MLS a year in review. (R)

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by EL MONO MARIO, Nov 15, 2004.

  1. EL MONO MARIO

    EL MONO MARIO Member

    Apr 9, 2002
    Montevideo, Uruguay
    Club:
    CA River Plate
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well another year and another season of MLS... How dose one start off this thread? We'll maybe a single word would help.

    GROWING.

    That is the word that best sums up this year in MLS. A league with a bright future as well as a lot of problems. But you gotta take the good with the bad. This year there will be NO team by team account. As MLS enters it's tenth year starting next year am gonna do a team by team anaysis.

    THE CUP.
    A perfect ending DC champion and Freddy is a winner. DC was the most deserving champion. They played to win. The Wizards just looked dead. Even after an early goal. The moment just seemed to big for the Wizards. It was 3-2. THANK GOD, because there was a moment it might have ended 6-1! The game it self was slow, BUT INTRESTING. the 3-2 scre line made the 2nd half watchable and over all a 6 out of 10. Avergae but w. emotion. The crowd was there 25,000, but LA has proven if LA is NOT in the cup they will NOT go. Nick the pig with all his mishaps should try to get MLS cup to NY/ NJ, but he won't because he is a moron. Over all DC winning and a close sell out MLS should be happy.

    The level of Play.
    Over all this season the level was avergae to horrid. Again after a great start by early may to end of july the level was bad. By play off time the level re grouped and it was watchable again. Again the league in this aspects still has it's up's and downs. There is no solution to this, we'll one in MLS's price range, take the good with the bad a overall 4.5 out of 10 as far as a WHOLE league level of play. Still there are BETTER players out there than in years past. In total a more 2001 season. BUT NOT 1999. How will we sustain a 2000 season is what mls must work on.

    CROWDS
    MLS grew again in attendence. A good sign. And hopefully it will continue to grow. (please let's not talk about inflating numbers ect. let's leave it as is, for now ;) )

    SIDELINES
    Coachs that should have gone went, so that's a good sign. Teams wanna be winners, and are in that frame of mind. In LA it was a MISTAKE, yes, but they took a corse of action. In colorado FINALLY a coaching change. In New England when all looked over for the WORST coach in the league a good playoff run grantees him another year. DC, KC, SJ, LA, NJ seem locked for next year. NE, Dallas, Columbus, and Chicago may still see changes.

    INTERNATIONAL GAME
    Champions world, MLS biggest enemy had a huge shot to the ego as MANU and Celtic BORED sell out crowds. But still Circus soccer like Champions world's Manu aganist Milian, and Barcelona, and Real Madrid will ALWAYS SELL OUT. MLS must simply IGNORE this business and stick to theres. COPA SUDAMERICANA is wide open for MLS to participate. MLS should jump on the oppertunity to play the best in South America. A new world Club championship should give MLS good exposure in 2006. So DC united must make it a mission to win the Concacaf champions cup. Donovan, Besealy will hopefully ride the MLS flag sucess by these two will have a world eye on mls. Stweart will go abroad at 38 and show that there still can be life after MLS.

    OFF The Field.
    New Owners, New SSS stadiums in Colorado and Dallas. Until shovel hit dirt in Chi (They'll get there stadium), and NY/NJ (that won't happen in NJ) I'll belive it. But still SSS are a reality and the league WILL STAY forever. :) ! But a dark cloud still lumes. DC will play in a baseball field next year. In Metro land a front offices is failing to connect with there fans, the fans DEMAND a change, and there stadium, no matter how sugar coated, has recived a HUGE BLOW to the heart. What will happen with the metro"stars" a team that has years go by is fading into DESTRUCTION! 1 small problem and 1 HUGE problem. Crowds in Dallas are non exisistant and hopefully the new stadium and an Identy change will help bring people back if not they will play infront of shinny new empety seats. In New England things are just about the same as in Metroland BUT here things can still be saved. San Jose will be around next year, but will they be around for 2006??? But from the cloud comes sun. Adidas will invest MILLIONS in the league. And hopefully MLS can get more national airtime. New sponsers are coming.

