It could prove to be one of the most important days in Metro history. Or... not. Drafts have a funny way around them: everyone is an expert before, everyone wants to grade after, but at the end... we just don't know.

With Dilly Duka's name dominating the thoughts of many New York fans prior to the draft, it became obvious early on that it will not be called by the RBNY brass. With Tony Tchani blowing away the competition at the combine, the Virginia central midfielder solidified his draft position, and was considered the logical selection at #2. Serenaded with Metro supporters signing "We love you Tony", when asked what message he would send to supporters, he replied, "sll I can say is I will do my best." Interestingly, Tchani has never watched MLS.

Then, we sat and waited as picks came, with Duka's name bound to be called before Metro was up again at #14. And it did, Columbus taking the Red Bull academy product at #8. Fans serenaded the selection with the too truthful "he'd rather be a Metro".

Metro itself then went back to the ACC with the 14th pick, taking Wake Forest left-sided midfielder Austin da Luz. His message to the fans was, "I'm gonna work as hard as I possibly can to get that championship."

Metro rounded out the picks with defender Tim Ream from St. Louis, forward Conor Chinn from San Francisco, and midfielder Irving Garcia from UC Irvine.

Leather-trenchcoat-clad head coach Hans Backe, who just arrived in the country days ago, was not involved in making the selections. The task fell to GM Erik Soler and assistant coach Richie Williams. Soler called the pre-draft acquisition of Chris Alrbight a "gamble", with his fitness being a question, but felt the risk was worth taking. Soler said that the team never really considered moving its top selection, saying, "We wanted to get the first three picks done. We felt we had good options." He emphasized, "We have good allocation money." When asked about Metro losing its academy player Duka, he had the following to say:

"I've been here 6-8 weeks. I actually think there are a lot of good rules, and a lot of thinks that I think we can benefit from in Europe. I think that is a rule that I... would not take back to Europe, if that's the polite way to put it."

Too true, Mr. Soler. Too true.