MLS vs Europe: Striving for Fandom

The sport of soccer is one of, if not the, fastest growing sports in the United States today. Numbers of youth players are still one of the highest in the world; competitions such as the World Cup draw millions of American television viewers and thousands of American spectators; and more and more Americans are associating themselves with professional teams. However, most of these most popular teams play their games in foreign lands, not on American soil.

Numbers and figures don’t lie, Americans love soccer. The only problem is that a lot of these American soccer fans are not supporters of teams in Major League Soccer, the US domestic league. Speaking to many fans of the sport in different parts of the country, it is striking to hear their responses of who their favorite team is. Some like myself will have a favorite foreign team in addition to a favorite MLS team. However, even with David Beckham and Thierry Henry in its ranks, MLS is seen as a lowly and boring league to many American soccer fans. Some will not attend a single match even if the stadium is right in their own backyard. 

That being said, Major League Soccer is by no means struggling. More and more quality players are deciding to ply their trade in the US, American players are getting more touches on the ball resulting in more skill, and even with large amounts of the population writing the league off, attendance and television ratings were up last season. These positives leave this soccer fan wondering: what if Major League Soccer could make headway with the naysayers? 

I once asked an American Liverpool FC supporter if he enjoyed watching the MLS. To this question he answered, “No, its crap.” I then asked him if he would like to see the league reach the same heights as England’s Barclay’s Premiership to which he answered favorably. The problem in American soccer culture right now is this: American fans want the best league in the world but don’t want to work for it and don’t want to wait; they want it now. England has had a professional league since 1863; the United States has had a professional league since 1996. History is against Major League Soccer but, with the help of an already huge fan base, it can make up ground quickly. But it takes work, something American soccer fans have had problems with. 


C. Moore
KIN 577