I'll give it a C+. Year 11 should be much better with the opening of Bridgeview (hopefully), and with a finished PHP. The most positive signs this year have been the coverage and attendance in SLC, the steady numbers in DC (with the Freddy draw being worn out), the Galaxy attendance (could be more than 5 sellouts), and the fact that MLS is finding ways to bring in and keep quality players. I'm hoping Juan Pablo Garcia starts a trend, and we start getting all the top talent in concacaf, and some from Mexico and South America. The negative signs have been the stagnant attendance at Crew games. Hopefully with a better team and coach in the future, they will be able to regain their old attendance figures, but I have my doubts. The ongoing saga in KC has taken all remaining life out of the market until maybe a sss is built. Chicago's attendance has been troubling, but I think that will be dealt with when Bridgeview opens up. By next season we could have new owners of 3 franchises (DC, SJ[CA], and KC), and the number of teams in sss' should be up to 5. Then in 2007, we could have 2 new owners in Milwaukee and Toronto, both of which would likely open in a sss.
B.. Only ten years old and producing some good talent and stadiums are going up and will continue to go up.. (except in NY/NJ, of course)
B seems about right. The young talent in MLS is great to watch. I just hope they stay and don't all run to Europe for $$$$$$$.
C, call me crazy I expected this year to be a banner year... I am still holding out that the rest of the season can spice up some more. I was in a state of shock as to how terrible the first few weeks of attendance was. I am very disappointed in Kansas City, as usual, and I wish San Jose could stick around from all the rumors I hear of them being moved.
I'd give it a B-. The product is great and improving. I've gradually and congruently become attached with the league as it has grown. I've gone something like this: 96-98 indifferent, one game per season 99-00 interested, attend a few games 01-02 became a Quakes fan, attending all home games 03-now love the Quakes...season tickets...Big Soccer member ...very informed about the league and team. With that said If i get screwed and the Quakes leave...so do I.
I gave a B. It has some exciting players and overall the play is improving. There are a few teams now that deserve larger crowds. Unfortunately, scheduling fixtures on International game days is a huge problem. Many of the best teams are shorn of their top talents. With the Gold Cup smack in the middle of the regular season crippling rosters league-wide for several weeks, and CONCACAF qualifiers sprinkled throughout the season, the conflicts are frequent in what should be a banner year. How is the regular season to be judged fairly when teams are given fair conditions to contest the matches? This makes comparing one team to another more difficult and diminishes the league season at the same time. For this reason, I cannot give Year 10 an A. In fact, is it too late to change my grade to C?
Did you seriously expect the expansion teams to play quality soccer? In what other sport do expansion teams contend their first season? Only the Chicago Fire, in all the history of American sports, have done it.
I gave it a B. Pleased with the progress. Expansion was mentioned, how about these facts... Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA averaged 14,445 a game in their inaugural year. I'd say the MLS teams are doing just fine. The Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL averaged 10,400 in the first year of 1993. Overall, average hockey attendence is at about 17,000, not much more than MLS. The majority of hockey clubs are losing money. It's a matter of time before MLS over takes Hockey.
B - love the game, and while I am overjoyed not to have to listen to Rob Stone on broadcasts recently, I still would like someone far more entertaining calling the matches, i.e. Ray Hudson, he's incredible. since most the MLS I see is via espn2, I believe MLS should make a concerted effort to show good matches. I'm aware they don't have a crystal ball, but seriously, the Crew & the Rapids are almost never fun to watch. park those broadcasts in LA. every chivas/galaxy match should be shown.
C. The league is slowly on the way up but slow play and poor refereeing still plague development. Quality is still not there, MLS teams are routinely beat by Costa Rican, Caribbean teams etc. So C is for an average league with nothing too extraordinary.
Miami Fusion that same year were also good, so technically this is the first time the expansions have been really bad.
We are on an upward trend, marketing and media coverage seems to have picked up this year. For this I give it a B; would have given an A if attendance had kept pace also.
Ray Hudson has totally lost his mind..... Have you seen that American Soccer show on Gol TV? He can't even talk anymore.
I'd give it a C or C-. The quality is still not there, come on people stop fooling yourselves, these matches are nothing to compare with what you see in other leagues. Until every team has their own soccer-specific stadium of about 25,000 seats and more quality players come over prior to the end of their careers, this league will not make it a big 5 in our country, it'll stay the big 4 for some time (mlb, nfl, nba & nhl...barely). I'd absolutely love to have a league here in the USA that rivals European clubs in signing talented players, but for now the wages are too low to attract anybody of real quality...just cast-offs. just my opinion...but, you know what, the truth hurts!
JP77....Nobody is fooling themselves. The thread pertains to a grade of the league on its 10th yr of existence. The grading is of the league as its own entity not a comparison to other local sports or other soccer leagues. How could u compare the tradition and time of existence of the EPL, Spain's La Liga or any other Eurpoean league that has existed for nearly a century with MLS decade.
Those leagues are the measuring stick though. If we are grading purely on the quality of the league, then comparisons must be drawn between existing leagues and MLS. Otherwise the grading would be meaningless.
I give it a C+, the game really needs to pick up speed. A bit clumsy at times but much better from the first season. I love reading about how the league is expanding and teams are trying to get their own SSS but the fans really need to show up to the games, we can't say players need to be paid more when the attendance revenue isn't there, is also just so much more fun to watch when you hear team songs in the background. I'll give it a B- if it wasn't for those stupid horns that just makes the game look even slower, but I think if more ppl showed up, you could over-shadow those annoying things. Just imagine the game with a full crowd singing the local team song, I dont think it would look that slow as compared to listening to those horns. I want to see how DC United measures up in the upcoming Copa Sudamericana, thats another way of seeing how the teams have come along.
Hunh? He's the best person they have in that show. best show Gol TV has after FIFA Futbol Mundial of course. Which says a lot for American Soccer. The other 2 try hard, and are ok. But Hudson is Hudson. Mr. quote machine is rarely a let down. GRADES: YOU GOT IT! B-/C+ The bad: Chivas USA. Metro stadium. Worrisome numbers in Colombus. Uncertain numbers in S.J. + KC. Overall low att. this year esp. from the start. That moving-cam ESPN/ABC had, that fell like bird dung from the sky at the very first ever LAG -Chivas USA classico. Which was unceremoniosly delayed by the high-rated NFL draft. THE GOOD: EJ + Ruiz machine in FCD. The "Young Americans" machine in New England. DC United, strong numbers at home. Even with below .500 record. Galaxy, RSL, with strong numbers as well. New FCD uniforms, best move UP for MLS in ages. Good gawd those burn jerseys were awfully kindergarden. FCD stadium opening up in less than a month, according to interviews with the Hunt Group it will be a step where they will avoid some of the aesthethic mistakes from Crew Stadium. We'll see what the initial reports say when comparing both Hunt stadiums. Bridgeville design appears to have a classic brick style oven look slash new age soccer stadium. Dare I say it, Bridgeville might even be a nicer stadium than Carson Street. Expansion seems to be getting smarter, and this alone is good news for MLS' new way of thinking slash doing business. NO MORE, Metro playing infront of 12k in a huge 80k stadium for ESPN2. Instead, smaller markets with less summer competition = better attended stadiums on ESPN2. RSL smash success at the gate. RSL soccer fans saviness- who would have thought? DC United getting to play in Copa Sudamericana (despite) getting trounced 6-1 aggregate by Pumas UNAM in the Concacaf Champions Cup. FSC earning its name by covering more soccer than it did as FSW, especially the CCC. Thanks, I'm here all week.