Why you should — and shouldn't — boo Jason Kreis on Saturday

When Real Salt Lake hosts New York City FC on Saturday, all eyes will be on him — and then they'll turn pretty quickly to the home crowd to see how people react.

With debate brewing (and occasionally boiling over) on whether or not you should send a chorus of boos at the former Real Salt Lake coach, we thought we'd step into the game and tell you why you should take the opposite approach of what you were thinking, no matter which that was.

Boo this man: Jason Kreis left Real Salt Lake for a big-money team

Nobody gets the brunt of fury in Utah like big-money teams — or at least teams regarded that way. Look no further than LA Galaxy to see a simply perfect example of it. You can see it with the Utah Jazz, and you can probably see it with other teams, too.

Don't boo this man: Jason Kreis was a Real Salt Lake original and one of the biggest influences on the team's culture.

Jason Kreis left Real Salt Lake in considerably better shape than he found it. He took it from a team with little culture specific to the team to a hard-working, high-flying attacking team. We should praise that.

Boo this man: Kreis left mid-season to interview for the job.

In September 2013, Kreis went on a short trip to Manchester to interview with the Manchester City organization. There was probably a good opening there, with RSL playing Aug. 30 and Sept. 13 that year, but they lost their first two matches of September and looked generally lifeless along the way. Was that down to his departure? It's hard to think it wasn't.

Don't boo this man: Who wouldn't take a job opportunity like the one he was offered?

We were all reassured at the time that Jason Kreis wasn't going to New York City FC for money — in fact, Dell Loy Hansen reportedly had made a very strong offer. Obviously, Kreis didn't take it, but we still don't think it wasn't about money. More specifically, it was probably down to the resources Manchester City could provide with NYCFC, and while who knows how well that's come into practice — they're still playing at a baseball park, after all — it still probably held an allure.

Boo this man: He's gone. He's not coming back.

While it's nice to show respect to people who have earned it, once they leave, all bets are almost certainly off. Once you leave the "RSL family" for the big city, you don't get an honorary membership.

Don't boo this man: He needed a break from the daily soccer grind.

Kreis had talked after signing the NYCFC deal about wanting to get away from the game — needing to find a way to get away for a bit. We're glad he was able to get that break — for his mental health more than anything. After all, he hadn't taken a meaningful break since becoming a professional soccer player.

Boo this man: It's not a testimonial — it's a regular season game. And RSL needs to win one.

If booing Jason Kreis and his gang is what it takes to win, then why not, right?

We're not going to take a clear position on whether you should or shouldn't boo NYCFC — but if you want to, do, and if you don't, don't. That's all.