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After a season where Mike Magee heard the crowds at Toyota Park chant "MVP! MVP!" every time he scored a goal, it is now official. Major League Soccer announced today that Chicago Fire forward Mike Magee has been named the 2013 Volkswagen Most Valuable Player.
This is a day that is momentous for both player and club.
For Mike Magee, this award caps off a year in which he was first named to the MLS All-Star team, named to the MLS Best XI for 2013 and named team MVP of the Chicago Fire. His move to the Chicago Fire brought him back home and gave him the opportunity to play on a team without a Juan Pablo Angel or a Landon Donovan, and he flourished. The arrival of Magee in late May transformed a destitute Fire team into a contender, with Magee scoring a goal in each of his first seven appearances.
While Magee turned the Fire into a contender, a team is only as good as the sum of it's parts. The Fire missed out on the playoffs on the last day of the season, and many people speculated that Magee’s chances for the MVP award hinged on making the playoffs. Thankfully, and correctly, those with voting privileges did not let that deter them from making the right choice.
Magee faced some stiff competition in for the MVP award from Marco Di Viao (Montreal Impact), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls) and his former teammate, Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy). However, in the end it was not as close as some might have expected. The voting totals show that Magee's win was a decisive one.
| Player | % of Club Votes | % of Media Votes | % of Player Votes | Weighted Total |
| Mike Magee (CHI) | 34.69 | 37.33 | 26.79 | 98.81 |
| Robbie Keane (LA) | 22.45 | 24 | 12.11 | 58.56 |
| Marco Di Viao (MON) | 14.29 | 10.67 | 10.46 | 35.42 |
| Tim Cahill (NY) | 12.25 | 12 | 6.42 | 30.67 |
The most flattering number on the chart has to be the votes from the players. While only 55.78% of the Magee's peers voted, half of them voted for him.
For the Fire, the season had been awful before the arrival of Magee. If the Fire do not get Magee in 2013, the entire season would have been a total disaster. Mike Magee is that first player in the team's sixteen-year history to be named MVP of the league. Prior to Magee, three Fire players have been nominated for the award - Piotr Nowak in 2002; Ante Razov in 2004; Cuauhtémoc Blanco in 2007 and 2008.
On the season, Mike Magee had 31 league appearances and notched 21 league goals between his time with the Galaxy and the Fire. Across all competitions, Magee had 39 appearances and 25 goals.
Magee will receive the award and be presented to media in Kansas City today at approximately 4:30 p.m. CT. Hot Time in Old Town will continue to follow this story through the day.
We here at Hot Time In Old Town would like to congratulate Mike Magee on receiving this prestigious award. Hopefully, there will be more of them to come in the future.
