2025-03-22, 05:32 PM - Word count: 321
George Shaheen would be lying if he told anyone he wasn’t racked with anxiety about the upcoming expansion draft.
Sure, it’s thrilling to think that the SSL has become so healthy – and that there are so many budding young potential international football stars – that two new teams will soon be gracing premiere pitches around the world. But the initial rosters of these two brand new clubs won’t be built solely on new SSLers.
That is what has Shaheen on pins and needles. During the expansion draft process, three members of the Reykjavik/North Shore organization will hear their names called, meaning they’ll have to pack their things, say goodbye to friends, and depart to become on-field foes to former teammates whom they had bled, sweat, and cried with for untold numbers of seasons.
On the one hand, Shaheen is scared that his name may be called. Front offices have the right to protect players from the expansion draft, but only in limited numbers, and decisions have not yet been made who will be at risk. Shaheen has fallen in love with North Shore. The geographic area, the football fans, the people in the locker room, the front office. It has truly been a home a long, long way from the only other home he had ever known in the country of Lebanon. He cannot imagine receiving notice that he must now leave it.
On the other hand, even if he isn’t selected, Shaheen is scared to find out which of his teammates – either in the majors or minors – might be. He has built a bond with each and every one of them in the locker room. Their chemistry has led to incredible successes on the pitch. Removing any individual ingredient can ruin a recipe. What will Reykjavik/North Shore look like in the wake of the expansion draft?
The unknown is a very scary thing.
Sure, it’s thrilling to think that the SSL has become so healthy – and that there are so many budding young potential international football stars – that two new teams will soon be gracing premiere pitches around the world. But the initial rosters of these two brand new clubs won’t be built solely on new SSLers.
That is what has Shaheen on pins and needles. During the expansion draft process, three members of the Reykjavik/North Shore organization will hear their names called, meaning they’ll have to pack their things, say goodbye to friends, and depart to become on-field foes to former teammates whom they had bled, sweat, and cried with for untold numbers of seasons.
On the one hand, Shaheen is scared that his name may be called. Front offices have the right to protect players from the expansion draft, but only in limited numbers, and decisions have not yet been made who will be at risk. Shaheen has fallen in love with North Shore. The geographic area, the football fans, the people in the locker room, the front office. It has truly been a home a long, long way from the only other home he had ever known in the country of Lebanon. He cannot imagine receiving notice that he must now leave it.
On the other hand, even if he isn’t selected, Shaheen is scared to find out which of his teammates – either in the majors or minors – might be. He has built a bond with each and every one of them in the locker room. Their chemistry has led to incredible successes on the pitch. Removing any individual ingredient can ruin a recipe. What will Reykjavik/North Shore look like in the wake of the expansion draft?
The unknown is a very scary thing.
