Earthquakes, Wizards and Galaxies- The weird but wonderful world of Soccer in America

As a band, singer, actress or writer your greatness is rarely truly accepted around the world until you have had success in America. Success in America could leave you set for life with no pressure of really making an effort on your next record, film or book because there are enough people there who will support you and always keep your career afloat. Many have come and gone and very few have succeeded with Adele most recently being an exception (whats all that about!?!).

America is a country that knows what it wants and if its not big and flash it can be easily tossed aside, not only that but the USA likes its ‘own’ sport and has little time for embracing others such as cricket, rugby and to an extent, hockey which is the biggest sport in Canada. So when America finally started its second professional league in 1996 there were many doubts as to how long it could survive from such a small following not only that but also attract fans from America’s biggest sports of Baseball, Basketball and of course American Football. After all, America did have a professional soccer league from 1968 to 1984 convincing the likes of George Best, Franz Beckenbauer and of course Pele to end their careers in the US before it finally dissolved due to lack of funds and interest from the country.  

The main thing to notice, which many football fans take for granted, is that football is a low scoring game with the average amount of goals being 3 per game it’s a concept that many Americans find pointless and boring compared to their American Football scoring where the last Superbowl ended 21-17 to the New York Giants compared to our biggest final last year which ended 1-0 to Manchester City, as did the year before that but to Chelsea. But of course this is the thrill that many football fans enjoy making games such as 8-2 demolition of Arsenal by Manchester Utd all the more outrageous and unexpected not only that there is the nail-biting unbearablness of watching a team hang on for dear life to that 1-0 score like Greece did during the final of Euro 2004, a result shocking the whole of Europe.

However, 16 years later and Major League Soccer is growing stronger by the season with the likes of Theirry Henry and Rafeal Marquez playing for the New York Red Bulls and David Beckham still plugging away for the LA Galaxy. You could argue that the MLS is no different to NASL, its predecessor, as it still attempts to lure players nearing the end of their careers to reside in Amercia for one last pay cheque except America is now bringing its own talent and exporting it around Europe such as Clint Dempsey who having the best season of his career and who I believe to be a far better player than Landon Donovan, the darling of American soccer, who despite two short stints with Everton and a disastrous spells in Germany has never left LA Galaxy permanently and seems happy to just be a star at home rather than push himself further. However, that being said he has displayed the qualities to compete in the premier league. Although these two stand out you have to acknowledge players such as Oguchi Onyewu who was with AC Milan now with Sporting Lisbon. Of course we shouldn’t forget the USA’s greatest export in goalkeepers with the likes of Friedel, Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann and previously Keller all playing in the Premier league. Not only has it given us several star individuals but its national team has made the last 4 world cups, performing admirably and famously gave England a huge freight in 2010, the beginning of the nightmare...

However, America would never be able to just leave an ancient and globally popular sport without insisting on making few of its own altercations. During the first few seasons of the MLS rather than a penalty the player had to run with the ball from 30 yards out to the goal and had 7 seconds to attempt to score past the goalkeeper, it wasn’t long before that was scraped. Teams were not satisfied with being called by purely the place they were situated and such we have teams such as the San Jose Earthquakes, The Columbus Crew and my favourite up until recently renamed the Kansas City Wizards. There is also the fact that there is no promotion and relegation despite there being lower leagues they have no affiliation with each other and therefore whoever is bottom that year will still be in the league next year. Not only that but the team who finishes first does not automatically win the league and must go through the playoffs, a typically American system, where a team that finished 5^th can still actually win the championship such as Real Salt Lake in 2009 who beat the LA Galaxy who had finished 1^st that season! MLS also does not run its calender with the majority of the world by starting in august but by starting in March and finishing in November much to the criticism of Sepp Blatter.  Clubs also recruit players in the most unorthodox way by a system call a 'draft' where players without clubs and also players out of collegic soccer will be handpicked by clubs much like picking teams in the schoolyard with the team who finished last the season before picking first. 

These changes however I believe are indeed justified by the growing numbers of fans who are being drawn to soccer in America, if MLS want to be deemed equal to American Football and Basketball it must follow the pageantry of American sport in a least a few areas. There is no doubt that America has the infrastructure to support soccer with massive stadiums and the potential television coverage available but the trouble MLS will always have is convincing people to go to a game of soccer rather any other American sport. With American Football pulling in an average attendance of 67,000 and MLS attracting just over 17,000 it can feel like MLS is fighting a losing battle but there are growing exceptions such as the Seattle Sounders who consistently sell out their 60,000 seater stadium and the inclusion of the Canadian clubs such as Vancouver Whitecaps who also pull in similarly large crowds. 

Seattle Sounders impressive CenturyLink Field Stadium

The capture of Theirry Henry for the New York Red Bulls is a promising sign for the MLS as we saw during the winter that Henry still has the capabilities to compete at the highest level proving that he not yet a player who is completely past it. Slowly but surely if the MLS can attract players just past their peak rather than far beyond it then its reputation will rise as will the leagues quality and its attraction to its own countrymen as well as the world. Soon America could be challenging to attract up and coming talent as well as holding on to its own.

Besides China the USA has to be the most dormant potential power in world football and as an avid football fan I find its slow rise in strength to be an extremely entertaining one.