MLS SoccerTalk

“YEEEEAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

The newest version of one of the world’s oldest sport is ripping through the Western Hemisphere like the ecstatic catchphrase of its chief commentator. North America finally knows what it feels like to jump fist-pumping into the air for its own city’s achievements in the game of soccer, and not for some country it pulled out of a hat during World Cup qualifying. Americans (and Torontonians) can now use words like cross and corner without sounding like they’re giving directions to a tourist. The beautiful game can now be considered everyone’s game… or can it?

Do you know the names of at least 3 teams in MLS? Did it take you less than 20 minutes to find the league’s website (mlsnet.com)? Do you think it’s perfectly normal to have an energy drink as the name of your home team? Have you ever even watched a single game?? If you answered no to any of these questions, Major League Soccer has failed. Failed to break through to the closed-minded personalities of North American sports fans across the spectrum. It has failed because we just found out about soccer 5 years ago, and it’s our fault.

It seems as though almost nothing could break through our baseball and football filled hearts, but MLS is really giving it a shot. As America is becoming a true contender on the world stage, its fans need to feel the game back at home on Astroturf and not on the muddy fields of countless European towns. The team after all its recent achievements (at least at this years U-20…) deserves that its fans can actually sit down and enjoy watching a soccer match, and not because it’s the only thing on TV. We can’t keep shouting at the refs that every single slide tackle should be a red card! We need to know what’s going on, and here comes MLS to the rescue.

Players from all over the world are beginning to recognize the rise in maturity of MLS as a league, and are coming over to get in on the action. Scottish league, Spanish league, Premiership, and Dutch league players have already made the transition into the American soccer scene. Some, like Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid’s David Beckham are crossing the Atlantic to reverberate their careers. And the hype doesn’t hurt either. Mlsnet.com has a countdown to the arrival of their Messiah (just kidding) Beckham, and LA Galaxy jersey sales have done through the roof. It appears as though it’s only a matter of time until MLS grows to such a point where marquee European players choose American residency over the big Pound contracts of their home countries.

Will this trend continue in a steady incline as MLS heads into the bright future of American soccer? Only time will tell. But the other burning question of if MLS is the sport of the times in America? Well, just ask its commentator.