Just rewatched the AC Milan game highlights. How far we’ve fallen. Although it was a good flashback to see Troy Perkins give up a soft goal. That’s a tradition that has continued to say the least.
Madrid was in Seattle. I think. You all hated these friendlies as well. So don't retcon like you cared the first time.
I was there. One of the hottest games I’ve ever gone to. Ended up with heat exhaustion and sunburn and was sick the next few days. My fondest memory of the game was watching good old Fred nutmeg Cristiano Ronaldo and going around him.
The DC Defenders are running it up on Michigan and are going to win the UFL Championship Game. Is there anything for the Spirit NWSL Championship in the stadium? You know damn well that wasn't the point of the post.
Went to the Salzburg vs Al-Hillal match. Friend had a spare, so I went. Pretty crowded stadium, and I’m guessing 96% of them would never set foot in that stadium again to see a MLS match. Depressing knowing this country is filled with tons of soccer fans that would never attend a domestic league match. And I don’t blame them. I used to, but not anymore. This league is garbage compared to what else is out there.
I understand the feeling -- but. If the standard is those clubs that won championships in their regions, everybody will be disappointed. When in Lucca, I try to catch one or two matches. Lucca is in Serie C. At times you will see brilliance, oft times you will see beer league mistakes. The number of players who can consistently perform in their sports is vanishingly small. Nevertheless, I enjoy the Lucca matches, listening to the ultras sing and chant all match long and realize I am a very small part of a soccer community in Lucca that is over a century old. Closer to home, if perfection is the standard, then don't go to Loudoun who are playing out of their minds given the state of that club. Sports is entertainment and, hopefully, a shared culture. I no longer have season tickets to DCU, not because the league is "garbage", but because Levien/Kaplan have no seeming interest in creating an on field product that can compete successfully in the league whether that league is "garbage" or not. YMMV.
About a week ago I went to 2 Annapolis Blues games (men and women) with about 5k others. The level I'm sure was lower than all of the teams you are mentioning since these were all amateurs but I will go again. It helped that I could and did walk to the games.
It’s amazing you would write this when you’re posting about the CWC, where MLS has shown up pretty well. We’re garbage, but the league is not.
The Union released salary info. DC is 25th out of 30. I don’t know if that includes what we’re paying Klich or not.
Put these MLS teams in a tournament outside of this country and see what happens. Auckland, outside of the Bayern game, held up remarkably well, and they are all amateur players. Something tells me there isn’t max effort or caring at the moment.
It doesn't include Klich's salary, but it shows the full $1.3 million for Randall Leal. Kye Rowles only has a base salary of $292,500--I thought he would be closer to a million. Schnegg has a base salary of $600,000 and Bartlett is $450,000 in base salary. Antley is a starter, and he's at $104,000, the same as Dodson and Tubbs. Ours is truly a bargain-basement defense, even with Herrera at $825,000. On the alumni defender front, Hines-Ike, who has been very good at Austin, is at $325,000. Andy Najar is $250,000, and he's now an all-star. Chris McVey has been a solid regular starter at San Diego and he's at $300,000 base. Throw in Derrick Williams' $450,000 at Atlanta--he's been spotty there just as he was here--and that's a decent, budget-friendly batch of defenders that Mackay waived for budget reasons.
Here's the full list. https://s3.amazonaws.com/mlspa/2025-Spring-Salary-Release.pdf?mtime=20250625163748