Sebastien Le Toux is probably not the fastest player in Philadelphia Union history. But if there was a race of infinite length, and the winner was the person who kept running the longest, you would be a fool to bet against the lithe Frenchman. Others would start off ahead of him, and many would pass him along the way, but in the end there would just be one: Singular Seba.
Perhaps that is part of the reason he flourished in Philadelphia, a city where people walk to an art museum, then turn thirty degrees to the right to admire a statue of a movie boxer who was never the most powerful or athletic specimen, but was determined -- against all odds -- to come out on top.
And Le Toux did come out on top as a member of the Union. He has 15 more MLs goals than the next closest player on Philly’s all-time scoring list, 16 more assists than the next three players combined. Le Toux created 310 chances as a Union player, nobody else has created even 150.
He may very well be both the best striker and the best winger in club history.
And, most important, he remains a player that fell in love with a club, and with its fans. And, in doing so, he became the soccer player that singularly embodies the passion, emotion, heartache, and love that, mixed with the smell of sizzling beef and the sounds of bellows and laughter, becomes Philadelphia sports.
