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  • đŸ„š Proteinmaxxing, Philly style | Morning Newsletter

    Welcome to Wednesday. After yesterday’s round of severe weather throughout the region, there’s another chance of showers.

    Dig into how Philadelphia’s iconic food brands are cooking up new recipes to draw calorie-conscious customers.

    We’re also looking at what $1,500 can land you in rental space around Philadelphia compared with other cities.

    Plus, the DA’s office probes undisclosed payments to an inmate, and more news of the day.

    — Paola PĂ©rez and Ellen Dunkel (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Competing for consumers

    If you ever wished your soft pretzel packed a bit more of a protein punch, you’re in luck.

    The Philly Pretzel Factory is developing a high-protein option for those concerned about weight loss and looking to maximize their intake. Meanwhile, Campbell’s just dropped a new lineup of soups.

    As more U.S. adults turn to appetite-suppressing medications like GLP-1 drugs, more food companies in the Philadelphia area and beyond are finding ways to tweak their formulas and provide “functional food”-friendly options. It’s a move reminiscent of the low-fat and carb-phobic diets of decades past.

    Meanwhile, Honeygrow’s approach involves giving diners the power of personalization. The fast-casual chain allows for detailed customization of meals, like choosing whole-wheat noodles for stir-fries.

    Notable quote: “Even though you’re on a GLP-1, that doesn’t mean that you don’t want delicious food,” said Todd Miller, Honeygrow’s senior vice president of marketing.

    Olivia Prusky has the story.

    What $1,500 can rent in Philly

    Apartment renters with $1,500 a month to spend would get very different-size homes in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Manhattan.

    That’s according to an analysis by RentCafe, a national apartment search website, based on average price per square foot for apartments in properties with 50 or more units.

    đŸ’” In Philadelphia, $1,500 would cover a studio.

    đŸ’” In Pittsburgh, that $1,500 would get tenants a one- or two-bedroom apartment.

    đŸ’” In Manhattan, $1,500 only pays for the equivalent of a dorm room.

    Urbanism writer Michaelle Bond has more details in her new report.

    What you should know today

    Quote of the day

    U.S. Sen. Andy Kim is introducing a plan called MediKids to provide free healthcare to every child in the country. The New Jersey Democrat hopes his idea is a jumping-off point for his party’s universal healthcare debates.

    🧠 Trivia time

    Middle Child’s BLT season frenzy starts today.

    What is the value of local heirloom tomatoes on each prepared sandwich?

    A) $5.00

    B) $2.60

    C) $3.00

    D) $3.50

    Think you know? Check your answer.

    What we’re …

    🍹 Craving: A sundae. Here are the best ones in Philadelphia right now.

    📿 Not surprised by: People are selling the free World Cup bracelets they waited hours in line for.

    đŸ“ș Watching: West Philly’s Colman Domingo to kick off his Jimmy Kimmel Live! takeover with a surprise makeover.

    👀 Curious about: Rita’s new water ice flavors inspired by The Office and Friends.

    ♿ Considering: Why Pennsylvanians should celebrate disability pride.

    đŸ§© Unscramble the anagram

    Hint: Philly’s largest farm

    ACME FAX FROSH

    Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

    Cheers to Chris Eaton, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Cirque du Soleil. The contemporary circus group’s next performance, Twas the Night Before 
, is coming to the Met Philadelphia for a limited theatrical run from Dec. 17-27.

    Photo of the day

    Caleb Yu plays in the water feature in front of City Hall. He was there with his father while the two vacation together.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    đŸ‘‹đŸœ Thanks for reading. Take care.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • Lights, cameras, recipes: Philly’s home cooks are creating the menu for a new Center City restaurant

    Lights, cameras, recipes: Philly’s home cooks are creating the menu for a new Center City restaurant

    It’s three weeks before Recipe Philly’s opening day. The kitchen is finished, most of the 100 workers have been hired, and the dining room is a jumble of chairs, tables, and unfinished walls. But instead of construction crews applying finishing touches, cameras and lights have taken over.

    Opening a restaurant has been likened to putting on a show, and Recipe Philly — on the site of the long-ago McDonald’s at Broad and Arch Streets — is exactly that.

    Ed Baumstein, who dreamed up the Recipe Philly restaurant and reality series, on the set before contestants arrive.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Its creator, retired corporate executive Ed Baumstein, decided to turn the making of the restaurant into a reality show. When Recipe Philly opens in mid-August, customers won’t be ordering entrees created by an executive chef. They’ll be eating dishes developed by home cooks across the Philadelphia region whose recipes survived months of auditions, judging, recipe testing, and filming for an eight-episode series that Baumstein is shopping around.

    Everything is under wraps. The producers are keeping the outcome secret, declining to identify contestants or winning recipes.

    Recipe Philly’s roots date to the 2008 recession, when Baumstein was running SolomonEdwards, the Philadelphia consulting firm he founded in 1999. As businesses tightened spending, his chief financial officer suggested canceling the company’s annual holiday party.

    Instead, Baumstein invited employees to his suburban home for a potluck dinner.

    “I was just blown away by the enthusiasm that our colleagues brought to the Christmas party,” Baumstein said. “They were super-excited about making their dishes. They watched the buffet table to see who was eating their dishes. We gave out little prizes, and just getting that three minutes of fame was unbelievable.”

    Ed Baumstein looks over plans for Recipe Philly, which is expected to open in mid-August.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    When Baumstein, 70, sold his company and retired nearly four years ago, he decided to turn that idea into Recipe Philly — a $3.8 million investment and his first restaurant. At 150 seats in the dining room and 22 at the bar, “we decided to go big,” Baumstein said.

    He announced the project last November with a casting call inside the Convention Center’s Broad Street atrium, where more than 1,000 people showed up to fill out recipe cards and share stories behind their dishes. Producers narrowed the field to 100 contestants, then further winnowed the competition to roughly 60 who advanced to the filmed cooking round.

    Josh Moore (right) photographs fellow judge Jennifer Carroll on the set of Recipe Philly.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Contestants competed in categories including appetizers, soups and salads, poultry, seafood, pasta, meat entrĂ©es, desserts, and an “other” category for creative outliers. The process ultimately yielded 31 recipes that will appear on the restaurant’s opening menu.

    The competition didn’t end there. The remaining episodes being filmed this month have shifted from building the menu to crowning a champion.

    Sixteen contestants earned “silver spoons” from the judges and advanced into semifinal rounds devoted to particular categories. Those winners will compete for $70,000 in prize money — including one winner of $10,000. But regardless of who wins, the original 31 recipes will be served opening night.

