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If you are not aware by now, MLS Goal of the Week (and Save of the Week, and Player of the Month, and - though it is restricted to the opinions of select media - Player of the Week) is a popularity contest. The league site - which excels at packaging and promoting the on-field activities of its teams - grabs a handful of goals, splices them into a highlight reel, and throws them up online for us to pick a winner. Seattle usually wins.
And that's all fine. Take it for what it is and celebrate when Bradley Wright-Phillips is the runaway winner of the vote because he scored a helluva goal against D.C. United and everyone knows it. BWP is this week's GotW winner with almost 60% of the vote. Put another way: more votes than the rest of the field combined.
It capped a special week for the New York Red Bulls' top-scorer, succinctly noted by RBNY's social media team.
Team of the Week. Player of the Week. Goal of the Week. #dare2BWP #RBNY pic.twitter.com/0YoOjnLF7U
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) September 4, 2015
Throw in RBNY's current position at the top of MLS's Power Rankings - another popularity contest of sorts - and you would be forgiven for concluding that the Red Bulls are in danger of becoming a bit of neutral's favorite in this league. We'll see how long this run of respect lasts.
In the meantime, congrats to BWP!