Jordan Adams Final Paper

1/18/2014

Room for Four: The Establishment of the MLS

When it comes to the sporting world America has already chosen its big three, while some may consider the NHL to be the fourth sport to really become ingrained in mainstream American sports, it has yet to gain the same level of recognition that the MLB, NBA, and NFL have maintained throughout recent years. While soccer may be one of the world’s most popular sports, it has yet to gain the same level of popularity and devotion here in the United States. From its inception the MLS has been fighting an uphill battle to squeeze soccer into the hierarchy of American sports. The creation of the MLS looked to challenge the notion that soccer could not garner the same level of respect as other mainstream sports, and while there are still obstacles to overcome the MLS has made great strides towards solidifying soccer within the American sporting world. The MLS is the premier division one American soccer league and was created due to an agreement between the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA. These two soccer federations came together in 1988 when the USSF promised to create a professional top tier soccer league on American soil if given the opportunity to host the 1994 World Cup. Using the presence of the World Cup as a spring board to create more enthusiasm and establish a wider fan base the USSF hoped that the MLS could ride the coattails of World Cup buzz and bring another professional sports league into the mainstream. The MLS officially kicked off in 1996 featuring ten American teams ranging from the sporting powerhouses of Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, and Dallas to smaller markets in Columbus and Colorado. These original teams were split into two conferences the East or West and featured sixteen man rosters with four players of higher regard sent to each team by the MLS itself. To help solidify the MLS as a legitimate league and bring some credibility to this newly created American league, the MLS reached out and acquired a few international stars like Tony Meola and Carlos Valderrama. The MLS’s first season was met with relative enthusiasm and solid attendance numbers, by the end of the season it seemed as if an American professional soccer league may have a chance at securing a foothold in mainstream American sports. In the MLS’s sophomore season the successes continued with more players emerging as budding US soccer stars, while fans began to build more loyalty towards their respective clubs. Another sign of the legitimacy of talent within the MLS can be noted by the sale of the 1997 goalkeeper of the year Brad Friedel who was sent overseas to play for Liverpool FC. It wasn’t until 1998 that the success of the MLS had gained enough attention to warrant the inclusion of two new expansion teams, the Miami Fusion and Chicago Fire. The inclusion of two more professional teams in America continued the flow of international talent willing to commit to playing in the United States. Rules and regulations throughout the league were still being tested and modified and within the 1998 season the MLS decided to begin rewarding the teams with the best regular season thus creating the Supporters Shield award. While things may have seemed bright in the early creation of the MLS there were in fact issues the league faced on maintaining attendance over the years and disputes that took place between players and the MLS organization. In the early stages of the MLS teams did not and could not generate enough attention or revenue to justify the construction of their own stadiums. Playing on the gridiron of NFL football stadiums that are used to catering to almost double the amount of fans who generally attended MLS games meant that the league was operating at a loss. To try and draw more attention to the league and increase ticket sales the MLS experimented with small rule changes they believed would make the game more exciting. Tie games were settled through shootouts, which instead of awarding a team three points like in games finished within regulation time, teams were instead given one point. The MLS also experimented with changing the structure of time management by using a countdown clock. Luckily the MLS realized that these new rules would make it difficult to attract talent from other leagues and abandoned these rule changes shortly after. One of the issues the MLS has faced when it came to expanding to new markets and new cities is the absence of the proper facilities. While the Columbus Crew was the first MLS team to have its own stadium specifically for soccer in 1999, this luxury still eludes many teams and halts the continued expansion of the league. “We’ll continue to monitor what’s happening down there and I think at some point, if they’re able to finalize a stadium plan that makes sense, we’d be very interested on working with them on an MLS team.” (MLS1) Don Garber addresses this issue in his 2012 state of the league address; Garber is referring to the growing interest of placing and MLS expansion team in the city of Atlanta. While there may be an untapped MLS fan base in Atlanta, Garber explains that at that point in time there wasn’t anywhere for a professional soccer team to operate. By communicating back and forth with the Atlanta Falcons Garber is hoping that once the Falcons decide to build a new stadium it will be large enough to incorporate an MLS expansion team. The new found interest of European clubs establishing themselves within the MLS alludes to a successful future for MLS teams, currently Manchester City is involved with bringing an expansion team to New York City and this new relationship between European and MLS teams