Around and around we go, and where we stop will be football recruiting:
I was in the crowd at CHS Field on Aug. 19, 2016 when the official announcement was made that Minnesota's pro soccer franchise was going to be elevated from the North American Soccer League to Major League Soccer, the top level of professional play for the United States and Canada.
A surprise to me was the joy the fans took when it was announced the team would be able to keep the name "United FC,'' thus joining Atlanta as the second and third Uniteds in the league.
I had no idea there was a fan base fixated on that title, since the return of pro soccer in Blaine in the early '90s was under the brand Thunder (a perfectly fine nickname) and then it held on for a couple of years as the Stars (not so hot).
The United thing started when Bill McGuire rescued the team in 2013. Four seasons aren't enough to qualify as tradition, particularly when the people cheering the loudest over the continuation as United were the "Dark Clouds,'' a fan group that drew its name from the days of the Thunder.
Oh, well.
We are now 30 percent of the way through Season 2 in the MLS and this struck me:
*I was covering the Twins and paying no attention when the Kicks came to Minnesota as part of the real NASL in 1976, and still knew the names of their standout players after a couple of weeks of the first season.