Up For Debate: Should American Sports Fans Support MLS?

Image via Complex Original

Don't believe us? Just check out the Cascadia Derby between the Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders. These two go at it with the same intensity of a Premier League derby, and most importantly fans provide a similar atmosphere. Portland is supported by the "Timbers Army," and Seattle has the "Emerald City Supporters," both of which are doing more for the sport than they can possibly understand. These fans are passionate, they spend most if not all of the game on their feet, singing and chanting throughout. Sell-out crowds are the norm at Jeld-Wen Field and CenturyLink Field, in Portland and Seattle, respectively. The Pacific Northwest has become a hot bed for soccer, and perhaps they will inspire the rest of MLS Nation to do the same around the country.

If you want to gain respect amongst the big boys of the rest of the world, best to get on their schedule. Another problem with MLS is that it does not follow the FIFA calendar, which has leagues competing from August to May. The current MLS spring-to-fall format causes scheduling conflicts with the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the FIFA World Cup, as well as other FIFA-sanctioned international tournaments of the summer months. These conflicts result in players having to leave their MLS club teams in order to play in these tournaments, and surprise, surprise, it's usually the more talented ones. This is seen as a major roadblock in the MLS' quest to sign top international talent. MLS Commissioner Don Garber suggests it's too cold to pay in the winter in Toronto, but a winter break wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. If they can do it in Russia, surely we can figure it out here.

It may seem trivial to some, but the construction of soccer-specific stadiums for MLS is a massive step in the right direction. Not only does this show the development and stability of the league, it also shows a commitment to MLS and it's fans. You wouldn't think MLS ownership would build a soccer-specific stadium if they didn't think they were going to have a team to play in it for the foreseeable future. The intimacy of a soccer-specific stadium also allows the fan to become a more integral part of the game, being closer to the action and in good viewing range of the pitch, regardless of where they're seated. These new stadiums are smaller than the baseball and football ones that teams were playing in before, and that's just a better look overall. It's no secret that it isn't good for team or league moral to look up and see 16,000 fans in a 75,000 seat capacity stadium.

One of the main concerns with MLS teams from top to bottom is a lack of squad depth, and unfortunately this results in a two-pronged effect. First off, while it's great that MLS squads are competing in continental competition like the CONCACAF Champions League, they're finding it difficult to have success. Teams simply don't have the depth to compete in League and Cup competitions, and it's evident when you watch MLS teams perform in those competitions throughout the season. Secondly, the lack of depth really stunts the growth of the "American" playing style. Known as being gritty and determined, American soccer needs to add finesse and flair to it's game if it's ever going to go anywhere. Unfortunately, the less players that are coming here from overseas, the less foreign-style influences the game.

While MLS teams are struggling to make their mark on the CONCACAF Champions League, the fact that they are competing in such a competition is great for the development of the league. If you want to get better at something you need to go up against better opposition, and that's exactly what this tournament offers. A competition that pits teams from North America, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football is exactly the exposure MLS players and teams need to become a more established league. The lack of squad depth remains an issue for MLS teams in their fight for success, but continued participation and exposure will only increase the quality of the league. The team that wins the competition is also awarded with direct entry to the FIFA Club World Cup, another opportunity to take advantage of.

Okay, there's just no way around this one. The UEFA Champions League is the premier club competition on the planet, therefore, it attracts the best players in the world to the top European domestic leagues. In an age where every player is seemingly on the move to the highest bidder, every conversation about a top talent ends with, "surely he'll be looking for Champions League football next season." That's just the way it is, and while CONCACAF Champions League and Copa Libertadores are on the rise as American continental tournaments, there is only one UEFA Champions League. It is for the foreseeable future, an obstacle MLS will have to overcome in it's quest to sign superior players and gain respect globally.

Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and Landon Donovan all got their start in MLS before moving abroad to compete in Europe. These players helped give an identity to MLS, and MLS gave them their first go's at playing soccer professionally as well as being exposed to the world. Dempsey and co. are also regulars on the US national team. This leads to the idea that the development of the league goes hand-in-hand with the advancement of the national team. If the MLS can at least be recognized as a league that helps shape young talent and give them fundamentals for success, it's a huge step in the right direction and all the more reason to support it.

The Designated Player Rule was introduced to MLS back in 2007 as part of the salary cap regulations, and while it's brought overseas talent to the United States and is a good thing in theory, the league shouldn't rely on it to achieve long-term development and growth. Designated players like David Beckham for the most part are guys who are past their primes, yet are being signed to MLS clubs to boost viewership and revenue. This is far from the organic growth the league craves in order to really achieve attractiveness and depth. You don't build a team in any sport by signing players that are past their prime, so why should it be any different for MLS? While it's a great short-term solution to bring in such players in an attempt to drive viewership, MLS needs youth to take the next step to becoming a desirable option as a league for players in their prime.