    MLS has come a long way in a year where soccer was avergae at best it seemed that Freddy Mania turned into Corprate mania. As people began to look at this season as a year where the soccer was 2nd to what was going on out side the lines...

    The future looks bright as MLS enters it's tenth year. BUT, and there is a BUT, work must still be done. But for all intensive purposes, and as one of MLS's biggest critics. MLS is on the right track.
     
  2. EL MONO MARIO

    EL MONO MARIO Member

    Apr 9, 2002
    Montevideo, Uruguay
    Club:
    CA River Plate
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Bump. I thought I'd get some replies...
     
  3. Octavius Agustus

    Octavius Agustus New Member

    Jun 5, 2004
    33RD sTREET
    This was my first year watching MLS on saturdays.

    I only got interested because of Adu and this website.

    It was cool, I'll watch it again next year.
     
  4. Saltenya94

    Saltenya94 Member

    Jul 29, 2003
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    DC United
    Mono, I for one enjoy your posts on MLS, you don't pretend to be a cheerleader for the league, but are optimistic in general to what could be. You understand the business, attendance, level of play, stadium atmosphere should be viewed with scrutiny. Here's my take...on how i agree/disagree with you.

    THE CUP
    As for the Final. It wasn't the most exciting game of the year.
    There were better ones, like the 4-4 SJE vs. MET game,
    and of course the 3-3 DCU (by pks 4-3) v. REVs thriller eastern conf. finals

    but the final was good for "neutral" fans b/c of the red card and the 3-2 score, i've seen worst finals in MLS and abroad. and of course Freddy on ABC TV, can't beat that for MLS FO.

    Crowds
    Agree, they looked amazing in LA, strong in DC, and respectable in CLB, and even SJE pulled some strong numbers at the end... of course... how strong is their stay?

    Level of play....
    Well, its getting better, offense is getting a little crisper league-wide. Though one has to wonder are the GKs and D's of MLS that good? This is my first year, following the league this close. The highlights usually looked good to pretty good. And occasionally they looked amazing.

    S'MTHING THAT GOT MY ATTENTION:
    I've also noticed that a lot of the "Goal of the year" nominees; like they were all year long, being a result of direct-kicks. Some were so perfectly placed I wanted to frame them on my wall :)

    ((more than other leagues around the world? You tell me))

    CROWDS
    This is defiantly getting better. "you suck a..." during goal-kicks is common knowledge of the league... now if the could all sing some catchy songs.... well then we'd be talking....

    I agree with the rest of your stuff/kind of tired/and/or gotta get back to work....

    but in closing I defiantly think that this is "NOW TIME" for (in order of 'emergency' starting with:
    FC DALLAS 96 (gotta deliver for fans/on the field) // (filling Frisco//for MLS)
    REVs (look above),
    METRO (" "),
    Western Conf. (I don't have enough info)

    My last comment is that with only 10 teams, the players/fans are going to know each other rather well... there is no "mystique" "danger" of playing outside a hot-streakin' Crew team this past season. Every game is winnable, every game is losable.

    Many posters here say this is great for the league. 1/2 of me agrees. The other 1/2 of me doesn't. I'm split on that one, I will say that. With 12 teams, things will get a little more interesting... Chivas will defiantly be hated by the 'hardcores' and may even bring a few of the uninitiated out to the matches... As for RSL.... really depends how rosters flesh out....

    If they get a
    GK: B to A+
    Defensive unit: A+ to B-
    Mid: B and up
    Strikers: C
    I think they'll have a chance... any C Goalie mixed with a C + Defense is gonna get destroyed..... I for one look will forward to the 10th season opener btw CHV - DCU @ the tool box
     
  5. crusio

    crusio New Member

    May 10, 2004
    Princeton
    Can you some how quantify the BigSoccer effect? Did it get you more interested into the league? Does it make the league more interesting to follow for you?
     
  6. Octavius Agustus

    Octavius Agustus New Member

    Jun 5, 2004
    33RD sTREET
    I stumbled upon this website weeks before the season started, and stayed on as a lurker.

    The 'MLS Teams' forums was the most interesting, the anticipation of the fans for the new season. Reading all the different discussions, I had no idea there were so many hard core, knowledgable(sp?) MLS fans.

