MLS Finally Coming of Age
At the tender age of 5 1/2, Major League Soccer is already the most successful soccer league ever in the United States. This year is its best yet.
Bit by bit--at an almost agonizing pace for soccer die-hards--the league is becoming a more accepted piece of the American sports scene. Even soccer-haters will see the standings in the paper and grudgingly admit they know what a “D.C. United” is.
MLS-bred players are helping the U.S. national team blitz through World Cup qualifying, even dominating the opposition at times. No team has moved or folded, both regular occurrences in the old NASL. Long-suffering teams in Miami and San Jose are actually winning for a change and thus attracting more fans, and attendance leaguewide is up 13 percent from last year.
MLS has even spawned a new phrase--”soccer-specific stadium” -- as cities around the league plan to follow Columbus’ lead and build cozy 20,000-30,000-seat facilities so the game and its fans aren’t lost in huge arenas like Giants Stadium.
Even so, there is still a long way to go. Any dreams that the league would become an NFL-sized success overnight should never have been dreamed in the first place.
“This business is about being slow, steady and consistent,” commissioner Don Garber said. “And providing a great product on the field. The key to that is to continue to develop our own model--to not think we are football or basketball or baseball that’s been around for 100 years. . . . We need to get closer to being part of the sports culture in this country.”
In fact, MLS could be called a rousing success if it weren’t for one thing: $250 million in losses in its first five years.
While the average crowd of 15,000 or so can match those drawn by NBA and NHL teams, the tickets are cheaper and there are fewer games. Television ratings are far from being good enough to attract the huge network contracts awarded to other major leagues.
In other words, the casual fan has yet to tune in or show up.
“The soccer community has embraced us,” Miami general manager Doug Hamilton said after the Fusion attracted a season-high 14,856 for their first game at the Orange Bowl. “We haven’t even begun to try and attract the casual fan yet.”
Three-time U.S. World Cup midfielder Tab Ramos wonders if the non-soccer fan is even worth the effort. Ramos, spinning the standard pro-soccer argument, said the future lies with children who play the game and stay with it.
“I don’t think you can convert people into becoming soccer fans,” said Ramos, who plays for the New York-New Jersey MetroStars. “If you follow baseball, you’re still going to follow baseball. You’re not going to go to soccer. The opposite is going on in Europe. They tried to take baseball and the world football league to Europe. That’s never going to catch on; there’s not enough support.
“The big difference in this country is the kids who started playing. These people now are parents, and now they have their kids coming. Soccer will continue to grow at the youth level, and I think eventually it’ll pay off at our level.”
By far, MLS’ greatest positive influence has been on the U.S. national teams. Not only is the senior team about to qualify for its fourth straight World Cup, but the under-23, under-20 and under-17 teams have excelled in various international tournaments in the past year.
Teen-agers such as DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Landon Donovan and Santino Quaranta are developing in MLS, providing depth for the future. It’s a huge evolution from a decade ago, when Americans not ready to play in Europe had nowhere else to turn.
“Right across the board, we have a lot of options at every position,” national team coach Bruce Arena said. “I attribute that type of depth to the MLS, which is about developing American players and is doing a good job of it.”
Despite its financial struggles, MLS isn’t in danger of disappearing. Its investors have deep pockets and a passion for the game.
“The league came in with a big bang,” Garber said. “Five-and-a-half years later, we’re still here. We have credibility and acceptance. That staying power says something to what our future holds for us. We’re going to be here for a long time.”
