2014 OaM Awards: Moment of the Year

Day 4 of the 2014 OaM Awards brings us the first of two awards today. It's time for the New York Red Bull Moment of the Year. This is pretty self explanatory, so let's get right to it.

2014 End of Year Awards:

• Young Player of the Year
• Defensive Player of the Year
• Offensive Player of the Year
• Match of the Year

Austin Fido - Thierry Henry's Post Game Interview (November 30th)

"You ready?"

A tight cluster of microphones, voice recorders and cameras signals yes.

Thierry Henry, looks to be suppressing a smile because he knows what’s coming, raises his head almost shyly, "Well done, New England."

And he’s gone. Off to shower or get on the team bus or whatever players do after road games.

We didn’t know for sure at the time, but it looked like the action of a man who simply wasn’t going to be drawn into a conversation about his future in the aftermath of his last game for the club.

Henry has always been about the game, the results, the achievements on the pitch. He came here to win trophies, make the team better, write new chapters in the club’s modest history. He did that. But he wasn’t going to make any great revelations about himself in the locker room of another team’s stadium.

Let the journos write match reports, not farewells. Focus on the game, not the captain. The time for eulogies is when the action is over. Until then, respect the game, do your "f***in’ job" as he once memorably suggested to a teammate, and don’t ever make it all about you.

So he sucked it up, said something respectful about the winning team, and went on his way. Doing his f***in’ job as well as anyone ever has in this league or this sport.

Thanks, Titi. That moment summed up your career here, and was every bit as glorious as the goals, the assists, and the Shield.

Jason Iapicco - Bradley Wright-Phillips' 27th Goal (October 26th)

Wright-Phillips was sitting on 25 goals, and on the road, there was no expectation of him even reaching #27 and tying the MLS goal scoring record given the team's road woes in 2014. Then he scored a goal in the 15th minute and all of a sudden, tying the record was a possibility. The game dragged on and it started to look like the Red Bulls were willing to settle for a 1-0 road win, which was enough to secure a home knock-out match.

Then in the 70th minute, he nicked his second of the night, and 27th of the season after he stripped Aurelien Collin of the ball and beat Eric Kronberg 1-on-1 to tie the record. That sparked the New York Red Bulls to forget about the match and go all out to get #28 for the Englishman. It wasn't to be, but it was an exciting 20 minutes because of BWP's record goal.

Matt Coyne - Playoff comeback against Sporting KC (October 30th)

For many fans, the playoffs were met with tepid enthusiasm. Yeah, the Red Bulls had been (quietly) playing very well down the stretch and, yes, the Red Bulls had beaten Sporting Kansas City the week before in Sporting Park. But the Red Bulls are prone to the kind of playoff let downs that would put them in good company with the early 2000’s Philadelphia Eagles or the San Jose Sharks of the last several years.

So forgive me, and many other fans, for thinking "I’ve got a bad feeling about this," in the run up to the knock-out game against SKC.

But Bradley Wright-Phillips showed his regular season scoring prowess wasn’t a fluke when he scored the equalizer in the 77th minute, then headed home the equalizer as the 90th minute approached.

That moment made me think, "Ok, maybe these guys aren’t the Red Bulls of old," while kickstarting a playoff run.

Tim Dean - Peguy Luyindula's goal against D.C. United (November 8th)

From the build up, to Thierry Henry’s pinpoint accuracy, to Peguy’s soft as melted butter first touch, to his beautiful finish past Bill "I guess they can hold us back after all" Hamid, to the over 20,000 supporters suddenly realizing that New York had FINALLY beaten DC United in a Playoff match…..that’ll do, pig. That’ll do.

What's your moment of the year? Let us know in the comments.