DISQUS

Hey Kartik, I like the controversy on the subject. I think Beckham was great for the league and his on field failure has to do with management and not his skill. When we look at the tv ratings from now and 10 years ago and see less ratings we are not really exploring the reasons why.

I think when it comes to MLS, it's the glass half empty or half full. I'm one of those who is hopeful of the league, not because I drank the Kool-Aid, but because if you take a look at the history of the NFL,NBA and NHL you can see striking similiraties with the short history of the MLS. In fact, MLS is overcoming more hurdles than these leagues did. We neglect the fact that the modern era of technological globalization and consumerism actually slows the growth of non soccer fans toward soccer. Back then you didn't have the choices you have now, cable and the internet did not exist. Ratings are down across the board, the NBA, NHL, MLB cannot afford to have their most followed teams out of Finals or World Series because ratings go down dramatically. It also includes the regular season. Television, radio, print media, music, they all have suffered because the landscape has changed, it has become more difficult to adapt in order not lose money. Look at the transformations of MTV, talk radio, ESPN to appeal to audiences. MLS is not the exception.

Ten years ago the ratings were a little better, mainly because soccer fans did not have the options they have now. Gol TV, FSC, ESPN Deportes, Justin tv, etc... I'm not making excuses for MLS because until the quality improves and more stars, no gimmick is going to catch the casual viewer. Ratings is the last thing I am worried about when we talk about progression of soccer in this country, don' t get me wrong, it's sad to see anemic ratings. If we study sports history, you will see that the last hurdle for real stablishment for the leagues was televison. That is true for NFL, NBA, NHL and WWE(I don't consider it a sport). MLS still has a lot of growing to do and there are different phases that we must go through in order to get to where we want to be.

ESPN has a lot to be blamed for when it comes to the type of image that MLS has in America. You cannot sell a product when the people who sell don't know the product. A buddy of mine that I use to work with, now works for ESPN Deportes in Bristol. He was part of the production crew for MLS Primetime and he tells me that there was no real commitment to give a good product even if the hosts wanted to, no real understanding from executive producers. Believe me, a good show starts at the top, not with the host. ESPN Deportes is succesful because they have people in charge who understand and are passionate about soccer and know what people want . I really believe that if ESPN showed good analysis and more coverage, the other hosts and commentators wouldn't be so quick to make dumb comments, completely disrespecting our league. I don't believe that this will make soccer way more popular, but it will help.

MLS will keep growing, just look at Seattle and Toronto.

I understand that there are different ways of going forward with soccer in America, however, I think we cannot convert people who do not like soccer. Americanizing the sport would lead to disrespect and it would be a detriment to what has been built already. We have to focus legitimizing our league, MLS has a bright future, even if it's not to the expectation of many or if it never reaches the level of attention fo NFL or MLB. There will be kids who will support MLS more and more even if they are a minority.

Bringing and developing more quality players for MLS is the most important part of the growth of our soccer. It will slowly make the league better and give it more support. The soccer fan in America is very knowledgeable and it will know the difference of good league and a bad. We see the support that Real Madrid, Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona get when they come to play here. There are fans but we have to convert them by giving them a quality league that will be respected around the world and can give them the good soccer that they like to see when they watch European soccer or Brazilian, Argentine and Mexican leagues. The question is are we are walking that path? I believe yes, although there are stumbles we are creating a base of fans that over the years will keep growing and give the league an identity.
Rome was not built in a day and not in 14 years either or any other league in America.

Mitch, what would you do differently to make soccer successful in America?

Sorry, it's I can't not I can.

Completely agree with you Kartik. I think we have a big problem trying to promote MLS, Espn did a good job with the Euro, I don't think they know how to reach people and the quality definitely needs to be better so it's easier to promote. I can see any other sport getting the kind of hatred that soccer does and that fact that ESPN allows it, it's mindboggling. I think this is good, but we need more quality so MLS is not considered minor league. I love this site by the way.

Do i need to really watch the Syrian league to say it's not better than the MLS?. I lived in Honduras for ten years and constantly watched competition against Costa Rican teams, historically it's close but Costa Rica has the edge with their league and national team. The fact that Costa Rica's Saprissa and Alajuelense; Honduras' Marathon and Olimpia do well internationally does not mean that they have better leagues. They have more money and year after year dominate the league because of disparity in competition. How come you don't hear Deportes Savio in Honduras or Carmelita in Costa Rica winning anything or having winning records. Because they are small leagues with few giants. How come San Luis and Tecos are good in Mexico, the Crew won here and RSL are good in this league(small teams). Kartik, you are absolutely right when you say the top 2 teams in Costa Rica can play in Mexico and head to head against MLS have had the advantage. It does not mean that the overall league is better. Parity in Mexico and here allow the leagues to be more competitive overall. I am not saying MLS is at par with Mexico but overall have a better league than in Central America. It's like saying that Peru has a better league than Uruguay because in the past Alianza Lima has beat Penarol in the Libertadores. Watch Ramonense in Costa Rica, Vida in Honduras, Jalapa in Guatemala, Metapan in El Salvador and tell me if those teams are better than San Jose or L.A. Again, how come the same teams from Central America are always going to the CCL? Yes, the top teams have a lot of quality and can win against MLS, it does not mean that those teams represent the whole league. Watch Central American competition like I do, not just the top teams and let me know if you have the same opinion.

