When Tim Ream's name was announced at the 2010 SuperDraft, the collected voices of Metro fans in attendance yelled out a hollow "Who?". Two years later, that who is being sold to Bolton for a price supposedly in the neighborhood of $3 million... The highest ever for an American defender.

So that's it for Ream's Metro career. A start so bright, a terrific debut season that saw him play every minute in the league in playoffs. Calm, cool, collected, stable, never-yielding, all unheard of qualities in an American defender straight out of college. He took the ball off the feet of attackers without committing fouls. He sent precise long passes that started the attack. He seemed too good to be true.

2011 followed. Sadly, the quality of Ream's debut campaign could only be reproduced in spurts. Still, when he was on, he was one of the league's best defenders. And when he was off... we all make mistakes. But few of us could have made that miraculous save in Los Angeles, when Ream ran from no-man's-land and cleared the ball with a spectacular, almost impossible launch at the goalline.

And now, off to England he goes. A year removed from earning the MLS minimum, he will now make a salary which will put most of his teammates (most; we didn't say all, right, Rafa?) to shame. He will have a chance to compete in the toughest league in the world and further his standing with the US national team. And we, Metro fans?

We'll wish that at least some of our young players could amount to half of Tim Ream.