Andrew Dixon sorts through the hype attached to Toronto FC in search of an answer to a simple question: Why so soon?
By Andrew Dixon
MIAMI, FL, (July 30, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- No matter which league you follow, there’s usually one or two clubs that tends to overshadow the rest. Whether it’s down to money or tradition or titles, there’s that one club that gets all the attention, all the accolades or all the hate.
Every league seems to have at least one Superclubs. No matter how solid clubs like Parma, Bayer Leverkussen, Valencia, Man City, Velez Sarsfield or Nantes are, there’s an AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United, Boca Juniors or Olympique Lyon to over shadow them. They get the fans, the players, the publicity, cash and top billing, consigning other clubs to perennial wannabe status.
Oh sure, they may make a run at a title now and again and do decently in continental competitions like the Libertadores or Champions League. But there are clubs and then there’s the Superclubs. The ones that show the rest of the league how to be successful from A-Z and are consistently winning domestically and challenging internationally.
That really hasn’t been the case with Major League Soccer. For better or worse, parity has long been the rule in MLS. So much so that no one really truly knows who’s going to win MLS Cup in a given year. The upsets that have been a staple of the past few playoffs, the salary cap, and perhaps even the single entity structure of the league have made it difficult for one side to completely dominate the rest. The first requirement of a super club.
So this Grown Man raised an eyebrow reading the praise being heaped on Toronto FC by MLS Commissioner Don Garber during last week’s State of the League. He started off by calling the League’s decision to expand into Toronto “one of the key moments in Major League Soccer history,” and that it was “one of the most memorable and successful new-team launches in the history of professional sports in North America.”
The praise didn’t stop there. The Don stated that BMO Field and Toronto FC is the best sales vehicle the league and has one of the best environments in professional sports. “The fan connectivity with the sport exists in that stadium in ways that I just haven't seen in a lot of sports events that I've attended," he stated. In short, in just a year and half Toronto FC has become the League's model franchise.
I agree that TFC has been a great story thus far, but just a year and half in and already this club is showing the rest of the league how it’s done? Is there really a need to proclaim a team as the one that shows the rest of the league how it’s done? Are we anxiously looking for a Superclub?
This is just One Grown Man’s Opinion but it seems to me that there’s really been only one club that has stood head and shoulders above the league. That would be DC United over the first four years of the MLS’ existence.
After winning the inaugural championship, DC simply dominated matches. They had all-stars and internationals in key positions and role players that did the necessary grunt work that allowed the stars to succeed. Everything from their scouting to their coaching to their personnel moves (Lassiter for Wegerle anyone?) were praised.
The result were three MLS Cups, a US Open Cup, an Inter-American Championship and even a CONCACAF Champions Cup. If there was one team the league could point to in those early years and say THIS is what MLS is capable of producing, it was DC United.
Other sides have of course been successful, Chicago always had some stacked teams in the late 90’s and early part of this decade. Right now the San Jose/Houston side has to be mentioned as one of the top clubs in MLS history.
Yet none of them became so established that it overtook the rest of the League. Returning to the main question, does MLS need a Superclub? Does the league need that one club to be the example the rest of MLS should follow?
One could argue that the parity in MLS dulls the League because there’s no one team that fans can marvel at/hate with a passion. Twelve years in, is that even important?
I’d rather see all the teams in the league turning a profit, sustaining a consistent fan base, and challenging for the league title than having that one team that is the shining example for everyone else while other teams continue to struggle at the gate and in the standings.
What good is it to the league if we have a Superclub that demonstrates the quality of the league if the rest of the sides are shaky? How does a Superclub help the likes of Real Salt Lake or Kansas City? I could have sworn we’ve seen this before... the 1970's, white home shirts with green and purple trim. Anybody?
Besides, the Superclub model is yet to be sustained in MLS. DC fell off harder the Boyz II Men after their initial run and Chicago, though they’ve captured multiple US Open Cups, still haven’t won another MLS title. Houston is enjoying a nice time of it now, but for how long?
Clearly, no one team has mastered continued excellence in a league where parity is king, the salary cap is ever present (Beckham exception aside) and the single entity format is alive and well. Why is TFC going to be any different?
Yes, Toronto should be recognized for a promising start to their MLS life. I’d also like to hear that every team in MLS is putting things in place to become the league’s shining example. It ensures the league's survival, sustains its credibility, and, if we do end up with a Superclub, makes it even stronger
For now, I don’t want a Superclub at the expense of a Super League.
Then again, this is just One Grown Man’s Opinion.
Andrew Dixon is a soccer writer based in Miami and a weekly columnist for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at: golnoir@golnoir.net
