FRIDAY FREE KICK: I bought my first soccer scarf

Hi, my name is Rob and I'm a soccerholic.

(Hi, Rob)

I love the sport of soccer. I watch it nonstop all year long. That's one of the benefits of the sport is that there is never really an offseason if you follow the majority of the leagues. If MLS is over you still have the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Seri---well, those three. If it's summer you have MLS and Liga MX and so on. It's a never-ending cycle and it's glorious.

For as much as I love the sport, I'm not a big merchandise guy. I've owned two kits when I was younger. My first kit was of my childhood club and favorite player. A David Beckham Manchester United kit. It was amazing. United were on TV all the time just like they are now except with a monopoly on the Fox Soccer Channel airwaves. So, when I fell in love with the sport they came along with the package.

I traded that kit in for an "upgrade". Ask anyone who their favorite player was back in 2004. At least 90% of them will say Ronaldinho. He was the Lionel Messi of his time without a Cristiano Ronaldo to compete with. He was just 'it'. The things he could do with the ball at his feet were nothing short of magical. I owned a #10 bright yellow Barcelona kit that donned his name. I later sold it to a friend for like $20. Young and dumb. Sigh...I wish I still had both of them.

My point is, I don't do the merchandise stuff. The United States Men's National Team is the only team I've ever been a diehard supporter of and I've just never had the desire to buy a kit or a scarf. In fact, I've never even owned a soccer scarf. That is until last night.

I was online like every other person browsing the early Black Friday deals and happened upon the MLS Store. When I clicked on the Atlanta United section, low and behold there it was. The same scarf we all saw Darren Eales and company wearing at the logo unveiling event in July.

So, instead of buying some Christmas presents for my little niece and nephew, I decided it was time to purchase my first ever soccer scarf (There's always next year, kids). If you're like me and live outside of driving distance from the new team store, this is a perfect chance for you to gear up with an awesome scarf for the 2017 season.