Half Smokes Hypothetical is a daily discussion where we throw out a D.C. sports-related question based on the news of the day. It's a hypothetical discussion, which is what makes it fun (we hope).
↵I've been thinking a lot about D.C. United and Andy Najar recently, for some reason. Maybe it's because I've gotten into the World Cup, and I now feel an obligation to follow D.C. United more closely. But regardless, Najar is fascinating to me. Here's a 17-year old kid that has been touted as a prodigy and living up to it, albeit in limited minutes. There's been a lot of buzz around him, but it's only been from the same niche audience that already loves D.C. United.
↵But what if a couple years pass and Najar has fulfilled so much of his promise? What if he's the face of MLS by age 20? What if he's an international star as well, either for the U.S. or his native Honduras? (And yes, I realize that, if he is an international star, he'll probably be playing in Europe, not MLS. That's why this is a hypothetical).
↵Let's assume all that happens. Here's today's hypothetical.
↵How popular would Andy Najar be locally then? If we did the Most Popular Local Athletes list again, where would he rank?
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