Before you write an article like this, do a little research. IFFHS last year named an Arab player, Mohamed Aboutreika, the most popular in the world in 2007 and this year the Honduran forward Oscar David Suazo was way over C. Ronaldo or Messi. This should make me happy because my roots are Honduran, but it's just simply not true. I voted for Suazo at least 20 times. You have to understand that this organization by making an equation has placed MLS 77th. We can come up with one the places this league above La Liga, but that is just absurd. Just because we read something it does not make it true, lets be a little more objective and analytical before we start going crazy over a list that makes absolutely no sense. Syria, Uzbekistan, Singapore, 30 spots over the US. The fact that you took this seriously makes me doubt your judgment when you tried to rationalize that MLS is at least in the top 50 and the Costa Rican league(who only have historically three competitive teams) is better overall than the MLS. It's your opinion and you are entitled to it, but you are basing it on bogus rational.

Great interviews, finally someone with some sense of the real state of MLS. Everyone keeps dogging for the Beckham signing, but the haters fail to realize that he helped orchestrate the best offense in the regular season, the defense and the goalie were terrible. I'll say it again, we need two dp's with little or no effect on the cap and the cap to be at least 4 million. That is the only way to compete for good players and to keep the good American players here, it would also raise the minimum wages for some players. There has to be a way we can work with USL to officially become the second division. It would require a lot of money invested but in the long run it would help and solidify soccer in this country for both leagues.

Thanks for the great job, love the site.

It's a good signing, not symbolic.

Miami has the largest Central and SouthAmerican soccer loving community in the U.S. If there is a good product fans will go. You get Henry, Crespo, Riquelme, Adriano or any other quality player here with a good team, for ex.: Chicago, Miami FCB will be a success. When the Fusion started winning the interest and attendance grew and they were playing in Ft. Lauderdale. For those who argue why give Miami a second chance? Why give MLS a chance when the NASL folded and soccer never materialized in this country?

I go to FIU and it only takes me twenty minutes to get there with traffic and 10 to the orange bowl. FIU is way closer than Lockhart stadium, it's the same as going to the AAA for a lot of pleople. The problem is not the location, the Dolphins last year had terrible attendance cause they sucked, same thing as the Panthers, the Heat and the Marlins; when they win they start drawing just like this year. It's about putting an a good team on the field.

Kartik is right, the fans here do expect more, the thing is that we have to have a good team with attractive football, quality players like Henry, Riquelme or Veron to be the face of the team, maybe land Ronaldhino in a couple of years. If you guys remember, the Fusion averaged 11,000 until the team got good and started drawing close to 15,000. Alex Pineda Chacon helped bring in a lot of Honduran fans to Lockhart, and we are the biggest melting pot in the US. It has to do with a quality team more than anything else.

Rod, first of all you have to get your facts straight, i think you're stuck in the 90's. Heard of Brian Mcbride, Brad Friedel or Tim Howard to name a few, heroes in the best league in the world. The problem is that you think someone cares if YOU watch soccer or not. We don't need your vote to succeed in this country, MLS is not counting on people with you're mindset. We are going for the kids or the fans who connect and identify with the league and in another 10 years see the results. Believe me, if MLS cared about what you thought they would have folded in 2000. Can you tell me how long football, basketball and hockey struggled to become what they are now? Baseball was king, the NFL got recognition in the 50's, NBA in the 70s, and hockey was relegated, but people grew into it. Baseball was king for the majority of the last century and there were a lot of haters of others sports, but the problem is that there is always a market, that's why this country is so great. It doesn't matter if people put MLS down, there is a market that is growing, slowly but growing, and there are business people who are recognizing it now so they can cash in later. This league is going to enter it's 14th year, can u remember the state of the NBA when it was 14 years old. We are not trying to take over but we will succeed.

