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Can MLS continue to grow in popularity this season?

David Nugent in Editorial, MLS 9 Mar 2015

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Former-AC Milan ace Kaka is just one of the stars who have decided to make MLS their home for this season

Former-AC Milan ace Kaka is just one of the stars who have decided to make MLS their home for this season

The new MLS campaign kicked-off this weekend with a sense of excitement and intrigue.

The expansion of the number of teams in the league was one of the main talking points with Orlando City and New York City joining the fold.

The two faced off against each other on Sunday in a cagey 1-1 draw.

Ten-man Orlando City equalised in stoppage-time through former-World Player of the Year Kaka, while former-Barcelona striker David Villa played a part in New York’s opening goal scored by USA international Mix Diskerud.

Stars

The MLS in years gone by was a place where washed-up stars from the world game went to collect a big pay cheque and retire in the sun, with the likes of Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry and David Beckham being former-notable players who have made a recent impact in the USA’s top-flight.

However, the tide has changed slightly in recent years. Although the players that are arriving are still in their thirties, they are far from washed-up stars. Villa and Kaka are 33 and 32 respectively, but both could quite easily still play top level football in Europe.

The arrival of former-England captain Steven Gerrard at LA Galaxy in the summer will no doubt raise the profile of the franchise and of the league. Gerrard is 34, but will be 35 by the time he joins the Galaxy in July.

However, he is still capable of playing at the top level, but maybe not every game as the current campaign has proved.

Another former-England international Frank Lampard will also be heading to the MLS with New York City in May, when his loan spell at Premier League Manchester City finishes.

The veteran midfielder won every trophy there was to win in the club game with Chelsea and his arrival in MLS is expected to cause great excitement amongst soccer fans.

The delay to his arrival in New York was met with slight frustration by the fans, as Lampard was expected to start the campaign with the franchise from the Big Apple, but fans will now have to wait to see the former-England star.

The arrival of big name players has moved the league forward, with even multi-media giants Sky taking an interest in the competition by showing MLS games live in the UK.

Growing

I have to admit watching the MLS as a child was fun, as the likes of Alexi Lalas, Preki, Mo Johnston and Paul Rideout starred in the league. The fact that the games were not allowed to be draws was a strange concept to me.

However, in order to move more towards the way of European soccer, the league have now moved towards a more European way of managing the game. The whole set-up of the league now seems more professional than in the early days of MLS.

The owners of the league and franchises have to make the game seem more attractive to USA sports fans, because at the moment it is still struggling to compete against basketball, American football and ice hockey, all of which soccer will have a problem over-taking in the USA sports fans affections.

Maybe the average American sports fan will never love the beautiful game. Football or soccer has conquered the world and is the game that attracts the most spectators worldwide. It seems that US sports fans are now starting to accept it more freely.

The opening weekend attendances in MLS were encouraging for the people behind the league. They will be hoping that the fans keep flocking to see the games nationwide. Attendances grew during last season and it seems they will only keep growing as the game gains more popularity.

Determined

I slightly get the feeling that soccer will always be fighting a losing battle against the more traditional US sports. However, decent marketing and good recent World Cup displays means that soccer and MLS is growing slowly but surely in the USA.

Some American’s may not like it, but it seems that the MLS owners are determined to make the league work and help grow the game in the USA.

Can MLS continue to grow in popularity this season?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Nugent


David is a freelance football writer with nearly a decade of experience writing about the beautiful game. The experienced writer has written for over a dozen websites and also an international soccer magazine offline.
Arguably his best work has come as an editorial writer for Soccernews, sharing his good, bad and ugly opinions on the world’s favourite sport. During David’s writing career he has written editorials, betting previews, match previews, banter, news and opinion pieces.

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  • Seth Bark

    0 0

    Agreed, the MLS will be a major when some of the top players on the world are American and the MLS does not need to rely so heavily on foreign talent.