    Strangely, I started to care about this league. Trying to find out whom ESPN2 were gonna show the next saturday.

    I think it was more BigSoccer which led me to follow the MLS and not really Freddie Adu.
     
  7. crusio

    crusio New Member

    May 10, 2004
    Princeton
    I suspected as much. BigSoccer should be marketed. It gives fans a place to hear and offer opinions and makes them feel apart of a league where there are very few outlets. I have lured a few fans into the league in a similar way. Took them to a game, then showed them the discussion of that game on the boards. People get into it that way. Thanks for the feedback
     
  8. Onionsack

    Onionsack BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Jul 21, 2003
    New York City
    Club:
    FC Girondins de Bordeaux
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I tend to agree with the above. I didn't really start following MLS until after I started reading BigSoccer. To be honest it is really quite understandable as to why. Here in AMerica there is no real national coverage even on soccer websites. If it wasn't for this site many people would be in the dark about the hapending in the other markets. So much goes unreported in the media. It is like an underground grass roots movement. I must say that I have learned so much by just reading these boards...if the league ever became mainstream would we still need the boards or even need to use them???
     
  9. EL MONO MARIO

    EL MONO MARIO Member

    Apr 9, 2002
    Montevideo, Uruguay
    Club:
    CA River Plate
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The boards will be around forever. MLS will hopefully grow into a mainstay league, and we'll the orginal gangsters will always post here.

    Saltenya, I wish more people were like me... I respect MLS and what they are trying to do, but as optamistic as we MUST BE, FANS MUST STILL BE CRTICS, and not always sugar coat MLS problems...
     
  10. CHICO13

    CHICO13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 4, 2001
    SECTION 135
    Club:
    The Strongest La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    I think one aspect of MLS that has not improved side by side with the rest of the league is the refereeing. I really think MLS needs to address this issue ASAP and begin an inter-exchange with other leagues in the world. MLS play has drastically improved along with the speed of the game and the refs are having a hard time adjusting.**


    **not meant to be referee bashing, but just calling it the way I've seen it over the past few seasons.
     
  11. Talion

    Talion New Member

    May 24, 2004
    VA
    FWIW I am another fan that MLS can thank BigSoccer for. I was amenable to watching soccer because of the US MNT and because Eskandarian was such an exciting player to watch while I was at UVA, but that wasn't enough. Last year I watched a DC game hoping to see Esky and when he didn't play never really picked it up again. Freddy Adu made me take another look this year, and this time I happened on BigSoccer.

    As mentioned above, without any true media attention it is difficult for the casual fan to get to the point where he/she knows enough about what is going on to have a stake in it. As a new DC United fan I knew going in who Eskandarian and Adu were, and to a much lesser MNT players like Earnie Stewart, but BigSoccer filled me in on who Jaime Moreno, Ryan Nelson, etc. were and why I should care about them doing well. And why I should hate the Metrostars. Result? I went from not knowing DC was in the playoffs last year to being at RFK screaming my lungs out for the NE-DC conference final.
     
  12. abilenecosmos

    abilenecosmos Member

    Nov 2, 2004
    The Rock
    All of your coments are along the same lines as what I think. I took my wife to a Burn game this year for the first time. We have only been married for a year and a half, but in this short time she has become a big fan. I actaully would quiz her to see if she could name all the teams and at least one player from each team. I think she sees my enthusiasm and it rubs off on her

    The first game we went to this season we sat close to the Burn's supporter group. Afterward she asked that if we moved to Dallas she wanted to join them, because it looked fun. I have actually done this with a couple of friends. Living in Arkansas soccer is not a well known sport, but almost all of my close friends have gone to a game with me. After just one game they all have told me how much fun it was. What is amazing and you talked about it, is that this was at a Burn game. I can only imagine how much they would have loved the game had it been at a United or Galaxy game.

    My point is, a good way to build fans is going to be through us, the true soccer supporters. I know that I have created fans, just by telling them about the games of the week. They see how I react to my team loosing, and this makes an impression on them. In turn they begin to follow the game as well.
     

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