The Los Angeles Galaxy's Tom Payne and D.C. United's Kevin Payne greeted each other warmly after Sunday's 2-2 tie at The Home Depot Center. They didn't spend much time together leading up to the game but promised to talk again by phone during the week.
If you're looking for brothers going at each other's throats or trying to get some kind of edge on each other, this isn't that kind of sibling rivalry. Far from it. The Paynes love and respect each other and aren't about to let a little matter of a soccer game get in the way of their kinship.
Sunday could have given cause for 45-year-old Tom, the Galaxy's president of business operations, to gloat somewhat after his team rallied to tie United 2-2, on a pair of Landon Donovan goals in the final 10 minutes, but he would have none it.
In fact, they've never teased each other and never entered into any friendly wagers on outcomes. There have been a few uncomfortable moments, such as last June's family reunion in Virginia, right after United's 4-1 victory over the Galaxy, but Kevin and Tom always refrain from biting comments.
"We don't talk trash or anything like that," said Kevin, 56, the president of D.C. United. "We're always on speaking terms. There's no competition between us at all. Tommy and I don't do that type of thing. This endeavor we're engaged in is very personal for both of us, so you don't want to dig the knife in. These games are important, but there's some perspective that needs to be kept.
"It's always fun to compete against people that you care about, although you still don't make more of it than it should be."
Tom echoed those sentiments.
"I'm very, very competitive, but we genuinely want the other team to win," said Tom, in his first full season in his administrative position with the Galaxy. "There's not any trash-talking, but we also know to kind of stay away from each other during the games."
Kevin and Tom usually speak by phone a couple of times a week and also exchange numerous e-mails. They said they haven't seen each other much lately, although they recently were at their sister's house in Myrtle Beach, S.C. And when they do talk, they'll often discuss everything MLS. In Tom's case, he's had a lot to talk about, starting with the ongoing David Beckham saga.
Beckham won't return to the Galaxy until mid-July after lengthy negotiations with AC Milan, where he is on loan, finalized an agreement that extended his stay in Italy until the end of the Serie A season.
"He's got some added challenges with the soap opera that was going on there," Kevin said, "but they'll be fine. The Galaxy have a loyal following and Tom is a very good manager. I'm very proud of of him and what he has accomplished."
Tom, who said board games like Risk and Monopoly "were tough" around the house while growing up, said his brother got him interested in soccer "back in the day in this country when not a lot of people were playing it."
He often has leaned on Kevin for advice and for good reason, considering his brother has been the former national administrator for the U.S. Soccer Federation and helped put together the original investment group for D.C. United. He served as the team's president and general manager from its inception until 2001. He then left to join AEG as senior vice president and managing director of AEG Soccer, but returned to United as president in 2004.
"Kevin has been through this a lot longer than I have," Tom said. "He started the D.C. United team, he helped design the logo and everything else. Whatever I can learn from him is great. I think I've always looked up to the way they run their franchise. I think D.C. United is a model franchise in our league and has been since day one, and I still think they are the one we need to look to.
"But I think we're pretty good, too."
Larry Morgan is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