    I think we are 10 years away. I’m very optimistic, I’ve never seen a younger generation of Americans so excited about the game of soccer. “American Soccer’s Golden Generation” are 5, 6 7, and 8 years old right now. ( I’m coining that phrase.) 😉

    These kids have been able to watch the Messi’s and the Ronaldo’s etc. on TV and idolize them. No other American generation has had that kind of fandom.

  • Brad

    0 0

    That’s right, David, and Graham. The League will only become major when it is able to get some of the world’s best players who are either still in their prime, or maybe haven’t even reached it yet, to play for years in the States.

    I think that is still some decades off from this point in time.

  • Brad

    0 0

    It’s fantastic to see the game grow here in the US, and MLS along with it.

    David, about that part where you were confused with why games weren’t allowed to end in draws, that was actually due to an attempt to draw more attention to the league and sport in general, and is somewhat similar to what the NHL did for hockey around 10 to 15 years ago (they used to allow ties as well). While that was replaced by bringing Designated Players, that particular idea of a game-deciding shootout still lives on at the high school level, as whenever one school plays another from the same region set (much like how the college level sports are divided into conferences), region games that are tied at regulation’s end go to extra time, then to a pk shootout, where the spot kick that wins that also counts as the game winning goal. It’s a very. . . American thing to do, never settling for a tie.

    As for soccer’s popularity here, a long time ago it actually was second place, behind baseball (. . . . how. . . ?) for the most popular, but the Depression just about killed it off completely. Now, it’s back in the fight, challenging basketball and hockey for third place. Shouldn’t be but another decade or so before it moves up to challenge baseball for contemporary time’s second place spot. Sadly, the other football (which, though I never played it competitively, I still love- I am from the South after all!) will always be the most loved sport here in the States.

    And the league? Even though it’s continuing to grow, it will never be as good as the European leagues, especially the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga, and you can probably throw in Ligue 1 and a couple more in that list. It’s gonna be a long time before we can bring in some of the world’s top players- who aren’t at or above the age of 30- to play in the league.

    Another negative note- and you’ll question at first why I consider this negative- is that it’s bad for the top American players to be here. Why? They need to be improving their game in one of the aforementioned leagues in Europe. In order to draw more attention to soccer in general, the MNT must continue to improve both at the individual player level and the team level. I’m sorry, but Donovan was a bit of a failure there as his only abroad success was his loan stints for Everton. Now, we can’t afford to have Bradley, Altidore (well, in his case, maybe to get his goal scoring boots back on before returning to Holland), Dempsey, and Mix, etc., etc. playing here if we want the NT to get better.

    Here’s my reasoning for this: when it comes to Team USA, it’s stuff like our Dream Team of ’92 for basketball, and the Miracle on Ice in ’80, that capture the nation’s imagination. If anything, the interest in basketball and hockey rose after those successes. The same must be done for soccer. And I just don’t think it can be done if our top players (Howard being one of the exceptions) are all Stateside.

    . . . .did not mean to go on such a long post. . ..

    • David Nugent

      0 0

      Hey Brad, good to hear from you again. You will know more about soccer in your country and the MLS, as I am outsider looking in.Thanks for the explanation surrounding the old penalty kick system! I started watching the MLS when it was first formed, so was probably slightly younger than you at the time. It has definitely improved greatly since then, but it should have in nearly two decades.

      I do believe it will grow in stature and become a truly Major league in the future, but as Graham says there is a lot of American talent and it may not be the best idea for the league to grow if the MLS signs players who are over the hill.

  • graham clark

    0 0

    The MLS can eventually become a top world class league..however with the signings of over the hill players from the EPL Is a bad move and will not advance the clubs who are supposedly signing them.After all why buy these guys, then loan them back with out even playing them, this is not showing respect either to the us players or the supporters of the clubs involved.
    Personally I have seen enough US talent to suggest that they can be good enough to compete against anyone given time and patience.

