Dax McCarty has been traded. Off to the Windy City, where he'll pair with fellow acquisition Juninho in a suddenly stacked Fire midfield, providing leadership and top-tier two-way play for his fourth MLS franchise.
Once a surprise arrival in New York, McCarty now becomes the first casualty of the plan forward for RBNY. It's a moment for the MLS community and a shocked group of Red Bull faithful: the captain exits as New York's all-time leader in starts and minutes, ranking fifth with 27 assists. He logged 17 postseason appearances, and twice hoisted the Supporters' Shield.
But it's also a moment for me, a fellow Tar Heel who only ended up criss-crossing this corner of the sports landscape because of the Ginger Ninja.
We overlapped briefly at UNC-Chapel Hill (2004-05), where I spent part of my senior year covering the men's soccer team for a sportswriting seminar. I wrote an in-depth profile on goalkeeper Ford Williams, and also the exploits of top scorer – and brief MLSer – Marcus Storey, but never forgot the distinctive name of a hyperactive midfield prospect who soon earned a Generation adidas deal heading into the 2006 SuperDraft.
FC Dallas selected Dax with the No. 6 overall selection, but I'd made my own first pro move, to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and didn't pick up the MLS thread until 2011, when I caught a NY Post mention that he'd been traded to the local Red Bulls. From there, I began to loosely track McCarty's exploits, during off moments from NBA Twitter while serving a digital gig at the then-New Jersey Nets.
With a few soccer-savvy co-workers egging me on, I ended up attending a game out in Harrison the next season, and watched every match of the 2013 season. By 2014, I was all riled up on the "Why'd you fire Petke?" bandwagon, before Ali Curtis and Jesse Marsch pulled off a spectacular tandem move to create midfield mayhem with Felipe and Sacha Kljestan joining Dax in high-pressing the regular season into submission.
And then the job opened up. I actually felt emboldened enough to apply, shamelessly spouting the Gospel of Ginger as part of the prospective employee package. It seems to have worked.
Though I had to throttle the Red Bull rudder since stepping into the role, I stayed full steam ahead on the Dax McCarty bandwagon, enjoying the second Shield, an expansion of Koji Instagram and all those random headers – including one during my old man's first MLS match, up at Yankee Stadium, in a game some of y'all might remember (NYCFC fans, perhaps less fondly). We crossed #IRL paths this postseason at MLS Digital, and took a quick trip down the Tar Heel rabbit hole (Time-Out 24/7, R.I.P. Players) and then he was off, for a planned wedding, an unexpected call-up to January camp and now, Chicago.
As I enter this second full season, more steeped than ever in the MLS Matrix, it's going to be weird when April 29th comes and Dax lines up at Red Bull Arena alongside the other Men in Red. But I'll be watching, glad that after all these years the redhead with the striking name is worth remembering still.
And for RBNY supporters, this ending means several new beginnings could be at the fore: Homegrown Player Sean Davis showed last season he's primed to tackle a starting slot, and fellow HGP Tyler Adams – at 17 years old, with more than 30 pro games – is all potential, all day at McCarty's vacated D-mid. And all that allocation cash is going to go toward … someone else with a healthy salary charge, someone the Red Bulls likely view as a finishing piece for this franchise at the footstep.
Today, some Carolina grad in Chicago might notice a name in the newspaper (or on Twitter, you #youngs) and make a trip out to Bridgeview he wouldn't have last season. An Academy kid on a downswing might have gotten reinforcement that there's light at the MLS level if he just gives it one more real go. The Red Bulls might look back on this as the move that made the tumblers align to unlock MLS Cup. So might Chicago.
Dax's story doesn't stop here. There are many moments to come, and we'll be watching. Go Heels.
