Write On Sports LLC - "MLS: The Debate Rages" by Mark T.R. Donohue

MLS: The Debate Rages

2006-09-18 21:59:34 | By: Mark T.R. Donohue

While the league has been around for more than a decade, it seems that Major League Soccer has only just (barely) crept into the national consciousness in the past few years. For those who have been keeping tabs on the league since its outset, it's easy to see both how far the MLS has come and how much work there is still left to be done.

When the MLS launched, it at once did everything in its power to alienate international soccer fans and annoy Americans who hadn't thought about professional soccer a day in their lives. The team names were goofy. The uniforms were ugly. The changes made to the game clock and TV presentation style didn't make any sense. Unlike the failed American pro soccer leagues that preceded it, the MLS had enough capitalization to survive these early mistakes and begin building a product that, while no comparison to the top European leagues, is at least not insulting those few fans tenacious enough to show up and take it seriously.

By far the most important thing MLS has accomplished is getting several soccer-only stadiums built around the country. Anyone who has ever attended a sparsely-populated league game at Chicago's Soldier Field or Denver's Invesco knows how creepy it is to be surrounded by tens of thousands of empty seats. Rather than trying to convert fans of American team sports the MLS has refocused on delivering the best possible product to the many European and Latin American immigrants who grew up on the passion and pageantry of live soccer. Many of these new, smaller soccer-only facilities are springing up in the very neighborhoods where MLS's most dedicated fans are concentrated.

If you've been to an MLS game, you've probably been struck by how knowledgeable and passionate the fans are. You've also probably noticed how may in attendance were wearing Arsenal, Celtic, Barcelona, or England jerseys. With the World Cup failing to produce any new American heroes, and if anything dimming the star of current Great White Hope Landon Donovan, the MLS has to accept that most American soccer fans are acutely aware of how much lower the level of competition is over here than over there. Reconfiguring their All-Star game into an annual match of league players against a top European club is a great start when it comes to convincing Euro football fans living in the States that the MLS is worth a look.

There are a lot of other problems the league has to face. The bizarre, opaque, and socialist system the league uses to distribute talent has produced too many seasons of parity dominated by uninteresting, indistinct teams. Were the promising current DC United squad to become a dynasty, it might be the best news imaginable for the MLS, especially if it could find a way to get United fixtures against prestigious Mexican, South American, and European teams. While DC, Chicago, and the LA teams have come a long way in building identities and fanbases, MLS has yet to really take hold in places like Colorado and Kansas City and it's already had a team move away from the promising San Jose market. Expansion to Toronto next year and potentially another Bay Area team in the near future may be too much too soon.

Cartel ownership of league franchises is another thing that needs to be addressed. While the MLS has been making progress on this, no serious sports league can operate with single owners controlling multiple teams. Just ask the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. The league's decision to allow multiple ownership will pay off if and only if stadiums are built for each club and then they are promptly sold. Any further expansion while there are existing teams that need new owners is a very shaky idea.

While the league seems to be on a more solid footing in terms of business and marketing, it's a long way away in terms of quality of play. It doesn't take an expert to watch an EPL or Serie A game and then a MLS game on TV and tell you which one has the better players and more exciting play. Players go where the money is and the MLS is a long way from shelling out eight-figure transfer fees. There have been rumblings about fading European stars like Ronaldo or David Beckham coming over to finish their careers in America, but in my opinion the league would be better off in the long term avoiding that path.

While the MLS doesn't have the best players or the best teams, it does have something unique to sell to American sports fans: atmosphere. MLS crowds offer the most ethnically diverse and passionate audiences in American pro sports. Even a poorly attended MLS game will have a firm in one corner standing, chanting, and making a racket for their side. The opportunity afforded for soccer fans of all backgrounds to mingle and discuss the game is unique and should be preserved.

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