    Ed Baumstein (center) chats with Recipe Philly judges Clara Park (left) and Josh Moore.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    “The city is building the menu,” said Josh Randall, a veteran casting producer for American Idol who is the show’s host and one of its producers. “These aren’t celebrity chefs. They’re neighbors, friends, brothers, sisters, parents — people who ordinarily wouldn’t have an opportunity to be on television.”

    Randall said that distinction attracted him to the project. When Baumstein first approached him, the concept was still evolving.

    “As a documentary, maybe it’s a 90-minute film,” Randall said. “As a competition, I thought it could sustain eight episodes.”

    Chef Andy Revella (left) talks the production staff in the kitchen at Recipe Philly. At right is supervising producer Jon Espinoza.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    But he insisted that the show avoid the drama that dominates many reality competitions.

    “A lot of reality television is cutthroat,” Randall said. “I was drawn to the chance to create something lighter that celebrates people rather than tearing them down.”

    This might be the friendliest reality series ever. The judges — Jennifer Carroll, a veteran of Top Chef; Clara Park, a Chopped champion; and influencer Josh Moore, who goes by @josheatsphilly — say they’ve cried multiple times while hearing the stories. “You end up rooting for everyone,” Park said.

    Carroll said nearly every contestant arrived with more than a recipe.

    Ed Baumstein (left) in the still-unfinished Recipe Philly restaurant.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    “Every contestant has a personal story behind the dish,” she said. “Some recipes have been passed down through generations. Others are completely original.”

    She said the judges make a point of talking with contestants after judging because rejection can sting.

    “This show is the opposite of a lot of competitive cooking shows,” Carroll said. “It’s not about tearing people down or humiliating them. It’s about lifting them up.”

    Moore conceded that he expected more sentimental cooking than exceptional cooking.

    “I wondered whether someone might show up with something very simple,” he said. “Instead, people have really brought their best.”

    For Park, one of the biggest surprises has been watching Philadelphia’s diversity emerge through its food.

    “You literally see all the different neighborhoods and ethnic communities of Philadelphia come to life through these dishes,” she said. “There are dishes I’ve never seen before that are emblematic of certain cultures.”

    Behind the scenes, another challenge awaited. Home recipes are scaled to the dinner table. Some require elaborate preparation. Many rely on instinct rather than measurements.

    Chef Andy Revella in the kitchen, which has hoodless venting, at Recipe Philly.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    That work fell to chef Andy Revella, 74, the restaurant’s operating partner, whose resume includes Bennigan’s, Steak & Ale, Rainforest Cafe, and Harrah’s restaurants worldwide. Jarrett O’Hara, formerly culinary director of Federal Donuts, is vice president of culinary operations.

    “We’re just going to take their recipe and say, ‘Here’s how we’d do it in a restaurant,’” Revella said. “The flavor, the taste, and the look stay the same. The process is different.”

    The judges also had to consider labor, food costs, consistency, and whether recipes could realistically be reproduced hundreds of times.

    Food is delivered to Recipe Philly for the filming.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    “What one person can prepare at home is very different from what a restaurant can consistently reproduce for hundreds of guests,” Park said.

    Even the kitchen itself departs from convention.

    Revella has set up all-electric kitchen featuring self-contained filtration systems, advanced grease interception, and other technology designed to improve indoor air quality while reducing wastewater.

    “When we talk about a green kitchen, the first thing you’ll notice is there are no traditional exhaust hoods,” Revella said. “We don’t put grease into the air.”

    The flat-top griddle, which ordinarily would sit beneath a hood, is equipped with a device that traps grease and smoke.

    Baumstein said the environmental approach mattered as much as the technology.

    “I grew up with Earth Day and environmental awareness,” he said. “Doing something positive for the environment has always mattered to me.”

    The restaurant, designed by Nelson Worldwide, aims to feel more like someone’s home than a television set. Warm wood tones, intentionally mismatched plateware, a mural of the Italian Market behind the bar, a wall of vintage rolling pins, and a 40-seat private dining room reinforce the idea that the menu began in home kitchens. The look is whimsical in the restrooms, with wallpaper depicting Ben Franklin blowing a bubblegum bubble.

    Restrooms at Recipe Philly.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    “We wanted people to feel like they were walking into someone’s home kitchen,” Baumstein said. “Since the restaurant is built around home cooks, we wanted every aspect of the design to reflect that idea.”

    Recipe Philly will serve lunch and dinner. Baumstein said entrees will be priced from $25 to $35.

    Randall hopes diners eventually see past the television-production aspect and recognize something more enduring.

    “I fell in love with the heart of the project,” he said. “Then I met the people from the city and realized they had stories that deserved to be told in a fun way.”

    Watercolors by Philadelphia artist Joe Barker decorate the set of Recipe Philly.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
  • Ramah Day Camp, a Jewish summer program in Cheltenham, is closing due to low enrollment after 30 years

    Ramah Day Camp, a Jewish summer program in Cheltenham, is closing due to low enrollment after 30 years

    Ramah Day Camp in Cheltenham will close its doors after this summer, leaders announced in June.

    After 30 years, this will be the Jewish day camp’s last season due to low enrollment and a financial deficit, Ramah officials said.

    There are 164 campers this summer — about half the 2014 enrollment.

    “We don’t have the money to run it, and people aren’t sending their kids,” said Debbie Albert, former president of the nonprofit Camp Ramah in the Poconos, which runs the Cheltenham program.

    In Cheltenham, kids from pre-K into high school dance, swim, practice Hebrew, learn about their faith, and connect with recently returned IDF soldiers for up to six weeks.

    “It’s really heartbreaking,” said Sara Ravitch, a longtime staffer whose 4-year-old son attended the camp for the first time this year. “It’s a place where you can feel proud to be Jewish.”

    Although Cheltenham is closing, the Ramah network has expanded elsewhere in recent years, adding Boston and Los Angeles day camps in 2023 and 2024. The closure will not affect the Poconos overnight camp, according to a June email addressed to the Ramah community announcing the Cheltenham closing.

    Ramah has competed with a number of secular day camps in the Montgomery County area. While Ramah campers take a three-minute bus ride to a nearby pool, other day camps like Sesame/Rockwood in Blue Bell have five pools on site.

    And some local Jewish youth programs are thriving, but the day camp is also located in an older community: Montco’s Jewish population grew slightly from 2009 to 2019, according to U.S. Census data in a report for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, but more than a third in southeastern Montco were 65 or older, and just 11% were under 18.

    Ramah’s leaders have tried for years to sustain the Cheltenham program, Albert said. While the overnight camp is “thriving,” the day camp has been losing money for over a decade.

    “We cried over the data,” Albert said. “This is killing all of us.”

