With J Hutcherson -- If you want to make the story of the 2009 MLS Cup one of exhaustion, that's good enough for the season as a whole. I'm not one to simply nod along with those that confuse general interest in the sport with MLS interest. This season hasn't done anymore than the ones that preceded it to push this League forward as a product.
As one-liners go, that might seem a little harsh. Sure, the increased interest in professional soccer in the United States is pushed by the National Team and a successful European club tour, but surely MLS gets a bit of the credit as well. No question, but it's a bit and not enough to get past the obvious problems.
Though MLS commissioner Don Garber was quick to set aside a general attendance decrease, that still looms large in too many markets. With all involved expecting multiple changes to multiple clubs, what we have is business as usual with Major League Soccer. Don't put too much weight on any of the negatives from this season. There's always next year, and look at how well we're doing.
If you happen to be someone trying to sell MLS, this is almost an insult. There's no point of comparison short of the biggest leagues in sports that will suit the true believers. That's fine in a booster way of thinking, but at some point it needs to balance out with the realities of the market.
For every designated player signing or expansion success, there are other clubs telling a different version of the MLS story. Holding on as the fourth or fifth team in their market. Dwindling attendances. Geographic irrelevance after building stadiums too far away from the bulk of their market.
There's also that uncomfortable idea that MLS has yet to really establish a club in a market. Here's how that works. The Galaxy needed a new stadium and the designated player rule to really get over.
Remember, the first great expansion story ended up spending two seasons in relative obscurity on the outskirts of the Chicagoland area, and ended up returning to the fringes when they built their own stadium. DC, the League's original marquee club, has suffered at the gate and it would be worse if the market wasn't so strong to begin with.
Like it or not, as much as DC was the story for what MLS could be in their glory years, they're the current cautionary tale for any MLS team thinking the good times won't change. A few not quite good enough seasons, and it's not a stretch to see the current success stories trying to work through their own version of the DC problem.
Our MLS champions present their own tweak on a story MLS would rather not be telling. Disinterest when there's another option - and yes MLS, that includes college football and Halloween, now meshing with the idea that they're champions with an under-performing team. Chicago won too quickly in their expansion year and never really got over it. RSL is facing a 2010 where they're marketing the defending champions to an audience that probably remembers they barely made the playoffs. That's the other side of a small market, a familiarity that doesn't quickly forget.
Kansas City and San Jose have already shown what happens when a struggling market produces a champion. RSL is better off than both of them in terms of their stadium and their average attendance, but it's still not at the level Toronto has established, much less Seattle. Now they have what can fairly be called the burden of an MLS Cup win. Taking the KC and SJ examples, that's not likely to make things significantly easier.
Again, it goes back to that very basic question. Right now, the answer varies too much market-to-market. It's simply not good enough to pick the ones that flatter and only stress that version of the story. That's the move for a league a couple of years in, not one now focused on season 15.
On TV
No games today. All Times Eastern
Europe
Wigan players to refund fans' tickets for 9-1 White Hart Lane debacle -- from The Guardian's Jeremy Campbell: The fans "must not be taken for granted".
Special One goes on the prowl -- from The Times' Ian Hawkey: Any two of the four could be eliminated.
Five goals in a game, but Jermain Defoe remains behind Emile Heskey in the England pecking order -- from The Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson: Why?
Americas
Real Champions -- from The Deseret News' Brad Rock: "Now we are the best team in the league."
Believe it: RSL survives shootout to win MLS championship -- from The Salt Lake Tribune's Michael C Lewis: "It's a championship, man, and there's nothing better."
Rimando denies Galaxy in penalty shootout to earn MVP -- from Soccernet's Steve Davis: Not much went wrong for RSL in the second half.
Real Salt Lake defeats Galaxy for the MLS championship -- from The LA Times' Grahame L Jones: "I thought both goalkeepers were great."
Lenarduzzi likes Sounders' model for MLS launch -- from The Province's Marc Weber: For Lenarduzzi, more impressive than the numbers is the passion.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.
