Reunited: Could Arena football return to DC?

DC United is slipping quickly into the panic zone and one can't help but think that after a 2-7 start the guillotine is sure to fall on head coach Tom Soehn sooner rather than later. But if he is fired, who will take his place. Enter DC's first and most beloved head coach Bruce Arena who signaled to ESPN writer Ives Galarcep that he's ready to return to the sidelines.

"For most D.C. United fans, nothing makes more sense than Arena returning to D.C. to salvage a squad that looks completely lost," writes Galarcep. "He was D.C. United's first head coach and laid the foundation for three MLS Cup titles in the first four years of the league's existence, so who better than Arena to straighten out the mess?"

It sounds perfect doesn't, like high school sweethearts finding each other years at the 10-year reunion. And I'm sure at first it would be a torrent love affair, as the fans and media reminisce about the good ol' days of magic triangles and MLS Cups. But like all reunited lovers, the reality that things have changed, that they have changed, will begin to settle in.

After all it's been a while since Arena coached the red-and-black. It was before he took over the national team and shocked the world by upsetting Portugal and reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 1930. It was before the 2006 World Cup when the U.S., with world paying attention this time, underwhelmed and crashed out after poor performances (and some inscrutable coaching decisions) against the Czech Republic and Ghana. It was also before Arena returned to MLS to coach DC's biggest rivals New York. Arena coached the Red Bulls for a year-and-a-half finishing an unimpressive .500 (16-16-10).

In fact, it's been 10 years since Arena stood on the DC sideline as its coach. It was 1998, the year when the upstart expansion team Chicago Fire broke United's grip on the MLS Cup with a shocking 2-0 win over DC in the final. The Fire was led by another soon to be ex-DC coach Peter Nowak. Arena did managed to help DC win the CONCACAF Champions Cup that year, however.

But 10 years is a long time for any relationship. Does he remember to put the cap back on the toothpaste? Does she have an annoying habit of talking in her sleep. Does he still think it was a good idea to play DaMarcus Beasley on the right side instead of his natural left?

DC United, swept up in the sweet perfume of victories past, may rush back into Arena's arms pretty soon, desperate to get away from its current abusive relationship, but they should be careful because when they run out of good times to talk about, there's only an uncertain future staring them in the face.