    Then there are the facilities: Ramah rents space at the Perelman Jewish Day School, owned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Albert said, and Ramah officials believe their landlords may want to sell that property. (“There is no property currently for sale on the campus, and the closure of Ramah Day Camp is unrelated to any federation property transaction,“ a federation spokesperson said.)

    Ramah was never able to afford its own day camp site, which would cost “millions and millions of dollars,” Albert said.

    Ramah has been central to some Pennsylvania communities for decades, even earning a shout-out on the Jenkintown-set sitcom The Goldbergs.

    “As a Jewish community of Greater Philadelphia, it is a huge loss,” said Rachel Bloom, a former camper and staffer.

    Bloom attended Ramah Day Camp’s first summer back in 1996. She returned on staff in 2005 and met her husband, then a 25-year-old sports director in a navy blue Hillel shirt with cutoff sleeves.

    “Most of our bridal party were camp people,” Bloom said, and their wedding was filled with Jewish traditions: pre-ceremony tisch and badeken, and an impromptu sermon at the rehearsal dinner.

    Without Ramah, “I don’t think I would’ve had all of these things at my wedding,” Bloom said. “Going to a Jewish camp is like an extra special gift that is very hard to explain.”

    Though officials have long fretted over the camp’s future — the nonprofit did a multiyear review with a group of staff, parents, and board members, CEO Miryam Seid said — some staff and alumni felt blindsided by the news.

    “It feels a little bit — I don’t know if it’s a betrayal, but they weren’t so transparent with how many struggles they were facing,” Ravitch said.

    Bloom said she sometimes attends Shabbat at the camp, and she never noticed their shrinking numbers.

    “There’s always been spirit, no matter what,” Bloom said. “The spirit fills the space.”

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • The best ice cream sundaes in Philadelphia right now

    The best ice cream sundaes in Philadelphia right now

    Scoops of ice cream swirled with chocolate fudge and sprinkles, all topped by a cherry, can be a portal to childhood, a perfect treat at the end of the meal, or just a good way to end a long Wednesday. In Philadelphia, there are many excellent ice cream shops that serve traditional sundaes, but the city’s restaurant scene delivers exciting riffs that are so much more than a banana split.

    These seven places will convince you Philly’s restaurants take their sundaes just as seriously as you do.

    An ice cream sundae at Percy, 1700 N. Front St., in Philadelphia, July 15, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Percy

    If you’re seeking childhood nostalgia, head to Front Street for the After School Sundae at Percy, Kensington’s playful all-day diner. A tall milkshake glass overflows with layers of peanut butter-and-strawberry swirl ice cream, strawberry preserves, creamy peanut butter, and a fat cloud of brĂ»lĂ©ed marshmallow fluff, which slips out onto the sides of the glass with each spoonful. The flavors transport me back to middle school lunches, when PB&J sandwiches were the best part of my day.

    1700 N. Front St.; 215-975-0020; percyphl.com

    A soft-serve sundae at My Loup in Philadelphia, on Aug., 3, 2023.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    My Loup

    At Alex Kemp and Amanda Shulman’s Rittenhouse restaurant, you’ll find a seasonal delight on the dessert menu: a house-spun soft-serve sundae. Recently, there was a raspberry sorbet with a butterscotch-esque soft serve. But in April, the lemony vanilla and rhubarb sundae was the answer to all my spring swirl fantasies. No matter the season, you can always skip right to dessert and order the sundae at the bar. The ingredients change every month.

    2005 Walnut St.; 267-239-5925; myloupphl.com

    The ube sundae (purple yam ice cream, coconut caramel, puffed rice) at Tabachoy, 932 S. 10th St. on Feb. 15, 2023.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    Tabachoy

    There aren’t many places one can find a sundae in Philly that showcases the beauty of purple yams like Tabachoy. The ube sundae, which has been on the menu since 2022, is many diners’ favorite way to end the night at the Bella Vista restaurant. On a recent visit, my friend and I marveled at the pale purple hue of the creamy soft serve. Tasting its sweet, earthy flavor, paired with the crunch of puffed rice and gooey coconut-caramel drizzle, had us dancing in our seats. I recommend setting the spoon aside and scooping up bites with the crispy banana spring roll that’s served as a sidecar.

    932 S. 10th St.; 215-315-8720; tabachoyphilly.com

    The black sesame brownie sundae at dancerobot in Center City, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Hot fudge, salted caramel, whipped cream, and peanuts are added on top.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer

    Dancerobot

    The black sesame brownie sundae at this Center City hot spot just might be the answer to all your late-night dessert desires. It’s chock full of rich components that somehow meld with a surprisingly delicate sweetness: fudgy black sesame chocolate brownie, velvety soft serve made with imported Hokkaido milk powder, hot fudge, salted caramel drizzle, toasted peanuts, candied black sesame seeds, and a dollop of black sesame whipped cream. For a fruity option, the restaurant has partnered with Oishii, a Japanese-branded strawberry farm, to offer a sundae with a warm and flaky butter biscuit, strawberry liqueur, sweet cream, and tons of fresh strawberries — available on the menu for early August.

    1710 Sansom St.; 215-419-5202; dancerobotphl.com

    The sundae at High Street in Philadelphia on July 14, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    High Street

    A memorable meal ends on a sweet note — and at High Street, that’s a creamy seasonal sundae created by the restaurant’s pastry team. Recently, there was a goat’s milk and olive oil ice cream with plum-chamomile compote, fig leaf whipped cream, and cornmeal crumb on the menu. But in May, I shared spoonfuls of strawberry-rose geranium sherbet with a date. We fought over the tiny pieces of toasted angel food cake and jammy white pepper-laced strawberries layered inside the tiny coupe glass.

    101 S. Ninth St.; 215-625-0988; highstreetonmarket.com

    Bomb Bomb Bar

    By the end of Bomb Bomb Bar’s hearty seafood feast, it’s likely you would leave South Philly satiated. But catching sight of a vanilla ice cream sundae making its way to the neighboring table, your stomach might get a mind of its own. The sundae arrives in a tall, frosted parfait glass with a rainbow-sprinkle and brown butter caramel rim, three hefty scoops of Bassetts vanilla bean topped with a fried banana, a large swirl of whipped cream, and a bright red cherry. Hidden within the scoops are drizzles of a syrup made of roasted walnuts simmered in simple syrup with orange zest. Be patient as Bomb Bomb’s friendly servers pour on the best part: silky smooth house-made chocolate sauce.

