I’ve been writing articles like this one about Minnesota United for a long time, because I’m endlessly fascinated by numbers in sports, and how they can help explain what we’re seeing, and whether they match up with what we’re seeing.

One of the best things about right now is that now I can not only dig into the numbers, but also I can go and ask the people involved about them, too.

We can see from the numbers that the Loons go long from goal kicks a lot, more than the average team. Why? What are they hoping to gain? What are they aiming for?

Anyway, I hope you’ll read my latest Star Tribune piece, talking about where the Loons rank in MLS in a whole host of different things, what that says about who they’re shaping up to be as a team - and what the people involved think about it.