The best of Angels on Parade in 2017

2017 was the last weird year in Angels on Parade’s history, I hope.

We soldiered on as an MLS blog without an MLS team playing games for the third straight year, and now we’ve made it to the pass, the promised land of actual living, breathing soccer in 2018 with Los Angeles Football Club.

In the meantime, we’ve followed them, as well as continued our coverage of Orange County SC, the only outlet to consistently cover the team on a regular basis in 2017. We’ve also written about whatever we’ve liked, as ever. Thanks very much for your support this year, and hope you continue to follow us as we get ready for a very busy 2018!

Here’s the best of 2017, in chronological order:

Villafaña’s first U.S. National Team cap milestone in remarkable career: We’ve followed Jorge Villafaña’s career a long time, and seeing him get the call-up to the senior national team was a pretty great occasion to look back on what he’s done (so far).

Logan Pause talks about LAFC partnership from Orange County SC’s perspective: Our exclusive interview with the then-OCSC head coach about the local affiliation.

Orange County SC show renewed ambition with opening of home venue: From May, when OC opened their pop-up stadium before moving into the permanent stadium at Orange County Great Park late in the summer, this is a look at the game experience and what it means for the team overall moving forward.

LAFC makes supporters’ section announcements at Black and Gold Rally: The unveiling of The 3252 came here, as well as some key announcements for LAFC’s SG members.

Why I’m a fan: Check out the personal stories of Alicia, Patrick and Ryan.

Why club over country is the strategy for club support: Alicia took a trip to Seattle and this was her conclusion after watching Sounders-Timbers in person.

Keisuke Honda training with Orange County SC: We helped break the English-language news that Japanese star Honda was training with Orange County while out of contract this summer. As it turned out, he did not sign for LAFC but instead became a co-owner of Orange County at the end of the year.

We’re in the era of peak theoretical LAFC: Before things started happening, a musing on how the idea of LAFC would definitely be more appealing than the real thing for some folks, because that’s just human nature.

LAFC’s hiring of Bob Bradley straddles line between MLS, global soccer: LAFC’s first coach has a one-of-a-kind resumé, frankly.

Bradley not worried about transition to Designated Player era in MLS: The league has changed a lot since Bob Bradley last coached here, but he argues here he knows how it works, still.

MLS has officially entered the VAR era: We’re now in a VAR world, and here’s the initial questions after it was implemented this season.

If the Crew leave Columbus, then the Homegrown system is a farce: #SaveTheCrew may turn out to be one of the defining stories of 2017 in American soccer, alongside the USMNT bombing out of World Cup qualification and the ongoing fallout, but here’s one small angle in the Columbus vs. Austin saga.

The U.S. Soccer presidential election has a gender problem: In the meantime, Kathy Carter and Hope Solo have entered the race, but this story raises questions that remain worthy of consideration, and not only for women.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!