    1026 Wolf St.; bombbombbar.com

    The nine-scoop ice cream sundae at Alpen Rose in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    Alpen Rose

    Sure, Michael Schulson’s Center City steakhouse can serve up a rosy beef Wellington and fluffy clover rolls, but who says an ice cream sundae can’t be the star of the meal? Alpen Rose honors ice cream lovers with a massive goblet loaded with nine scoops of creamy vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. The sundae is served on an ornate plate with plenty of colorful jelly beans and rainbow sprinkles to add on top of the bananas and whipped cream. The behemoth dessert is hard to finish, even for a party of two. But eating just half of it is worth the $22 price tag.

    116 S. 13th St.; 215-600-0709; alpenrosephl.com

  • Searching for answers in an unsolved death | Inquirer Chester County

    Searching for answers in an unsolved death | Inquirer Chester County

    Hi, Chester County! 👋

    Seven years after their sister’s mysterious death, a family continues to search for answers. Also this week, a developer gets a favorable ruling in his quest to build luxury homes on Rock Hill Farm, Amtrak service between Philadelphia and Reading — with a stop in Phoenixville — is one step closer to reality, plus, what to know about Westtown supervisors axing its historical commission members.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Seven years later, a family is still searching for answers in the mysterious death of their sister

    Susan Morrissey was found dead on July 23, 2019. Her family continues to search for answers. Missy Morrissey

    It’s been seven years, almost to the day, since Susan Morrissey was found dead in the Brandywine Creek several miles from her car. Raised around West Chester and Wilmington, her death has stumped not only investigators, but her family.

    Years later, her sister Missy Morrissey, who lives in West Chester, wonders if she’ll ever know what happened early on the morning of July 23, 2019.

    She and her siblings are still clinging to hope that one day they will. “I just want us to have some answers,” she said.

    Ahead of the anniversary of Morrissey’s death, The Inquirer’s Jesse Bunch looks back at the case and what we do and don’t know.

    📍 Countywide News

    💡 Community News

    • A Chester County judge has reversed a Willistown Township board of supervisors decision, giving developer J. Brian O’Neill the green light to submit final plans to build luxury homes on Rock Hill Farm. The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz has the details.
    • In case you missed it, Westtown Township’s board of supervisors voted to remove all members of the township’s historical commission, citing a “long history of problems” working with them.
    • The Malvern home of Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was burglarized Saturday morning. Here’s what we know.
    • After a 45-year absence, Amtrak service between Philadelphia and Reading is one step closer to being revived thanks to an agreement struck last week between Amtrak and the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority. The proposed new service would include a stop in Phoenixville, but still has a long way to go before becoming reality.
    • An East Coventry Township police officer was “legally justified under Pennsylvania law” in shooting a man who allegedly stole his police car and attempted to hit the officer with it last month. The Inquirer’s Robert Moran has the latest.
    • Uwchlan Township is hosting several meetings over the coming week about the potential development of the so-called Lionville Station Farm owned by the Downingtown Area School District. The discussion will focus on a potential zoning amendment that could make way for nearly 500 homes. Meetings will take place tomorrow and Monday at 6 p.m., with a possible one next Wednesday.
    • The Environmental Protection Agency has released final cleanup plans for the former National Vulcanized Fiber site in Kennett Square, which is open to public comment through Aug. 18. The site contains so-called forever chemicals and was being eyed for potential housing development.
    • A 60-year-old West Chester woman, Debra Dora, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at another person on the 200 block of Chestnut Street in Downingtown, causing a non-life-threatening injury.
    • After four years in the role, Jennifer Carlson is stepping down as Colonial Theatre’s executive director on Friday. Artistic director Drew Boardman will step in as interim executive director at the Phoenixville mainstay.

    đŸ« Schools Briefing

    • Avon Grove School District has three new principals: Kim Hall at Penn London Elementary School; Kelly Vaughn at Avon Grove Intermediate School; and Mark DeEmilio at Avon Grove Middle School. In addition, Amanda Cahill has been named assistant principal at the high school.
    • Beaver Creek Elementary School in the Downingtown Area School District has named Kelly Harrison its new principal.
    • Kennett Consolidated School District’s board approved Elisha Ozer as the next principal of Kennett High School last week.
    • Octorara Area School District is partnering with the Parkesburg Police Department, which will provide the district with uniformed school resource officers for the upcoming academic year.

    đŸœïž On our Plate

    • Popular Bryn Mawr spot The Bakery House is expanding to a second location, this one at 35 W. Lancaster Ave. in Paoli. It will take over the former Sushi Nami space and is targeting a fall opening.
    • Lily & Grace’s Cafe, which opened earlier this summer at 2705 E. Lincoln Highway in Coatesville, is hosting a grand opening Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
    • The Cracker Barrel at 1215 E. Lancaster Ave. in Downingtown has closed its doors.
    • A change in management is coming to Brickette Lounge, Jitters, Slow Hand, and Square Bar. 3 West Hospitality Group announced this week it will no longer manage any of the West Chester spots.

    🎳 Things to Do

    🎠 Cochranville Fire Company Carnival: Now in its 81st year, the carnival includes rides and raffles. ⏰ Through Saturday, July 25, 6-10 p.m. đŸ’” $36.16 for a one-day wristband, $82.73 for a weeklong wristband 📍 Cochranville Fire Company

    🍿 West Bradford Movie Night: Catch a screening of Zootopia 2 outdoors. ⏰ Thursday, July 23, 8:30 p.m. đŸ’” Free 📍 Broad Run Park, Downingtown

    🎭 Shakespeare in the Park: See one of the bard’s best-known tragedies, Hamlet, performed live outdoors. ⏰ Friday, July 24, 7 p.m. đŸ’” Free 📍 Valley Creek Park, Malvern

    đŸŒ» Brandywine Valley Water Garden Weekend Tour: Get a peek at local water gardens throughout the region during this two-day, self-guided event benefiting the Chester County Food Bank. There’s also a barbecue dinner. ⏰ Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. đŸ’” $59.11 📍 Throughout the Brandywine Valley

    🎡 Goshen Country Fair: There will be amusement rides, food, and music during this six-day event. ⏰ Monday, July 27-Saturday, Aug. 1, 6 p.m. on weekdays, 5 p.m. on Saturday đŸ’” Pay as you go 📍 Behind Goshen Fire Company, West Chester

    🏡 On the Market

    A four-bedroom Phoenixville home with ample privacy

    The family room opens onto an eat-in kitchen and a back deck.Courtesy of Lynne Norris/Century 21 Norris-Valley Forge

    Situated on a leafy lot that backs up to woods, this East Pikeland Township home has a number of large windows to showcase its surroundings. The four-bedroom house has an airy family room, complete with a fireplace, that opens onto an eat-in kitchen with quartz countertops and a river rock backsplash. Both spaces lead to a deck out back.

    See more photos of the home here.

