I was ambivalent about the apparently imminent sale of the MetroStars franchise to the Red Bull company. But then I read Jack Bell’s latest article in the New York Times. Now I welcome Red Bull with open arms.

The deal has a lot going for it. For one thing, those Red Bull guys have loads and loads of moolah and they’re looking to spend it. If they’re really gonna write the kind of check they’re talking about then it sure seems like a pretty good deal to me. To bring that kind of money into the league? Well, Don Garber must be drooling.

And about that renaming issue? Let’s not forget the name “MetroStars” is patently awful. It’s so awful that people have been talking for years about renaming the team. And maybe it should be renamed.

Had they gone with the original idea (Empire SC) instead of taking Nike’s advice to call the team the MetroMedia All-Stars then perhaps I’d think differently here. And while some variant of “Red Bull” doesn’t really sound ideal to me, I simply don’t have enough invested in the MetroStars name to care that much about them changing it.

In fact, with the kind of money Red Bull has, and the fact that they’ve got so many ex-Cosmos folks involved, I’m wondering if Pepe Pinton hasn’t fielded any inquiries about selling the rights to the Cosmos moniker. Red Bull Cosmos wouldn’t be the worst choice.

Oh, and the illustrious history of the MetroStars? Yes, I know the Metro faithful are praying that Red Bull doesn’t do to them what they apparently did to Salzburg: call it a brand new club without any history whatsoever.

But, frankly, one of the best things that could happen for MLS is to wipe that slate clean and forget the MetroStars ever existed. The franchise has seldom been anything but an embarrassment and a financial black hole.

Still, none of that explains why I’ve moved from the ambivalent camp to the bring ‘em on down camp. So what’s made me so gung-ho about the Red Bull takeover?

I like a good villain. I particularly like villains who are egomaniacal jerks. The more arrogant they are, the better. And if they’re stupid and totally out of touch that’s the best of all. Nick Sakiewicz was a good villain. I miss Nick and since he’s been gone there’s been – well – let’s just say there’s been an empty place in my heart.

I knew they’d never bring Nick back. And I never thought there’d ever again be a man working in Major League Soccer that could rival Nick’s villainy. And then I read this:

“Franz [Beckenbauer] asked me to be involved. Nothing that they’ve done in 10 years has worked here, and they might not like it, but they should have copied the Cosmos. I’m the only person who can change things in New York and I mean change everything — the front office, the coach and the team. And I can do it fast.”

There aren’t too many men in the world that could make me forget about Nick. But Giorgio Chinaglia is one of them. If Red Bull buying the Metros brings Giorgio and his ilk into the league, then I’m all for it.

Of course, at least in the short term, it’ll be a complete disaster; a disaster of such proportion that we probably will remember the MetroStars as a “model franchise” in comparison. But until they realize MLS ain’t the NASL it’ll be damned amusing to watch Giorgio and his buddies makes fools of themselves.

…

Update: Looks like it’s all but a done deal. Let the Giorgio era begin!