MVP Nominees Announced; Camilo not Included

Despite scoring 22 goals and winning the Golden Boot for 2013, Camilo has not been nominated for the MLS MVP award this season. It's got to be a slap in the face for the young Brazilian, as he had more goals than the three people who did get nominated, Marco Di Vaio, Mike Magee, and Robbie Keane. The official announcement, as well as all of the other award nominations can be found here.

While I understand many will make the argument that Camilo did not deserve the award because the Whitecaps failed to make the playoffs, I thought a nomination would be a nice way to cap off his season, in which he electrified the league and scored arguably the best goal of the season.

Furthermore, if Camilo doesn't get a nod, why on Earth does Mike Magee? Is it because he's American? Is it because American MLS fans know him, and his success was a cute story this season? Guess what; he was outscored by Camilo in both goals (22 to 21) and assists (6 to 4) ,and his team didn't make the playoffs either. I would claim Canadian conspiracy, but the league doled out weekly player awards to this team like they were candy, and Marco Di Vaio is nominated and plays for Montreal.

So, I'm at a loss, really. Magee didn't do anything better than Camilo this season, and yet he gets a major honor instead of the guy that outscored the rest of the league.

In happier news, Nigel Reo-Coker was nominated for the Newcomer of the Year award, after his terrific inaugural season with the Whitecaps. He'll face some stiff competition in the form of the New England Revolution's Jose Gonclaves and Diego Valeri from the Portland Timbers.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, a homer, or did MLS get this one wrong?