    Price: $850,000 | Size: 3,789 SF | Acreage: 0.98

    đŸ—žïž What other Chester County residents are reading this week:

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • People are selling the free World Cup bracelets they waited hours in line for

    People are selling the free World Cup bracelets they waited hours in line for

    Well, that didn’t take long. Days after the World Cup wrapped up, fans are reselling their once highly coveted swag.

    The FIFA World Cup resale market is on fire, and that includes Fan Fest attendees profiting off their freebies, including the viral Bank of America charm bracelets.

    For those uninitiated: Throughout the duration of the World Cup, fans at U.S. host cities lined up in droves to get their hands on free swag, especially these darned bracelets.

    Mimicking a Pandora bracelet, the “Fan Bands” are composed of a red, blue, or black woven band and an assortment of metal charms laced through. Available charms included numbers, flags, a World Cup trophy, and designs that pair with World Cup host cities. Philly, for instance, had boxing gloves, a cheesesteak, and the LOVE statue.

    The World Cup’s hottest accessory is this free bracelet, prompting hourslong lines

    It was the World Cup’s hottest free accessory, but it cost interested parties hours of their time. At one point, wait times in Philadelphia were reported to be four to eight hours. Weeks later, Philly’s Fan Fest refashioned the waiting process, citing high demand. Instead of a free-for-all giant line, organizers nationwide pivoted to a ticketed system with set time windows to receive bracelets.

    Bank of America called the demand for the bracelets “unprecedented.”

    Now, they’re a relic of a time that has come and gone — and are selling for anywhere from $10 to $150, no line required.

    Fashion expert and pro-thrifter Virginia Chamlee says this isn’t surprising.

    “The secondary market for the FIFA Fan Fest bracelets is all about scarcity and exclusivity — the second something is ‘free but limited,’ or ‘difficult to obtain,’ it stops being a souvenir, and it becomes a status symbol,” she said. “So people aren’t really buying free beads; they’re buying the two-hour line they didn’t actually wait in.”

    On Facebook Marketplace, dozens of bracelets are listed across Philadelphia. Some sellers said they waited about an hour; one said they volunteered at Fan Fest, which gave them easy access to swag; another said they were selling after snagging the bracelets for their kids, who evidently didn’t like their charm selection.

    In a few listings, bracelet-holders are hoping to trade with others for different charms.

    On eBay, things get more intense. A recent scan, filtering for sold listings, shows bracelets have allegedly sold for as much as $500 in some cases. There was also a listing that sold for $1,000 that included bracelets from nearly every host city. By the knockout rounds of the World Cup, Bank of America unveiled a handful of additional commemorative charms. Bracelets with those charms are in especially high demand.

    As of Tuesday, eBay showed over 1,600 active listings for the Fan Bands. Chamlee says it all boils down to desire, and maybe a little bit of FOMO.

    “To me, this is no different from paying for a resold Taylor Swift Eras tour tee when you didn’t actually go to the concert, or a Trader Joe’s tote that’s been considerably marked up,” Chamlee said. “In these cases, the price isn’t really set by the object itself (i.e. how much it cost to produce) but by how badly someone wants to say they were there.”

    Bank of America says the Fan Bands’ success has exceeded expectations. The company had more than 2 million bracelets and 10 million beads to distribute, it said in a statement at the beginning of the World Cup. Within the first two weeks of the tournament’s nearly six-week run, the company announced it had given away more than 700,000 bracelets across the 11 host cities.

    “For Bank of America, this is a marketing win by almost any metric,” Chamlee said. “A giveaway meant to build brand goodwill has evolved into a resale market. That’s free earned media most brands would pay millions for.”

  • Why Pennsylvanians should celebrate disability pride

    Why Pennsylvanians should celebrate disability pride

    A few Saturdays ago, I ventured down to the Ben Franklin Parkway to attend and volunteer at Disability Pride Philly. This parade and festival launches more than a month of celebrations: July marks Disability Pride Month, honoring the Americans with Disabilities Act’s passage on July 26, 1990.

    To some, “disability pride” sounds like an oxymoron, or a niche idea that may not touch them. As a person with multiple disabilities, I can tell you that disability pride matters more than you might think.

    Accessible education, technology, rehabilitation, and civil rights protections let me live fully integrated into my workplace, community, and family. I hold a master’s degree and a doctorate. I do research on overlooked and unexamined issues that affect pediatricians and their patients. I live the life I choose, in the home I choose, with the job, hobbies, and community that I choose. These may seem like obvious rights for anyone to have. They are not.

    Disability Pride Philly chose this year’s theme with precision: “We Belong Here and We’re Here to Stay.” This theme could not be more urgent or timely.

    For most of American history, society separated people with disabilities like me from their families, schools, workplaces, and communities and placed them in institutions. Institutionalization confines children and adults with disabilities to restricted residential settings, cut off from family and community.

    Institutions breed lack of oversight, abuse, insufficient care, and the systematic segregation of disabled people from society at large. Decades of evidence now show that people thrive when they receive support in their homes and communities.

    Disability pride rests on one central argument: Whomever you are, regardless of your body, mind, or circumstances, all of us deserve dignity, choice, joy, and freedom. In this photo from 2024, Tony Guyatory Brooks leads the Disability Pride March.Jay Outhier

    Disability pride rests on one central argument: Whomever you are, regardless of your body, mind, or circumstances, all of us deserve dignity, choice, joy, and freedom. The disability rights movement spent generations fighting for laws to guarantee this. Those legal protections now face a coordinated challenge.

    On June 18, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel released a memo that claims the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1999 decision in Olmstead v. L.C. did not require states to provide services in community settings rather than institutions. That interpretation contradicts 27 years of court decisions, federal enforcement, and disability rights advocacy grounded in the principle that unnecessary segregation of disabled people violates federal law.

    The memo did not appear in a vacuum. Six states pursue active litigation in Texas v. Kennedy, a case that seeks to strip federal disability protections.

    Two days before the memo dropped, the U.S. Department of Education announced plans to shift key disability and civil rights offices — including the Office for Civil Rights — out of Education and into other agencies. For Pennsylvania, where young people with disabilities make up a substantial share of the student population, this transfer reaches beyond bureaucratic reshuffling. It will affect families, schools, and students across the commonwealth.

    A common assumption links these actions: home and community-based services cost too much, stretch too thin, or prove too difficult to sustain. When community supports seem unavailable, institutions get framed as the responsible alternative. But this scarcity did not arise on its own; it was manufactured.

    Pennsylvania itself shows a different way.

    Over decades, Pennsylvania moved steadily away from institutional settings and toward community integration.

