A couple weeks ago, we asked for you to vote on some Behind the Shield Fan Awards. Sorry it took so long to get to the results (it’s been a busy couple of weeks here in RSL-land) but we’ve got them here. If you want to take a look at the original post head on over here, or make the jump below to see the winners…

None of the results are too surprising, though we did find it interesting that there were no really close races. We also wanted to clarify one little thing - these awards were a fan-specific award and are totally unrelated to the official team awards announced during our last home match vs. Chivas USA. Those awards were voted on solely by RSL’s technical staff and did not take into account the voting that took place here. We’ll break each of the contests down below…

MVP: In a complete landslide with 44 of the possible 61 votes, RSL’s 2008 fan-MVP was attacking midfielder Javier Morales. On a team that had many players put in very solid campaigns, it was the Argentine midfield maestro that stood out. Javi finished second in the league in assists with 15 helpers (setting the RSL single season and career mark in the process) and tied for second on the squad with 6 goals. It is definitely a deserved award and we look forward to seeing more from Javi in the coming years.

Defender of the Year: Joining RSL just prior to the team’s season, Columbian centre-back Jamison Olave quickly won the fans hearts with his dominant play on the team’s backline. After slowly working his way into the lineup over the first few matches of the season, Jamison solidified his spot in the Starting XI with a string of stellar performances through the middle of the season.

His trademark physical style has even led to the term “getting Olave’d” being thrown about our office occasionally (if you’re wondering what being Olave’d is, just check out the example below).

In winning this award Olave beat out a handful of teammates who put in quality campaigns, as fellow defenders Nat Borchers, Nick Rimando, Chris Wingert, and Ian Joy all received well-deserved plaudits from you all. We actually liked the vote from user “Horse” whose vote went to “The Whole Defensive Crew”. Jamison certainly earned this award, but in a nod to Jason Kreis’ “The Team is the Star” motto, we wanted to point out that it truly was a team effort this year.

Newcomer of the Year: Considering that 14 of the 28 players on the RSL roster were eligible for this one, there was certainly no shortage of quality candidates. Despite very solid performances from a handful of those players (most notably the aforementioned defenders Olave, Borchers and Joy, as well as Robbie Russell, Dema Kovalenko, Kenny Deuchar, Clint Mathis, Tony Beltran, etc.) it was RSL’s newest face that stood out from the pack. Acquired on the last day of the summer transfer window, 21-year-old midfielder Will Johnson stepped into the starting lineup from day one and hasn’t looked back since.

He’s proven to be an absolute steal (RSL was able to secure his rights from the Chicago Fire for a minor allocation) as he’s played every minute for Real since coming onboard lending a much needed combination of skill, pace, and a motor that never stops (seriously, have you seen the kid in the 90th minute? He’s like the Energizer Bunny… with a case of Red Bull pumping through his veins).

Oh yeah, and he pulled this one out…

Case Closed!!!

Young Player of the Year: In another race filled with legitimate contenders (12 players on the RSL roster are 23 or younger), 21-year-old striker Yura Movsisyan beat out a handful of consistent contributors (Fabian Espindola, Robbie Findley, Will Johnson, Tony Beltran, etc.) for the title of Young Player of the Year. Joining MLS as the fourth overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft and coming to Real Salt Lake in a trade deadline deal with Kansas City in the middle of the 2007 season, Yura came into the 2008 season with high expectations.

However, despite a stellar preseason, the talented Armenian was plagued by a lingering knee injury and some bad luck at the beginning of the campaign. In order to get things right, physically, Yura finally shut things down and went under the knife just six games into the season. After the surgery, things looked to be headed in the same direction, as the talented striker seemed snake-bitten and simply couldn’t find the net. He finally found his breakthrough, though, putting home a 3rd minute tally against the two-time defending Champion Houston Dynamo.

Apparently that’s all it took, as once he found the net once, the floodgates were open. Riding high, Yura tallied 6 more times over the final 8 Regular Season matches, including, arguably, the biggest goal in team history with his 90th minute putback against Colorado to clinch a Playoff spot. His 7 goals were enough to earn him RSL’s Budweiser Golden Boot award as the team’s high-scorer.

And then this happened…

Yeah, the future is bright, and Yura looks poised to be an integral part of this team for years to come…

Game of the Year: In fitting fashion, the final award went to the final match of the year. Headed to Denver for a season finale that would not only determine this year’s Rocky Mountain Cup champion, but the final spot in the Western Conference Playoffs, all RSL needed to clinch both was a draw or better against their arch-rivals.

Well, you already know how things turned out, but suffice it to say – it didn’t go down without a fair bit of drama (including the aforementioned 90th minute Movsisyan equalizer). Check it below…

It may not have been the prettiest game, or the best result, but as it was (at least at that point) the most meaningful result in RSL history, we certainly can’t argue with your selection.

We’d like to thank everyone for participating in the voting. It’s been fun to get your feedback on the season and the guys certainly feel honored by your recognition (yes, we’ve talked to them about it and we’ll have a couple responses from them for you in the next little bit). However, from the looks of things over the last couple weekends, we haven’t seen the end of the drama and quality from this squad…