MLS Problems

No, this is not another column posted on the Internet about the housing crisis. The MLS I'm referring to stands for Major League Soccer.

There are a lot of American soccer fans, but very few of them like American soccer. I'm an American. I'm a soccer fan. I like to watch the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup. But I am not a fan of MLS.

Major League Soccer is disliked by both groups they are trying to reach. The rest of the world's leagues don't respect MLS because they play by a different set of rules. Plus, the players aren't as good. The American sports fan doesn't like MLS because he can see a higher quality game overseas on his satellite dish. If he wants to watch soccer, he'll watch the good soccer in Europe or South America.

While MLS has found a niche with a certain hardcore type of fan in America, it is also caught in the middle of two worlds. They have tried to create a style of soccer that is similar to the rest of the world, but is also American enough to be liked here.

That approach is not working. The MLS season takes place from spring to summer. The best of the world's leagues play their seasons from fall to spring. The MLS has a draft and free agency which accounts for most of the distribution of players. A draft is an American-made event and is unknown to the most respected soccer leagues overseas.

On top of this, the MLS has accidentally become a training ground for the rest of the world. As they continue to grow and develop young players, they have run into the European leagues, which are plucking away the best players. The head coach of the US national team has encouraged his players participating in MLS to join a European league to play with the best in the world. That can't make the MLS establishment very happy.

I have tried to like MLS. Last year, when David Beckham joined the league, I watched every game that was nationally televised all the way to the MLS Cup. I tried to get excited, but it was forced. I just can't do it. I can't get into MLS. And as long as they try to be all things to all fans worldwide, they will not be able to find a permanent home in America, or with me.