Thinking back on the first couple seasons of MLS, there's a temptation to remember it as having resembled the NASL. Most of the memorable names from that period were aging foreigners like Zenga, Donadoni, Branco, and Hugo Sanchez, as well as some more effective old-timers such as Preki, Valderrama, Warzycha, and Mo Johnston. Under scrutiny, however, this comparison falls apart. NASL teams often had a lot of veteran players, while MLS teams had very few. Typically, the lion's share of an MLS line-up was in its 20's. Over-30's accounted for only 20.1% of MLS minutes played in 1996. More strikingly, players over the age of 33 accounted for only 2.9%. (When Valderrama began, he was already one of the three oldest players in the league.) In the years that followed, most of MLS's improvement came from its veterans. Gradually, the league acquired a pool of reliable performers, as well as team leaders like Balboa and Agoos. Experienced players were vital because college players have never set MLS on fire right away, and Project-40 didn't pay immediate dividends. In fact, there was a long-lived shortage of young players. Before Convey and Damarcus Beasley emerged in the league's fifth season (2000), there wasn't a single teen-ager who had won an MLS starting job. The closest was Ramiro Corrales, who had five starts as a 19-year-old. Since then, however, there has been another sea change. Contraction fell squarely on the shoulders of veteran players, eliminating the likes of Ian Bishop, Eric Wynalda, Raul Diaz Arce, and Chris Martinez. Plenty of others are near the end, too. Mauricio Cienfuegos deserves a salute this weekend, as does Jim Rooney. Personally, I'll miss watching many of the older guys. At the same time, this is definitely part of a natural cycle. Young talent has finally taken center stage. Hurray for Twellman and Ruiz!
If anything the biggest 'trauma' of early MLS was that the players, both US and foreign (but principally the Americans ones), sent to 'dominate' the league by and large failed to do so. It was a young man's league, which was good for the long term (when more and more young men came into the league), but a problem in those first couple seasons.
Well, with a few minor quibbles (naperville, SafePlay, our team sucking this year with no options to replace our injured reserves), this has been, IMHO, the best MLS season yet. The games were on tv at a reasonable hour, and pretty much the same time each week for most of the season. The level of play was pretty consistent, and not consistently low, even on a team thrice or more times decimated by injury. The news came out that the league had been screwing with the refs, so that explains the bad officiating, and now maybe something will be done about that too. The schedule was a very friendly one for those interested in road trips. Fados Columbus started sending a bus of yellow fans to share in the humiliation of losing on the crappiest field in the league Downside: LA looks like it's probably win the domestic treble this year. Upside: Chicago's gonna have to work twice as hard next season to redeem itself.
I agree. My only squabble is with the inDemand fiasco at the end of the year with games disappearing and being tape delayed.
That's a downside? Should LA take the Treble this year, it would make a great story. Especally when you consider everything the league does to insure parity.
Yeah, but it's LA. I think you've surpassed DC as the most hated team Speaking of coming of age, I suspect that in 20 years (if MLS still is around then), we'll all look back and see when MLS actually arrived. We won't know until then though. Sachin
L.A. taking the Treble would be an awesome redemption story after all the trips to the big dance only to come away empty. I'd like to say that MLS has come of age, but I think the World Cup gave a bump up - on the other hand, the league didn't do much to capitalize on that, so perhaps the current success really belongs to MLS alone.
Um, I don't get this. Why the change? Major Soccer League? That just sounds stupid. I'm taking it as a slam until informed otherwise with something at least vaguely credible.
Attendance Sunday at MLS Cup surpassing attendance at the World Series that day would be kind of interesting.
No it wouldn't. What would be a better story is the Gal's trophy case collecting only marginally less dust than the Metrostars. Of course, that's just my opinion, but I happen to be right Sachin
Come on. The Leering Press here in the US is just as likely to call us MSL as the British Press--accidentally or otherwise--maybe more so. MLS' big enemies (and many of those most ignorant about anything meaningful about MLS) are right here at home--the ones who are so dependent on traditional domestic sports that they get almost apoplectic when someone starts to talk about soccer.
Coming of age...MLS, yes....media, no! I think the MLS has definitely proven itself. It's just the fans and coverage we need to work on. In Colorado, the Rapids outdraw the Nuggets, but the media still pretty much ignore the MLS (although the Rapids playoff run did garner a few front sports page headlines). Take the LA Galaxy's birth in the defunct World Club Championships, and the recent DC United win against Tottenham in London. And of course, the fact that the USA Nat'l team had the great run in the World Cup using several young MLS stars. Hopefully the US media will give the MLS the attention it deserves, instead of focusing so much on sports that can't even outdraw the MLS on any given night.
MLS is only 7 years old. At this point it still believes girls have cooties, Santa Claus is real, it was brought by a stork, and the boogey-man is under the bed/in the closet. Right now long division is a year or two away, cookies make a viable replacement for dinner (this will still apply 13 years from now), boxers are as of yet undiscovered, and its first pubes are a half a decade away. MLS is nowhere near coming of age. When the learners permit arrives, then we'll talk.
I am the Spurs vs. DC United game. A couple of points: 1) There were 4 first teamers playing (Keller, Carr, Etherington, Rebrov) 2) 1 who doesn't start (Rebrov) 3) The rest were past it 4) All of DC United players were under 25 Not to be pessimistic but it is true. Spurs especially since most the players are 40 played very very well. DC United played well but they had most of their normal starters (exceptions: Jeff Agoos, Wade Barrett), by the way where was Eddie Pope. Ben Olsen was praised by the commentator which I think shows how much they like him over there but I feel that maybe it wasn't deserved becasue Olsen played well but not sensationally well.
Pretty much says it all. Someone had another post about TV Ratings. They off handedly pointed out that NASCAR now is the number 2 sport in TV ratings, ahead of Basketball and Baseball. Think about that for a moment. A long time ago I was a kid watching King Petty, Yarborough, Baker, Fireball, et al, racing, banging, fighting..it was glorius. It was also on ABCs Wide World of Sports, delayed a good week or two after the real events. Ratings? Next to nothing. That was a generation or two ago. Now, NASCAR is second only to gambling assisted NFL. Has NASCAR come of age? Oh, yeah baby. But it probably took a dead Dale Earnhardt to seal the deal. What will it take of MLS? A world cup. When you see the US hoist the cup, you will know that MLS has come of age. Until then, its all just good clean fun.
Actually all of the following Tottenham first teamers played at one point or another: Poyet, Sheringham, Rebrov, Keller, Freund, Carr, Hirschfeld, Henry, Clemence, Doherty, Perry, Bunjevcevic, Blondel, Etherington. That's 14, not 4. 4 is closer to the number of old timers who played for Tottenham. (Klinsmann, Waddle, Ginola, Gascoigne, Clive Allen). Obviously this was a friendly and didn't represent Tottenham at their Premiership best, but nor was it chipper young DC United beating up on the Old Folks Home XI.
I would say that the league made dramatic improvements this year, especially in the overall level of play. Compared to even just three years ago, there is a big difference. Soccer has the most attractive consumer group right now... kids. When the kids become adults, they will want soccer. Most people over 35 in this country have no real affiliation with soccer. Their kids might play, but they have probably never even seen an MLS game. Things WILL change, there is no doubt about it, and when they do, I hate to say it but soccer won't be so great to us anymore. Right now is the most exciting time there will ever be for soccer in this country. It is still grassroots. We are underdogs. When corporations and the media get a hold of it, and everyone knows who Freddy Adu is, and we win the World Cup, it will cease to be so exciting, and will just be another sport that America is expected to win at. That's no fun.