Former Seattle Sounders FC and current New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long was deemed Major League Soccer’s Defender of the Year on Wednesday morning. It certainly was well deserved, but 3-time award winner Chad Marshall, who finished second in this year’s voting, took to Twitter to respond to Long winning the award.

A huge congrats to @A_LoLo12 on Defender of the Year! Well deserved. Been a big fan since 2014 and it’s amazing to watch your rise. Us old guys will try again next year! — Chad Marshall (@ChadMarshall14) November 7, 2018

There’s no doubt that Chad was disappointed to not win the award, but his response on the internet is light-hearted and jovial. Aaron Long joined the Sounders late in the 2014 season, and that’s when Chad became a fan.

The social media story doesn’t end there. A few hours later, Aaron Long joined in on the Twitter fun as well — replying to Marshall and showing his respect.

Learned from the — Aaron Long (@A_LoLo12) November 7, 2018

Very happy to win the @ChadMarshall14 DOY award. All credit to my teammates! Behind every individual award is a great team❤️ https://t.co/JFsDUsOU5n — Aaron Long (@A_LoLo12) November 7, 2018

It’s nice to see kids these days respect their elders. Aaron rightfully pays homage to Chad by naming the award after him. Aaron must be a reader of Sounder at Heart, after all.