Benjamin Hochman Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Follow Benjamin Hochman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

On Jan. 28, 2016, I wrote a column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It was written in the form of a letter to Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer. The Rams had just bolted. We needed MLS.

I wrote: “We’re no longer a football town, but we’re forever a fútbol town.” I mentioned our flag: “Have you seen the St. Louis flag? It’s awesome — it should be emblazoned across the uniforms of our team. It’s a striking red, with blue rivers meeting at a yellow-and-blue fleur de lis. The flag represents the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. I love that word. Confluence. It could represent St. Louisans coming together, merging with MLS to create something significant. Heck, call the St. Louis team FC Confluence. We are soccer’s gateway.”