could be a promising business relationship for many European teams. “But don’t expect the relationship between the two clubs to resemble anything that would suggest a parent-child relationship. NYCFC may not be poaching players from the Manchester City first team, but Kreis and Reyna will be the ones who ultimately choose whether or not they want to take on a player.” (MLS2) NYCFC Head coach Jason Kreis acknowledges the positive impact of his new expansion team working alongside Manchester City, but in his press conference he makes it clear that the MLS is not going to create farm teams for European clubs. Kries’s interview helps explain that while the MLS is excited to work with big name soccer franchises it is still demanding the same level of respect as other international soccer clubs. With all of the success the MLS has had over the years, it hasn’t come without setbacks and struggles. The MLS is still trying to bring a sport that has generally been shunned by the American public and undersold by the media to mainstream audiences who may only be casual soccer fans. One of the MLS’s main concerns currently and from its inception is their ability to expose American viewers to their sport. Without being able to draw in large TV crowds it has been difficult for them to build a consistent fan base outside of their established viewers. “The 2003 MLS Cup match was only able to muster a rating of 0.6,[11] while the 2003 World Series[12] garnered a 13.9, the 2003 NBA Finals series earned a 6.5, and the Super Bowl[13] earned a 41.3 rating.” (4) These numbers analyzes some of the largest sporting venues that are nationally televised, compared to the larger and already established sports in the US the MLS Cup pales in comparison. Television ratings are essential to more than just the expansion of their fan base; if the MLS Cup was a more popular venue they would be able to draw an extensive amount of revenue from advertisements and merchandising sales. For the MLS to truly integrate and become of the major sports in American society it needs to find ways to raise television ratings so that they can continue to expand their reach throughout the United States. One of the key themes we have been discussing throughout class is how can the MLS attempt to make soccer more of an American sport. The fact of the matter is when Americans are addressed with naming the sports they consider to be American; soccer is generally left off of this list. “Finally, it has been noted that American sports fans tend to prefer ‘American’ sports, that is, sports that they can identify closely with American players and American competitiveness (and possibly dominance).” (10) The MLS is trying to become an internationally respected soccer organization in a nation that doesn’t recognize soccer as an essential part of its society. Without Americans feeling any sort of connection to the sport itself how can the MLS expect to connect with their American audience? We have thoroughly discussed how sport and nationalism have gone hand in hand; the competition and passion that lives within the sporting world generally leads people to unite in the pursuit of victory for their team. Americans however only feel these emotions and create these attachments to sports that they believe are inherently American, Baseball, Basketball, and even Track and Field are held to high standards during Olympic play, yet when it comes to the US national soccer team not much is expected. If the American public views a team made up of the best players America has to offer as a mediocre unit then they must not hold the level of talent within the MLS to very high standards. Another aspect of the MLS that is generally not associated with American sports is the transformation of jersey space into usable advertisement space. “For the MLS, ads on jerseys not only expand the league’s revenue portfolio, but also serves as a heuristic that professional soccer in the USA is becoming more like its prestigious international counterparts.” (3) The MLS wants to be recognized and respected as a top tier league, they can do so by following the trend of other international leagues where selling jersey space is the norm. Unlike these other international leagues the MLS operates within the United States where not only is soccer not considered to be a top tier sport, but also Americans view the jerseys of their favorite teams as sacred space not meant to be defiled by commercialism and advertisements. Because the MLS isn’t as popular as the MLB, NFL, or NBA revenue has become an issue they need to address to ensure the longevity of the league, at the same time however the MLS needs to present soccer in a way that Americans begin to relate to selling jersey space for example could further alienate potential fans from consuming the sport. Through trials and tribulations one thing has become clear, the MLS is here to stay and its fan base continues to support the league. Americans seemed to have missed out on integrating one of the words most popular sports into their sporting culture, but the MLS challenges the notion that soccer cannot flourish within the United States. The fact that big named European stars are now considering playing in the MLS speaks volumes of the progress both the MLS and USSF have made towards garnering international respect for a professional American soccer league. While there is still progress to be made the MLS has successfully challenged the belief that soccer will never become a mainstream American sport.

Sports History at Trinity College (CT)

with contributions by students in Prof. Luis Figueroa-Martínez's classes

Room for Four: The Establishment of the MLS

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