April 1 is a day for pulling pranks, and as such it is up to the discerning reader to figure out what is real and what is a hoax. Given the temptation to fool people on this fine day, many pro soccer players, including those with MLS links, tried to fool the public on April Fools Day.
Kei Kamara made it appear his time with Norwich City was even shorter than most people would have expected, as he tweeted he was heading back to Kansas City ... with seven matches to go in Norwich's league campaign:
A couple hours later, Kamara confessed that he wasn't coming back just yet.
After dropping hints for a couple of days, Santos Laguna forward and US national teamer Herculez Gomez got in on the act as well this morning, announcing on twitter he was "coming home:"
Herc followed it up with "confirmation" from Chivas USA's official account a few hours later.
Not to be outdone by one club getting involved, the Vancouver Whitecaps stepped up with a prank of their own, announcing that right back Y.P. Lee would be retiring effective immediately, and would take a front office job with the club. They wrote a standard press release that looks legit until ... oh, hey, there's the April Fools announcement!
The fooling wasn't limited to those with previous MLS experience, as Egyptian national team forward (what is it with forwards and April Fools?) Amr Zaki dropped this tweet Sunday evening (in North America):
And then this dagger to follow up the shock announcement:
Other MLS jokes so far today from the media world include FC Dallas signing their mascot to solve their troubles in the midfield and Don Garber announcing KFC, based in Kentucky, will be the 20th MLS franchise. Also, the Portland Timbers will now play the "Cascadian anthem" before matches.
Does this one sound like a joke? Toronto FC have a guardian at BMO Field named Bitchy the Hawk, that patrols the stadium to prevent invasions by seagulls. The club even wrote an article about him on April 1, of all days! Further investigation reveals this story is indeed true, demonstrating either that TFC's timing was a big coincidence, or they were going for the double fake. Well played!
