If people within the American soccer world were looking for older brother Kevin Payne and younger brother Tom Payne to be "going at each other's throats or trying to get some kind of edge on each other" surrounding last week's MLS opener between the teams each represents - D.C. United and L.A. Galaxy, respectively - the Home Depot Center was the wrong place to find what one might expect to be a sibling rivalry on display last Sunday.
Although hard to believe, "they've never teased each other and never entered into any friendly wagers on outcomes," according to MLSnet.com's Larry Morgan. "This endeavor we're engaged in is very personal for both of us, so you don't want to dig the knife in. These games are important, but there's some perspective that needs to be kept," said 56-year-old D.C. United president Kevin, playing the well-rehearsed diplomat role.
"There's not any trash-talking, but we also know to kind of stay away from each other during the games," says 45-year-old Tom, hinting at what has to be some level of competition between the two and then harkening back to some "tough" games of Risk and Monopoly from their childhood days in Virginia.
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