I thought that that was a pretty respectable article. It didn't place unrealistic hopes on MLS, just stated the facts matter of factly(except for MLS starting prior to WC94). I liked it and would have to agree that Fulham would have a slight edge in recruiting players to the EPL over other mid table teams.
Umm. I know some on bigsoccer would like for baseball to disappear like this, but sadly for them, it hasn't. Decent article inspite of a couple gaffs like this one and the one old man mentioned.
"Although the American sports industry has been largely dominated by the three main domestic sports, soccer gained something of a foothold following the inception of Major League Soccer prior to the 1994 World Cup." Actually, this remark is accurate: while MLS didn't kick a ball in anger until 1996, the decision and effort to get MLS up and running pre-dates the 1994 World Cup, and was actually a key to being awarded the FIFA finals that year in the first place. The Magpie
"With fellow compatriots like Brian McBride, Tim Howard, Claudio Reyna and Kasey Keller all doing a fine job in representing the cream of the MLS," did reyna and keller ever play in the mls. im pretty sure reyna never did, not sure about keller though.
Neither have ever played in MLS. Keller played in the A-League for the Sounders. Reyna went straight from UVA to Bayer.
Other than the fact that the NHL plays 82 game a year vice the 30 played in Soccer, The average attendance is higher for MLS than the NHL I believe.. or if its not its very very close. MLS still needs some time, it will overtake the NHL in the next few years. I made an analogy in another thread somewhere, where your person who grew up on MLS is around 13 years old right now. They need another 7 or so years to actually graduate high school, get a job, transportation and have a little extra income to actually go to the games. 15 years of any league would seam about right, as most children start to learn about sports and what not around the age of 5 given there parents actually watch sports.
If the NHL follows through with this lockout, I guarantee it will disappear much sooner than a few years. That league seemingly has all the symptoms that plagued the NASL (Too many teams, too many moves too soon, fewer and fewer domestic stars, etc.).