Major League Soccer conducted the annual State of the League on Monday, this time by conference call. Garber defended the current playoff structure.
"We felt like we got it right this year," Garber said. Calling the games 'exciting,' Garber pointed to attendance as proof that this year's playoff structure worked. The Houston - Los Angeles game drew a 0.5 rating, with the game starting after East Coast prime time. However, he said that the playoff structure could change as the League changes. Garber said that ratings were up on ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel, with a decline on TeleFutura. Overall attendance decreased 2%, but Garber dismissed it as not a concern due to general US economic issues.Garber referred to the Seattle expansion as: "one of the key moments in the history of the sport in this country." "Early on we believed this was going to be one of the best expansion launches." Garber didn't limit that to professional soccer, calling it "an indication of what the sport can be in this country." "That team was just plain relevant. People cared about it... that's what we need. We need more relevance." Garber talked of using Seattle as a case study, that their first-year success 'wasn't a coincidence.'
The atmosphere in the stadium in places like Seattle, Toronto, Chicago, DC and other stadiums was stressed, what Garber called "the emergence of the supporter and the importance of the supporter in our League." "We've proven in many many markets... that all these people that have grown up with the game can get into the stands and replicate that aspect of the game that gets them in excited in the Premier League and La Liga," he said.
Garber credited the 14 years of MLS, expansion, television coverage, designated players, and soccer-specificity. He called the committed supporter "an important part of our decision-making."