  • Seth Bark

    0 0

    From what is can see The American Youth are far more into and educated about soccer than previous generations.

    I went to LA Galaxy’s opener and it was a very enthusiastic atmosphere, I live in LA so we are interested to see Gerrard come to the city this summer.
    At the very least he will enjoy the weather and the anonymity Los Angeles brings.

  • Seth Bark

    0 0

    The turnout/#’s for opening weekend of the MLS were very strong. 7 of 10 opening weekend games were sold out despite poor weather on the East Coast. With the slightest bit of interest, North America has the recourses to support the large payrolls needed to sign the top players. Having more and more stars in the league will create a snow ball effect and it’s just a matter of time before the MLS is one of the top 3 leagues in the world.

    Couple reason I think it will continue to grow:
    I have recently adopted the game do to my son being obsessed with the sport. As a kid I wasn’t into soccer, maybe because growing up I could not watch it on TV so I couldn’t see top quality teams play. But now because of cable TV, my Son knows all the players and can see the best play by being able to watch European football in the US. ( An English friend says we get more games on TV than The Brits do, because of “blackouts” in the UK) .

    A lot has come out about head injuries and the dangers of American Football in recent years (nasty stuff). Because of fear of head injuries, American parents ( Like myself ) are now trying to steer their kids away from Football and are now supporting youth and club soccer ( Baseball is too slow for kids now days) . Because of this I believe The States will soon start turning out a large amount of top notch “home grown” talent that the MLS will surely benefit from. I also think the US will be an International power in the next 10 years.

    • David Nugent

      0 0

      Hey Seth, it is good to hear from a US soccer fan. I too believe that the USA has the resources to become a superpower in soccer. However, it all depends on whether the MLS is marketed in the right way and whether the fanbase for the game grows sufficiently. The MLS has attracted some interesting players in recent years and hopefully the league can grow even bigger over the next few years.

  • Seth Bark

    0 0

    The turnout/#’s for opening weekend of the MLS were very strong. 7 of 10 opening weekend games were sold out despite poor weather on the East Coast. With the slightest bit of interest, North America has the recourses to support the large payrolls needed to sign the top players. Having more and more stars in the league will create a snow ball effect and it’s just a matter of time before the MLS is one of the top 3 leagues in the world.

    Couple reason I think it will continue to grow:
    I have recently adopted the game do to my son being obsessed with the sport. As a kid I wasn’t into soccer, maybe because growing up I could not watch it on TV so I couldn’t see top quality teams play. But now because of cable TV, my Son knows all the players and can see the best play by being able to watch European football in the US. ( An English friend says we get more games on TV than The Brits do, because of “blackouts” in the UK) .

    A lot has come out about head injuries and the dangers of American Football in recent years (nasty stuff). Because of fear of head injuries, American parents ( Like myself ) are now trying to steer their kids away from Football and are now supporting youth and club soccer ( Baseball is too slow for kids now days) . Because of this I believe The States will soon start turning out a large amount of top notch “home grown” talent that the MLS will surely benefit from. I also think the US will be an International power in the next 10 years.

    • David Nugent

      0 0

      Hey Seth, it is good to hear from a US soccer fan. I too believe that the USA has the resources to become a superpower in soccer. However, it all depends on whether the MLS is marketed in the right way and whether the fanbase for the game grows sufficiently. The MLS has attracted some interesting players in recent years and hopefully the league can grow even bigger over the next few years.

  • Seth Bark

    0 0

    From what is can see The American Youth are far more into and educated about soccer than previous generations.

    I went to LA Galaxy’s opener and it was a very enthusiastic atmosphere, I live in LA so we are interested to see Gerrard come to the city this summer.
    At the very least he will enjoy the weather and the anonymity Los Angeles brings.

