Who's the Boss?

MLS player signings usually don’t draw a lot of publicity (unless they involve international sex symbols who are married to 90’s pop stars). So, I was a little confused when I started seeing news reports pop up everywhere on TV and the interwebs regarding the New York Red Bulls recent signing of a new goalie.

The goalie’s name?

Terry Boss.

Boss played for the USL’s second division Charlotte Eagles where he led them to the division title. He had a nasty goals against average and a division high nine shut outs. Good, no doubt, but don’t forget the league he played in was two steps below MLS on the US Soccer Pyramid.

Now, NY doesn’t need a goalie. They’ve got Jon Conway, who’s pretty good, and they’ve signed two able backups in Danny Cepero and Caleb Patterson-Sewell. So, why the need for Boss?

Honestly, I can think of only one, and it’s a pretty cynical one at that.

Terry Boss is Kevin Boss’s older brother.

Kevin Boss is the starting TE for the New York Giants. He’s the one that came into the fray last year out of total obscurity to replace Jeremy Shockey after his season-ending knee injury. He played great during the playoffs and made a huge contribution during the Super Bowl when the big man scampered for a 45 yard reception, the longest play in the game.

He’s a hero to New Yorkers. Well, at least New Yorkers who prefer the Giants over the Jets.

Now, obviously NYRB didn’t sign Terry just because his brother is a big name in New York. But I don’t think it hurt him either. If the team was looking for some publicity, they sure got it, as I’ve seen the Terry Boss signing on ESPN (well, the ticker anyways), SI.com and even Deadspin.

Of course, I haven’t seen it yet without the source mentioning his brother. Right away. Like in the first breath.

Alas, that’s MLS for you today. It’s sad the league only warrants mention by the so-called “big” sports media when one of its players happens to be related to a NFL guy. Not even a super famous NFL guy at that.

Imagine if Favre’s nephew could play striker.

Anyways, I wish Boss luck. Hopefully, he can establish himself as a starter in NY someday, and escape from his brother’s enormous (he looks like he’s 300 lbs this year) shadow. Until then, it will be “Terry Boss, brother of Kevin” here in the US.

One place Terry isn’t overshadowed by his bro? Puerto Rico.

Boss’s short stint with the Puerto Rico Islanders somehow rendered him available to play for the Puerto Rican National Team. He’s gotten four caps so far and in March he shut out the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, PR’s 2010 World Cup qualifying dreams ended not too long after.

So, in America, when people ask, “Who’s the Boss” I’m sure people will still think of Kevin…

But in Puerto Rico, Terry es el Jefe!