    When leaders invest in home and community-based services, people thrive. Earlier this year, the Shapiro administration announced that Pennsylvania cut its emergency waiting list for intellectual disability and autism services by 31%, and reached the lowest direct support professional vacancy rate in more than a decade.

    The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council also supported innovative housing initiatives that help people with disabilities live in their communities rather than institutions. Several Pennsylvania counties expanded access to home and community-based supports, allowing more than 42,000 Pennsylvanians to receive services in their homes and communities; some counties eliminated their emergency waiting lists entirely.

    These successes happened because Pennsylvania chose to fund home and community-based services. They matter nationally because they expose a flaw at the heart of the federal argument. Researchers document what they call the “Olmstead effect”: states that invest in home and community-based services see fewer people confined to institutions or at risk of landing in one.

    Disability stands alone as the one minority group designation that anyone can join at any point in life, so this issue may eventually touch all of us. Aging, illness, and injury make disability part of the human experience. The policies behind community living, accessible education, and civil rights protections reach beyond abstract legal debates. They determine whether you, me, and the people we love can live independently, participate in our communities, and exercise meaningful choice over our own lives.

    Domonique Howell (center) and her daughter, Rylee, 5, take part in the annual Disability Pride Parade along Market Street in Center City in, 2019. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer

    This July, Disability Pride Month offers a concrete ask: learn about the disability rights movement and the policies that make community life possible. Speak up when these hard-won rights come under threat. And when policymakers claim that community inclusion costs too much or seems unrealistic, remember Pennsylvania’s example: When we invest, inclusion works.

    Hannah Anderson is a writer and researcher and the founder of Learning Design Collective LLC. She lives with multiple disabilities, including vision and hearing impairment.

  • Our guide to mini golfing | Inquirer Cherry Hill

    Our guide to mini golfing | Inquirer Cherry Hill

    Hello, Cherry Hill! 👋

    Looking for a fun summer activity? We’ve rounded up seven area spots to mini golf, including one in the township. Also this week, a longtime mall staple recently expanded, a local developer is involved with the Freedom Fuel gas stations, plus, a new ice cream joint is opening later this year.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    7 nearby spots to go mini golfing

    Monster Mini Golf, which has a location in Cherry Hill, features glow-in-the-dark elements, including a large skull. Courtesy Monster Mini Golf Cherry Hill NJ

    It’s a quintessential summer experience, and a nostalgia-inducing one for many. With the dog days of summer here, Inquirer contributor Jen Kinney has rounded up seven area spots to strike up a friendly game of mini golf.

    Among them is Monster Mini Golf, the indoor concept on Springdale Road that gives the game a spooky twist. Two of the best holes? One with a glowing skull and another with an extra challenge.

    Bonus: You can also play arcade games and bowling.

    See where else you can hit the (mini) links locally.

    💡 Community News

    • One of the Cherry Hill Mall’s earliest tenants continues to thrive, recently expanding into a larger space. Known for its gag gifts, Spencer’s opened its first brick-and-mortar at the mall in 1963. The Inquirer’s Sarah Nicell explores how it’s continued to grow in the years since.
    • Cherry Hill developer Shamikh Kazmi and his brother Syed Kazmi have been linked to at least six locations of the President Donald Trump-backed Freedom Fuel network. The chain of gas stations made a splash earlier this month by selling cheaper fuel, but that’s no longer the case, with gas prices on the rise. Here’s what to know about the stations.
    • Roadwork continues this week on Kenilworth Avenue and Kresson Road, causing closures and lane shifts. Here’s the latest. Visit the township website for a look at all the current projects, along with estimated timelines for completion.
    • The Vital Stretch, which specializes in stretch therapy, is coming to Cherry Hill, taking space at Pine Tree Plaza at 1422 Route 70.

    đŸ« Schools Briefing

    đŸœïž On our Plate

    • A new ice cream shop is coming to Cherry Hill, with a planned fall opening. Ooty’s Homemade Ice Cream is opening at 1900 Greentree Rd., where it will serve small-batch scoops.

    🎳 Things to Do

    🍩 Senior Ice Cream Social: Residents 55 and over can get free ice cream while mingling with neighbors. Registration is encouraged. ⏰ Wednesday, July 22, 2-4 p.m. đŸ’” Free 📍 Carman Tilelli Community Center

    đŸŠâ€â™€ïž Cherry Bowl: Now in its 66th year, the competition will see hundreds of swimmers take to the lanes. ⏰ Saturday, July 25, gates open at 6 a.m., events start at 8:45 a.m. đŸ’” $11 📍 Fox Hollow Swim Club

    đŸ’« Music Under the Stars: Country music cover band 40 North Country will take the stage. There will also be food trucks and a beer garden. ⏰ Tuesday, July 28, 7 p.m. đŸ’” Free 📍 Barclay Farmstead

    đŸ· Randall’s Food and Wine Fest: Sample a selection of food and wine pairings from around the world. ⏰ Wednesday, July 29, 5:30 p.m. đŸ’” $59 📍 Randall’s Restaurant

    🏡 On the Market

    A charming three-bedroom brick home

    The home has three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms.Steve Edwards | Courtesy of Nick Strom/Coldwell Banker Realty

    Located in the Colwick neighborhood, this three-bedroom brick home has been in the same family for over five decades, according to the listing agent. It has a living room with a bay window, a family room with a brick fireplace and a bar, as well as an updated eat-in kitchen. Out back, there’s a deck overlooking the backyard. There are open houses Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.

    See more photos of the home here.

    Price: $499,900 | Size: 1,922 SF | Acreage: 0.21

    đŸ—žïž What other Cherry Hill residents are reading this week:

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • A swinging miracle | Sports Daily Newsletter

    A swinging miracle | Sports Daily Newsletter

    Kyle Kendrick, a former Phillies pitcher, would spend hours throwing batting practice to his son, Kyle Jr., in the batting cage he built in his Clearwater, Fla., backyard.

    The batting cage became their place. It was where his son fell in love with baseball.

    But last fall, Kendrick wasn’t sure if his son would ever be able to get back in the cage after the 12-year-old was struck by a car traveling 50 mph while he was walking across the street near his home.

    Then a miracle happened: “He really is very tough,” his mother Stephenie said. “And it’s mentally tough.”

    The Kendricks were inspired by their son’s recovery, and Kyle Jr. did eventually get back in the cage. Seven months after his accident, he hit his first homer. A day later, he did it again.

    — Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    ❓How do you think the Phillies should address their fifth-starter spot? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

    Can Bernard deliver?

    Eagles defensive tackle Uar Bernard warms up during mandatory minicamp last month.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Uar Bernard doesn’t have any previous football experience. The Nigeria native is a product of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program and impressed scouts with his athleticism. With that being said, it’s difficult to predict his chances of making the roster, since he’s such a raw prospect. He’ll at least need to make enough progress to show that he can occupy one of the 53 roster spots.