  • graham clark

    0 0

    The MLS can eventually become a top world class league..however with the signings of over the hill players from the EPL Is a bad move and will not advance the clubs who are supposedly signing them.After all why buy these guys, then loan them back with out even playing them, this is not showing respect either to the us players or the supporters of the clubs involved.
    Personally I have seen enough US talent to suggest that they can be good enough to compete against anyone given time and patience.

  • Brad

    0 0

    It’s fantastic to see the game grow here in the US, and MLS along with it.

    David, about that part where you were confused with why games weren’t allowed to end in draws, that was actually due to an attempt to draw more attention to the league and sport in general, and is somewhat similar to what the NHL did for hockey around 10 to 15 years ago (they used to allow ties as well). While that was replaced by bringing Designated Players, that particular idea of a game-deciding shootout still lives on at the high school level, as whenever one school plays another from the same region set (much like how the college level sports are divided into conferences), region games that are tied at regulation’s end go to extra time, then to a pk shootout, where the spot kick that wins that also counts as the game winning goal. It’s a very. . . American thing to do, never settling for a tie.

    As for soccer’s popularity here, a long time ago it actually was second place, behind baseball (. . . . how. . . ?) for the most popular, but the Depression just about killed it off completely. Now, it’s back in the fight, challenging basketball and hockey for third place. Shouldn’t be but another decade or so before it moves up to challenge baseball for contemporary time’s second place spot. Sadly, the other football (which, though I never played it competitively, I still love- I am from the South after all!) will always be the most loved sport here in the States.

    And the league? Even though it’s continuing to grow, it will never be as good as the European leagues, especially the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga, and you can probably throw in Ligue 1 and a couple more in that list. It’s gonna be a long time before we can bring in some of the world’s top players- who aren’t at or above the age of 30- to play in the league.

    Another negative note- and you’ll question at first why I consider this negative- is that it’s bad for the top American players to be here. Why? They need to be improving their game in one of the aforementioned leagues in Europe. In order to draw more attention to soccer in general, the MNT must continue to improve both at the individual player level and the team level. I’m sorry, but Donovan was a bit of a failure there as his only abroad success was his loan stints for Everton. Now, we can’t afford to have Bradley, Altidore (well, in his case, maybe to get his goal scoring boots back on before returning to Holland), Dempsey, and Mix, etc., etc. playing here if we want the NT to get better.

    Here’s my reasoning for this: when it comes to Team USA, it’s stuff like our Dream Team of ’92 for basketball, and the Miracle on Ice in ’80, that capture the nation’s imagination. If anything, the interest in basketball and hockey rose after those successes. The same must be done for soccer. And I just don’t think it can be done if our top players (Howard being one of the exceptions) are all Stateside.

    . . . .did not mean to go on such a long post. . ..

    • David Nugent

      0 0

      Hey Brad, good to hear from you again. You will know more about soccer in your country and the MLS, as I am outsider looking in.Thanks for the explanation surrounding the old penalty kick system! I started watching the MLS when it was first formed, so was probably slightly younger than you at the time. It has definitely improved greatly since then, but it should have in nearly two decades.

      I do believe it will grow in stature and become a truly Major league in the future, but as Graham says there is a lot of American talent and it may not be the best idea for the league to grow if the MLS signs players who are over the hill.

  • Brad

    0 0

    That’s right, David, and Graham. The League will only become major when it is able to get some of the world’s best players who are either still in their prime, or maybe haven’t even reached it yet, to play for years in the States.

    I think that is still some decades off from this point in time.

  • Seth Bark

    0 0

    Agreed, the MLS will be a major when some of the top players on the world are American and the MLS does not need to rely so heavily on foreign talent.

    I think we are 10 years away. I’m very optimistic, I’ve never seen a younger generation of Americans so excited about the game of soccer. “American Soccer’s Golden Generation” are 5, 6 7, and 8 years old right now. ( I’m coining that phrase.) 😉

    These kids have been able to watch the Messi’s and the Ronaldo’s etc. on TV and idolize them. No other American generation has had that kind of fandom.

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