greatest drummer in the world.\u201d Right. That<\/em> Danny Carey. Of course. My bad.<\/p>\n But not just<\/em> Danny Carey. For also in that crowd passing ahead of us into the locker room is LL Cool J. The same LL Cool J whose beaming visage was flashed upon the screen in the 84th\u00a0minute as NYCFC set up for a corner kick. Who, as @JLa_NYC reminded me later, beckoned the crowd to cheer and make some noise for the team.<\/p>\n And seconds later, Alexander Callens scored and NYCFC beat the Philadelphia Union.<\/p>\n @JLa_NYC<\/a> thinks he deserves an assist for that, and I think she may have something there.<\/p>\n For later, as I write this, I will get in to a discussion with YahooNews\u2019 White House correspondent Hunter Walker<\/a> about that very subject. \u201cIn honor of @<\/span>llcoolj<\/a>‘s emergence as an @<\/span>NYCFC<\/a> superfan and good luck charm,\u201d he will tweet, \u201cthe team must start using \u2018Mama Said Knock You Out\u2019 after goals.”<\/p>\n And like the good reporter he is, he pulls NYCFC president Jon Patricof into the discussion. And LLCoolJ himself. And then Chicken Bucket FC<\/a> weighs in, calling this the beginning of a movement. And maybe it is. Or should be.<\/p>\n But that all happens days later. Back in the hallway, me and Joe and the others finally get the okay that the locker room is open. And as I walk in, I see the aforementioned Mr. Smith leaning against a wall. \u201cThanks for the good luck,\u201d I say as I start to walk past.<\/p>\n He laughs, sees my media pass, and when I am about to turn the corner he places one enormous hand on my shoulder. I stop dead in my tracks. Then he says very quietly \u201cDon\u2019t call it a comeback.\u201d<\/p>\n No Sir. I won\u2019t. Wouldn\u2019t think of it. Now if you\u2019ll excuse, grandma told me to take out the garbage\u2026<\/p>\n #MamaSaidKnockYouOut<\/p>\n