    As we prepare for training camp — which is one week away — there are still several questions surrounding the Birds. Here’s what the national media is saying about them.

    Fifth-stater woes

    Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly is talking about going with four starters this time through the rotation.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer

    One way to handle not having an appealing choice to fill the fifth-starter spot? Skip it. With a day off Thursday in between home series against the Dodgers and Yankees, the Phillies are considering going with four starters through the rotation.

    However, that could present some problems as the rotation depth is perilously thin.

    And the Phillies called up outfielder Bryan De La Cruz on Tuesday, with catcher Garrett Stubbs being placed on the 10-day injured list.

    The Phillies-Dodgers game on Tuesday night had a postseason feel, but a baserunning blunder proved costly for the Phils’ 2-1 loss to Los Angeles.

    Zegras talks extension

    Flyers center Trevor Zegras helped the Flyers reach the playoffs and advance once they got there.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Trevor Zegras is the highest-paid Flyer in annual average value after signing a four-year, $36.5 million extension with an AAV of $9.125 million on July 15.

    He’s now projected to be the top-line center for the Flyers this season. His offseason work involves getting bigger and stronger, but first, there’s one more date circled on the calendar for Zegras in July.

    Reaping the benefits

    Tague Davis was named the ACC Player of the Year as a sophomore.Taris Smith / Louisville Athletics

    Tague Davis, a first baseman at Louisville, is coming off a stellar sophomore season, where he was named ACC Baseball Player of the Year and led the nation with 34 home runs. This summer, Davis starred for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League before earning a spot on the USA Baseball collegiate national team.

    Now, the Malvern Prep graduate, who is the son of former MLB catcher and Phillies color commentator Ben Davis, is preparing for a pivotal year at Louisville.

    Bridging the gap

    Philadelphia was among the host cities for the World Cup, transforming Lincoln Financial Field into Philadelphia Stadium.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    This World Cup made a huge impact on a country where soccer wasn’t always welcome, but is now. However, with the World Cup over, what kind of soccer will Americans now want to watch?

    Will they treat the sport like track and field at the Olympics, tuning in every four years? Or will they be interested more often, wanting to see the world’s biggest sports tapestry unfold every week?

    David Murphy’s take

    Could Angels pitcher Reid Detmers be the answer to the Phillies’ starting pitching woes beyond their Big Three?Caroline Brehman

    The Phillies are 42-15 in games started by Cristopher SĂĄnchez, Zack Wheeler or JesĂșs Luzardo, but 14-31 in games started by anybody other than those three. The Phillies don’t necessarily need a fourth Cy Young-caliber arm. They need someone who could potentially start Game 1 of the NLDS, writes columnist David Murphy.

    What you’re saying about the Eagles

    Nick Sirianni laughs with defensive tackle Jalen Carter during mandatory mini-camp on June 10.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    We asked: What’s your wish for the Eagles and Sirianni this season? Among your responses:

    14-3 looks good. Defense looks great on paper. Defense also wins Super Bowls. Offense just has to be good. Not great. Just good enough to put some numbers up. GO BIRDS! — Ronald R.

    Hope with the new offense and without the thorn in the side Brown the Eagles can return to at least to being close to the SB winning level. Would sure like to see the O-line come back strong and help spring Saquon loose again. Sirianni is a question mark even with his excellent record. He is not yet nor may ever be a Lombardi or Noll or Shula etc, but hard to seriously come down on the guy. I think this will be a make or break year for the coach and our Eagles. — Everett S.

    Please have the Eagles win the Super Bowl vindicating Hurtz and Mannion stays for another year (for a change). — Craig S.

    Super Bowl victory or bust! — Bill B.

    We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Matt Breen, David Murphy, Scott Lauber, Ryan Novozinsky, Lochlahn March, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Ariel Simpson, and Conor Smith.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful Wednesday, and Kerith will be in your inbox with tomorrow’s newsletter. — Bella

  • This summer created World Cup fans, but that’s not the same as soccer fans. MLS must bridge the gap.

    This summer created World Cup fans, but that’s not the same as soccer fans. MLS must bridge the gap.

    After Sunday’s World Cup final, the walk out of the Meadowlands passed by deconstructed pieces of the stage where Spain lifted the trophy.

    Like the quick transformation from Philadelphia Stadium back to Lincoln Financial Field, it was a sharp reminder of the end of an unprecedented spectacle.

    This World Cup made a huge impact on a country where soccer wasn’t always welcome, but is now. Look no further than the massive television audiences, not just for the U.S and Mexico, but across the tournament.

    A stunning 63 of the 104 games drew audiences of more than 10 million viewers across Fox’s English and Telemundo’s Spanish coverage. Thirty-one topped 15 million, 18 topped 20 million, 11 topped 25 million, and five topped 30 million — capped off by 46.7 million for Mexico-England, 50.1 million for U.S.-Belgium, and 66.4 million for the Spain-Argentina title game.

    Yes, that many people watched a game that had just one goal in 140 minutes of game clock, including stoppage time.

    But while the World Cup is over, is soccer? Even the critics might finally admit it isn’t. So let’s ask some better questions.

    What kind of soccer will Americans now want to watch? Will they treat the sport like track and field at the Olympics, only tuning in every four years? Or will they be interested more often, wanting to see the world’s biggest sports tapestry unfold every week?

    This World Cup served as the ultimate proof of how big global soccer stars have become in America

    If it’s the latter, the line of suitors is already long. The English Premier League, Europe’s UEFA Champions League, and Spain’s La Liga are among the front-runners, along with their respective broadcast partners at NBC, CBS, and ESPN.

    They are the most likely to profit from the World Cup’s halo, while showcasing the sport’s biggest stars. But they can’t be alone. The pressure is rising fast on America’s domestic men’s game, Major League Soccer above all.

    Philadelphia got to see France’s Kylian MbappĂ©, one of the biggest superstars in world soccer, in person twice during the tournament.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    No, it doesn’t have the sport’s biggest names, and for some people that will always be what matters. What about an audience that MLS has long failed to properly pursue: People who want to watch the sport in person, and forge a connection with a local team?

    You can’t go to Liverpool, Manchester, London, Madrid, and so on every weekend. Once a season, sure, and a Saturday morning at a soccer bar is a fun time. But whether in Chester or the rest of the country, experiencing soccer in person is still unmatched.

    Alejandro Bedoya reflects on his World Cup TV debut, the U.S.’ run, and lessons for Union teammates

    This is not meant to cheerlead for the Union. They have to earn fans’ trust, and there’s a history of that not happening. These pages have long chronicled it, especially when it comes to Subaru Park’s woefully limited public transit access.

