Landon Donovan won his first MLS MVP award yesterday, beating out fellow finalists Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Cunningham. Donovan's win is hardly surprising, and while he was not MFUSA's pick, to say he was undeserving would be unfair. Donovan had a sparkling season while playing for LA, racking up twelve goals six assists. He was limited to twenty-five games due to international duty.


Therein lies the rub, and why Donovan's MVP win will be questioned by some. Unfortunately, awards like this tend to go to the best player rather than the most valuable one. If voters went strictly by the spirit of the award, I think it would be difficult to argue Donovan deserved it over Joseph; the Revs, handcuffed by injury much of the season, relied on Joseph steady midfield play and timely goals all year long.


Should we just change the name of the award to "Most Outstanding Player"? Probably, but there's the problem of the long-standing American tradition of giving out an MVP award holding sway, and it wouldn't really matter anyway; certain people will always take issue with the winner, lament the lack of understanding on the part of the voters, and scream bloody murder that the whole thing is one big popularity contest.


Whatever, it's just a dumb award that has nothing to do with anything anyway. Any backlash against Donovan (and I have really seen any, but then again, I haven't really looked either) is probably more about his team, his image, and the general hate people seem to have for the guy.