New York Red Bulls: Red Bulls’ biggest storylines to follow in 2019

Red Bull, still not served in a Cup.

Look, I am just as happy about three Shields, another run to the CCL Quarterfinals, the ability of the academy to churn out younger MLS ready players, having a team filled with legends on opposite ends of the pitch, the soccer specific stadium a short Subway ride away from Manhattan, stable ownership from a world-class brand, and the longest active playoff streak in the MLS as the next guy, but none of those things equate to an MLS Cup.

The MLS Cup is the prize that has eluded the Red Bulls for their entire existence. From Giants Stadium, to Red Bull Arena, from Tab Ramos, to Eddie Pope, to Juan Pablo Angel, to Thierry Henry, all the way until now, the Red Bulls, no Red Bull, has ever held the MLS Cup while donning the iconic logo. Not a MetroStar, not anyone in any place in any brand of the team has held the MLS Cup and it has never been home to the MLS original club.

It has forever been the girl they could never get. It has forever been the prize they constantly choke away. The closest they have been was a product of the Red Bulls winning the West and then losing to the Crew in the 2008 final, because that makes sense.

At no point in this long story, sorry not sorry, could any of this be considered a rational thought if I did not mention or think that far and away the biggest storyline for the 2019 New York Red Bulls’ season was not yet another quest for this darn thing.

Yes, another Shield could be in the works, sure a run vs another MLS club in the CCL tournament could be in the works, heck, maybe the Red Bulls could even win it. Yes, the US Open Cup is always a Wild Card in which betting on the Red Bulls is hardly a poor choice.

All of those trophies would be fine and dandy, the Red Bulls really don’t have any, but still, none of those things are the MLS Cup.

That is simply all I want. That is simply all this team should want. Maybe there is a correlation to winning the Shield and winning the MLS Cup, but the Red Bulls have never executed that correlation.

It is utterly ridiculous how cursed, backwards, hoodwinked, ill-fated, poorly planned, whatever adjective you want to say, this team is when it comes to the MLS Cup playoffs. All the success, all the regular season points, and for what?

2019 needs to be different. This is a team that when combining all the above things should equate to being damn good. There is not reason to think this team can’t win the MLS Cup this season, aside from narrative and denial this point.

The biggest story for the 2019 Red Bulls is how capable they are of winning the MLS Cup and how great they can be all things considered. They are as professional as professional gets. They are also talented.

This is it. The never-ending quest for the ultimate prize is the story. That is it. Let’s go get that. Let’s win that.

For once please give this wonderful New York market a reason to care about you win it all and earn a million new supporters. Reward the ones you do have. Reward the little sites that cover you like this one look wise, the mainstream ones that don’t look silly.

This is about so much more than what could be five years from now with a changing soccer landscape and a never broken way to build a soccer club like you do, this is about winning. Winning is the thing that people care about more the most.

That is the story. That is my story. It’s time. Don’t just say New York is red, make it red. This is not about trying to overcome the things you can’t control but perfectly handling the things you can.

Win. One Love? One Fight? One Passion? One Glory? Those are great to have, yes. But this season should be all about getting One MLS Cup Trophy.

And that is how I will end my story about all the Red Bulls’ stories.