The Philadelphia Union finally get the ball rolling on the offseason

Image courtesy of Philadelphiaunion.com 

Hey guys, it's me just letting you know that I'm not dead as a Philadelphia Union writer. The issue was that for me to actually write something during this offseason, the team had to ya know, do something. Well after starting the offseason off with rumors of a Designated Player number 10 and then walking those rumors back, the Philadelphia Union have finally done something. Well actually, they've done a few things, things that are actually good!

We'll begin with the big news and that is that Andre Blake is committed to the future of the Philadelphia Union for the long haul after signing a contract extension. The extension will last three years with an option for a fourth and while it is unclear what the salary is, it is important for the team to show that they are able to keep their best players (or risk ending up like DC United with Bill Hamid walking for nothing).

While Blake deserves a chance overseas, Jamacia's FIFA rankings and the single entity nature of Major League Soccer doesn't make that a viable option for him at this time. It means that the two options that the club had were to cash in on him within the league or to roll up the Brinks truck to pay the man.

Blake has deserved every penny that he is getting in the deal by single-handedly keeping the Philadelphia Union in more games than I can count and it is good to know that the team will start not only next season but a few more after that with Blake between the sticks.

Where things get interesting is the team also announcing Matt Real as a Home-Grown signing. Real, an 18-year-old Drexel Hill native made 17 appearances with Bethlehem Steel playing in the United Soccer League and grew with every start. Along with fellow signing Anthony Fontana, Real oozes natural talent and could be coming for Fabinho's job at left back sooner than we think. Fabinho isn't getting any younger, and all it could take is one good preseason to break into the starting XI.

Centerback Mark McKenzie has also been signed to a homegrown contract, but his path to the starting XI is a little murkier. While he had a good year in Bethlehem last season, he likely needs more seasoning before he can make the jump to the next level. But why does this matter? I've got one word for you, OPTICS.

In one fell swoop, the Philadelphia Union have changed the offseason from severely disappointing to being mildly intriguing. Ahead of the MLS Super Draft taking place in Philadelphia on Friday, it was important to change the outlook of things to a disgruntled fan base. This is enough to hold fans over for the moment, but more moves must happen before the team heads to Florida for the preseason. It's a good start but the onus is on the Philadelphia Union to keep it going.

Philadelphia is waiting on ya.