With that last bit said, the Designated Player Rule was a good move in order to at least say, "hey, here we are, we're MLS." It's kind of like the neon sign outside of a bar. Designated players tend to be more recognizable names, thus driving more fans to come check out some of these "famous" faces. It's also important to point out that while these players might be somewhat over the hill in terms of their best playing days, it's not like they're roaming around the pitch in their wheelchairs. Thierry Henry does indeed score goals for the NY Red Bulls, and is key to their success in competition. He's nowhere near his playing days at Arsenal, but dude still knows where the goal is. Should Frank Lampard make a move to MLS it will be one of the brighter days in the history of the league. He's a class player with a big following, and hopefully younger players will follow him and help show that the MLS is a viable option for players who still have something to offer.

One of the greatest twists to the major domestic leagues in Europe and the world is the promotion/relegation incentive. The prospect of losing the prominence and revenue that go along with being a top-flight club is any team's worst nightmare. On the flip side, the idea of making the jump to the top division is a dream shared by all lower-level clubs. This part of the game makes the race at the top of the table for Champions League places just as important as the race at the bottom to avoid the drop. 

The reason MLS has no relegation/promotion system goes hand-in-hand with a lack of grassroots soccer in the United States. You can't relegate teams from MLS if there's no division underneath from which to promote. Some will argue that it's more important to advance the quality of MLS before worrying about having other domestic leagues in order to have a promotion system. Whichever side of the argument you're on, it's undeniable that this factor makes for excitement in foreign leagues, and excitement leads to viewership and support.

While many US soccer fan's bemoan the quality of MLS, few have actually sat down to watch a match or two in entirety, and even fewer have made it out to the stadium to catch their local team in action. While the league isn't there yet, the quality of play seems to be increasing yearly. Aside from the Designated Player Rule, there are other foreign talents who are starting to come to MLS in increasing numbers, because it's increasingly becoming a good opportunity for exposure and playing time. Homegrown talent is on the rise too, the more the game is being played and taught at youth levels, the more we are seeing young players emerge for MLS club teams and the US men's national team.

If the league hopes to be a premier destination for top players, and attract the viewership of US fans, then it has got to have the personalities and rivalries to go with it. Any good story needs heroes and villains, and all the top leagues of the world have them. People hate Chelsea's John Terry because he's a polarizing figure, as is Luis Suarez of Liverpool. Regardless of how you feel about the two, you can't doubt their talent, and more importantly their marketability. The Pacific Northwest derby has created a great narrative for MLS, but that's only a start. MLS needs more of that if people are to go out and tune in on a consistent basis. 

The fact that there really is no one dominant team in MLS works hugely in the league's favor. Year by year competition is seemingly wide open with virtually any team holding a shot to win. La Liga has Barcelona and Real Madrid, but is anyone else going to challenge for that title? Nope. Same can be said of the German Bundesliga. Bayern Munich are on top, and while Borussia Dortmund has been making noise of late, Bayern is the gold standard for success. In England you have the likes of the usual customers at the top, and a few squads occasionally chasing for that fourth Champions League qualifying spot.

We can point to the revolving door of players at many of the MLS clubs for the reason behind it, but for better or worse, right now this ensures open competition with each campaign. This makes it more exciting to watch for the casual fan.

Many MLS nay-sayers will point to the league's current playoff format as one of it's major shortcomings. The current format has the top five teams from each conference qualifying for the playoffs and competing in two separate brackets. The first round is a one-off Wild Card match between the fourth and fifth place teams with the winner going up against the conference's top seed in the Conference Semis. The semis are conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format, much like the Champions League knockout stages, until a winner is crowned from the MLS Cup championship game.

The problem right away is that you have 10 out of 19 competing clubs qualifying for the postseason. What's the incentive and reward for excelling all season, an early-round playoff bye? That's not good enough with so few teams. The league needs to move away from this US division/conference mentality, and become a one-table league that rewards the best team at the end of the regular season. MLS is not like other professional sports in this country so let's stop trying to emulate their postseason model. At least take strides by cutting down the number of teams in the playoffs.

Stop thinking that MLS and the US national team are independent of one another. Do you think it's a coincidence that the top nations in the world boast the top domestic leagues as well? This isn't to say that players from the lowest levels of English, German, and Spanish football, for example, are ever going to get a call-up to their national teams. However, like any good revolution, you better believe that it starts at the bottom. Exposure from an early age at the earliest levels of competition is how you create a footballing nation. It's a culture, an identity that isn't taught, but is instead inherent within. Right now the United States doesn't have this, but it isn't impossible.

What we need to do as United States soccer fans is get kids involved early in the sport and expose them to not just the "stars" of the game abroad, but homegrown talent as well. For every Messi and Ronaldo poster on a child's wall, there should be a Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey one as well. Changes won't take place overnight, but they've already been happening for years. MLS has gone from 10 teams to 19 since it's inception in 1996. For now all we can do is go to, and watch, as many games as possible. The rest will come in time. Support is everything, and is fundamental for the growth of not only MLS, but the national team as well. If we want respect abroad, it must start at home.