Creo que Beckham tiene mucho que dar. Primero que esta en un equipo malo, que tal si estuviera en el Revolution o el mismo Crew, la historia seria diferente. El es otro tipo de jugador, ha jugado bien, no es un diez o un delantero que desequilibra la defensa. Si Blanco estuviera en el Galaxy tampoco hubieran pasado a los playoffs porque la defensa es muy mala. Ahora que vaya al Milan nos daremos cuenta que es todavia un jugador de calidad. Esperemos que el Galaxy con Bruce Arena pongan un equipo eficiente en la cancha que pueda contener los ataques con su linea. Si vemos los partidos, los jugadores que tenian en el equipo no son muy buenos, como se le puede pedir mas si el talento no esta al nivel de dos jugadores como el Ingles y Donovan que necesitan un grupo por lo menos promedio para ganar; no se olviden que por mucho tiempo el Galaxy tuvo la mejor ofensiva en la liga pero no podian parar a nadie. La culpa es de Alexi Lalas por poner un equipo mediocre en la cancha.

Creo que esto es muy bueno para la MLS, no solo por los miles de Hondurenos que los apoyarian pero son jugadores baratos y de buena calidad.

I would like to know what the ratings are for Telefutura, back then we only had ABC in the tv deal. I think that combined the ratings are a lot more for the Final. Great points are being made, sadly the only way for MLS to attract the other fans is to raise the salary cap to probably 5 million and get at least 2 DP's. Probably rethink the whole thing, although I don't it's going to happen; probably use another formula. It sucks for us, the ones who defend American soccer, but we need more stars with quality and caliber like Schelotto and Henry. Guys that can play, improve the league and bring in fans. Overall the progress is very slow, but is good.

Great Article, I completely agree! I think there has to be a real push for advertising to be a lot better than what it is. Compare NBA, NFL or MLB's commercials to MLS and you see a very big difference: they are more exciting. It seems that our creativity is only to showcase goals and celebrations which do not do anything else to make MLS more exciting. There has to be better promotion of our exciting plays, tackles, footwork , fans, in a more creative and passionate way geared to the national viewer. Just look at the advertising in Euro 2008, a complete contrast to our league. Showcase players like Robbie Rogers, they create excitement every time they touch the ball, make a sincere effort to make soccer more aggressive and to reverse the thought that soccer is a soft sport, especially in America. There are a lot of things to fix and to change but as long as we don't speak our mind and don't try to bring in other potential fans, support sites like this one, e-mail the networks and demand better coverage, we are going to be stuck on this topic forever because we don't create the demand. I'm a marketing major at FIU, it frustrates me to think that this is what we market to the young kid who potentially might get hooked on the sport because he or she saw one of the faces of the league pull of an incredible play to win the game; lust like Tom Brady or Kobe. We don't have the resources, so we must do grassroot efforts to help our league. I saw the final with an MLS fan and two guys who only watch the World Cup, they were impressed with the level of play and will go to games if we get a team down here. It's going to take work , but we can improve it.

I can't believe what i read... Mexico does not have more talent than the US, they have less than 20 players in European clubs, which only Guardado and Marquez have regular spots. The rest, just like Adu and Altidore don't play regurarly, they sit on the bench and come in as a sub, if they play a full game they don't get continuity. Compare those number to almost 60 Americans in Europe. The ones with regular playing time are more Americans than Mexicans. If we talk about talent, tell me a Mexican player other than Marquez that cannot be matched by an American like Bradley or Beasley. We have a bigger quantity of quality young players in Europe than Mexico, so in five years these players are going to get much better, giving the US a better future. Check yanks-abroad.com and mexicanoseneuropa.com to look at the numbers and the teams.

I'm happy to see the U.S. future players doing very well. They were composed, passed well and played entertaining soccer. I wish Jamaica would have advanced to leave Mexico out of it. For too long Mexico has been arrogant about the region, knowing very well that the US team has now been better for a while and can't accept it. They have this false superiority, thinking they are in par with Argentina and Brazil. Honduras and Costa Rica have great players in Europe, the only problem is structurally but other than that Mexico is not superior anymore. The US plays fast paced soccer that other teams can't handle, these guys are only getting started. Mexicans are crybabies who are getting left behind with dirt in their face. All we need is to beat them in Mexico so they can't talk any more crap.

I think that as hardcore soccer fans we see the things that are wrong with soccer in America, however, we have to remind ourselves that this league has actually done very well if you put into account the short history and the saturation of sports of this country. We know that there are plenty of things to be corrected, but is part of the growing process. If the NASL would have done what the MLS did structurally, i'm sure the league would have passed the NHL already and be considered as a major sport. MLS has a good foundation, we just have to be patient, we are barely in the developing stages of the league.
Also, there is a lot of bias from journalists, for ex.: Jim Rome and many others that do not give soccer any respect; they bash it and do not acknowledge anything good. You do not see that much hate toward extreme sports, wnba, bowling, strongest man competition, etc.. These sports are truly minor league but they do not get the bias and negativity that some journalists have against soccer. This negative coverage influences the young viewers who discount the league just because of what they hear. For the exception of mma, soccer is the sport that is actually growing. We need quality players for a quality product, but it takes time to do it right. We have to look at the big picture.