    But soccer also faces a burden that other American sports don’t. Why be a Flyers fan, with no titles in a half-century? Or a Phillies or Eagles fan during the team’s fallow years of the past? Why bother with the eternal angst the Sixers inflict on a basketball city without equal?

    We all know the answer, from Northeast Philly lifers to the thousands of newcomers who’ve made Center City a destination. It’s about feeling those teams are yours. Through good times and bad, nothing fuels emotions like that sense of deep connection.

    The passion that Philadelphians have for the Eagles is similar to how Europeans feel about soccer, but this city doesn’t always extend the favor to its own soccer team.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Emotion trumps data

    For most of its 30-year history, MLS has shied away from doing the work needed to forge those bonds. Instead, it has chased sugar highs from signing big names.

    That path has been profitable, to be sure, and the list is long: David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Javier HernĂĄndez, Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min, and now Antoine Griezmann and Robert Lewandowski.

    But the foundations are still missing in too many cities leaguewide, with Philadelphia high up that list. New York, Chicago, Boston, and Houston are also perennially on it.

    Philadelphia was the star in its men’s World Cup debut | Marcus Hayes

    This came to a head when commissioner Don Garber met the press at the U.S.-Australia game in Seattle last month. Behind him, a scene unfurled that American soccer fans dreamed of for decades: A thunderous home crowd in a city that not only loves the sport, but loves this country’s game specifically.

    How can the league build connections like that elsewhere?

    “Part of it is time and part of that is tactical; part of it is actually doing the work,” Garber said to start. He referenced how MLS “got FIFA’s permission to do Fan Fests in every market,” which sounds nice until you realize the need to ask is yet more of FIFA’s greed.

    “We want to bring everybody together,” Garber said. “But we want to know, if people are going to support a World Cup match, what can we do to talk to them and give them exciting news and information and connections to become a fan of Sporting Kansas City or the Seattle Sounders? Some of that is just the data and intelligence that we’re going to gather, and be able to do that.”

    Want to win a World Cup, America? Start doing better by the kids. And their parents, too. | Kerith Gabriel

    He sounded good until the words data and intelligence. Because the problem here isn’t a rational one, it’s an emotional one.

    For many years, the response from fans to MLS has been: I don’t care, because your product isn’t as good as others.

    A league now in its fourth decade should be mature enough to shoot right back: So what? That isn’t the point.

    Don Garber facing the media during a pre-World Cup final publicity event at the league’s headquarters last week.Vanja Savic

    There’s nothing stopping any soccer fan from watching European games on a Saturday morning and their local team on a Saturday night. Nor do some of the English Premier League’s loyalists understand England’s thriving lower leagues, where crowds can be bigger than Europe’s other top flights.

    Why would a Londoner pick Charlton over giant Arsenal? Why bother in Bolton when Manchester is a stone’s throw away? It isn’t just because they dream of winning promotion. To those fans, the teams are theirs in a way the giants will never be.

    MLS, meanwhile, has often been too timid to make the case.

    The joy the World Cup brought to Philadelphia felt like the escape we didn’t know we needed

    This was put to Garber.

    “I will say to everybody who has said to me from the day I took this job: If you don’t believe, that’s OK,” he answered. “Right now, soccer is the third most popular sport in our country. We’ve got to make MLS a bigger part of that pie, but the market’s there and it’s up to us to convert it. If we don’t convert it, shame on us.”

    That’s more like it. Because though Garber’s legacy is unquestionable ahead of his retirement next year, the league missed a big opportunity after the last World Cup. Now it risks another one.

    How many of the Brazil fans who electrified Philadelphia when their team played here would go to a Union game?Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer

    ‘Not just about’ the stars

    The second the 2022 tournament ended, North America’s hosting in 2026 was on the clock. MLS could easily have boasted its players featured this year — not just for the United States, but many countries. So what if they would be in Europe later? They were in the league now, and worth watching.

    This summer, MLS was almost invisible during the tournament. Of course it was right to not have games, but the lack of publicity on TV was shocking. Especially on World Cup broadcaster Fox, which airs MLS games throughout the year.

    Where did the money from your exorbitant World Cup tickets going? To FIFA’s $14 billion bank account.

    And where, yet again, was the marketing heft from Apple? The world’s most famous tech brand was also pretty quiet, instead of trumpeting to new soccer fans that it has every MLS game.

    If casual newcomers didn’t know what they were missing, devotees were all too aware, and rightly angry.

    MLS bought flashy advertisements for its return from the World Cup at Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York. But will soccer fans pay attention?Jonathan Tannenwald

    Rank the domestic leagues of the world by how many players they sent to this World Cup, and MLS had the second-most of any outside Europe’s traditional big five: England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France. Saudi Arabia took No. 6 — by just two players — thanks to the exorbitant, oil-and-gas fueled salaries paid by clubs with sovereign wealth backing.

    Along with that, this reporter counted a total of 115 players spanning 24 World Cup teams who play or have played in the U.S. or Canada, whether in the pros, college, or high school.

    Those are marketable numbers if the league wants. But how many people know about them?

    Why U.S. Soccer’s new national training center will matter long after the World Cup

    When MLS hosted the media at its new Manhattan offices last Thursday, Garber was grilled again, and seemed to get it right again.

    “It’s not just about those Designated Players, the big names,” he said. “It’s about Alex Freeman, who started as a youth player, played in an academy, played in MLS Next Pro, and now is playing overseas after he was a starter for Orlando City.”

    Alex Freeman (center) celebrating his World Cup goal against Australia.Manu Fernandez

    As that famous poet Batman might say: Right again, commissioner.

    Yes, MLS is absolutely right about Freeman, the U.S. team’s breakout name of this World Cup who moved from Orlando to Spain’s Villarreal last winter. But the league has also been too afraid to admit it’s a launchpad to Europe, even though doing so would likely bring more global eyeballs. Tracking future stars in soccer has become as profitable as doing so in basketball and football.

    It certainly is in Philadelphia. The Union’s academy can boast alumni in the soccer world just like Roman Catholic High rightly does in the NBA, and Penn State does in the NFL.

    The Union’s game on Wednesday against Red Bull New York at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) will be a prime example. At least five young candidates for the 2030 U.S. World Cup team will be on the field: the Union’s Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield, and Malik Jakupović, and the visitors’ Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti.

    Soccer fans know those names are worth watching, but the new World Cup fans in town don’t yet. The burden is on MLS to make the point, and there’s no better time than right now.

    As the Union resume their season, Cavan Sullivan knows the spotlight on him will only grow more