That's A Lot of Trophies!

Among the many things that I find fascinating about professional soccer is the various competitions that go on throughout the seasons.  In the Big 4 American leagues, the only truly noteworthy accomplishments stem from playoff results.  For the NBA, as an example, there are banners hung for having a better record than the rest of your division in the regular season, but they may as well be participation ribbons as compared to the conference crowns or NBA Championship won through the post-season.  In Major League Soccer, there are four different achievements up for grabs every year.  FOUR.  That's in addition to MLS Cup Playoff positions, conference titles, and spots in the CONCACAF Champions' League.

#1 - The MLS Cup awarded to the winner of the MLS Playoffs
#2 - The Supporters' Shield given to the team with the best regular season record
#3 - The CONCACAF Champions' League, which features four MLS teams as well as the best teams from Central America, the Caribbean, and the rest of the North America
#4 - The US Open Cup awarded to the winner of a knockout tournament of all professional soccer teams in the United States

The MLS season begins in March.  Since each team only plays 34 games, there is a premium on results right from the get-go with the Supporters' Shield at stake.  The regular season matters well beyond post-season seeding, as is the prize for the Big 4 leagues.  Winning your conference gives you home field advantage in the playoffs, just like in other sports, but it also secures a Champions' League berth.  In May, the United States Open Cup tournament begins.  Think of a larger version of March Madness chock full of Cinderella teams in the making and you'll have a good vision of the US Soccer Open.  MLS teams get automatic byes to the fourth round because it is considered heads above the other seven leagues involved.  Similar to England's FA Cup, the US Open is not the most important trophy, but it is still very prestigious.  It's straight knockout format (lose once and go home) makes it unique and also widens the field to success beyond MLS Cup (the American soccer equivalent to the NBA title).  Only 3 teams in MLS history have won both the US Open and MLS Cup (the '96 DC United, the '98 Chicago Fire, and the '05 LA Galaxy).

Seattle wins US Open Cup

Once the championship game of the US Open has been played in September, the regular season marches on to its final months through October, during which time MLS teams begin to push for the Supporters' Shield.  Professional soccer is very different from other leagues.  Of the major team sport associations, it is the only one to have been cultivated outside of the United States.  As such, it is unique in ways that many Americans have a hard time wrapping their collective heads around.  In the last blog entry, I talked about the advantage that MLS has over the English Premier League (and the majority of the world soccer's first divisions) because of its playoff system.  My pen pals abroad scoffed.  You see, winning the regular season title in Europe is one of soccer's highest honors.  So, in an effort to borrow from that which has made soccer the "world's game," MLS created the Supporters' Shield as a way of honoring the team that was the best through 34 games played.  Contrary to the general American sporting mindset, it is a considerable achievement.

New York Red Bull 2013 Supporters' Shield

CONCACAF Champions' League (formerly the Champions' Cup) has been won only twice by American teams - the 1998 DC United and 2000 Los Angeles Galaxy.  It is nowhere near the prestigious level of Europe's UEFA Champions' League, the championship of which is arguably the world's most coveted prize, but it's importance is becoming more pronounced as the United States is becoming more excited about soccer.  Mexico, our greatest soccer rival, has dominated the CONCACAF club scene.  In the last six Champions' Leagues, our neighbors to the south won each title; they also have five of the six runner-ups.  Why?  The detailed reasons can wait for another day, but near the top of the list is that MLS plays a different schedule than the rest of the world (and the CCL) - from March until late November/early December instead of the traditional August to May.  Within a decade, I'm guessing that MLS desire to win the CCL will triple and the fans will make it a ratings draw.

DC United win CCL '98

Though there is a frequent sense of a "trophy is a trophy" amongst the league from what I've gathered in my two months of closely following it, with teams happy to win any of the four, MLS Cup is the most coveted by each franchise.

Colorado wins MLS Cup

Three of the Big 4 leagues, with the NFL as the exception, have regular seasons that last far too long.  Even children recognize it. When I was a kid, for instance, I had my own imaginary "basketball league."  It was extensive, with me playing the roles of each "player" with my driveway as the "arena."  Chad's Basketball Association, the CBA, had multiple "titles" at stake each year.  The regular season was too monotonous, so not only was there the CBA Playoffs to crown the league champion, but there was also a CBA version of the ACC Tournament (8 teams) and NCAA Tournament (16 teams).  It kept me entertained and mentally stimulated to feel like there was always something at stake.  So, you can imagine that the numerous trophies available to MLS teams throughout the season resonates with me, as a sports fan.

  

Is There Anything that MLS Does Better than England's Premier League?

VS

I should have known that developing and cultivating a passion for the top United States men's professional soccer league would turn into an all-out soccer obsession.  It has been that way for my entire life when it comes to my interests.  As a kid, pro wrestling was my first sports/entertainment love.  It was followed by basketball, and then by college football.  Some people watch the History Channel to see a special on the World Wars and that's enough for them.  They came, they watched, they moved on.  For others, the special sparks an interest that creates a thirst that can only be quenched with greater knowledge.  I'm of the latter breed.  Apparently, soccer is unlikely to be the first thing I enjoy "casually."

In my quest to become a Major League Soccer supporter, I also find myself genuinely curious about the European clubs.  I have listened to podcasts, read dozens of columns, and kept up with every match result in MLS since the World Cup and will continue to do so - that's the point of this blog - but somewhere between Bayern Munich's pre-season loss to the MLS All-Stars and the ensuing coverage about the post-game "finger wave," I began to dive, head-first, into "world football."  And there's no more popular soccer association on Earth than the English Premier League (EPL). 

Due to my travels a weekend ago, I watched two EPL games last Saturday - the first matches of the new season.  There's surely more to be written about the likes of Manchester City and United, Arsenal and Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton, etc., but after viewing a plethora of MLS games and studying America's top division these last several weeks, I could not help but compare the leagues.  To anyone with more than a passing knowledge of the sport, do me a favor and don't laugh.  I know; comparing the EPL and MLS is like comparing a $100 bottle of chenin blanc to "Three Buck Chuck," but let's do a fair analysis.

In the name of fairness, I will readily point out the EPL is 99% better than MLS.  Yet, I did discover two discussion points that could conceivably favor Major League Soccer.

#1 - Parity

Every major American sport seeks equality.  The United States covers a vast geographic area, each with its own television market.  For certainly as long as I've been alive, the commissioners of the big 4 American leagues - the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL - have strived to level the playing field, attempting to create situations that make fans across the country believe that their team can win the championship in any given year.  Though we may be more economically capitalist than any other nation, the business of sport is more distinctly socialist.  The thought process is that if every team is good, then everyone will make a lot more money via higher attendance and TV ratings.

A map of the MLS markets

By and large, using the turn of the century as a sample size, parity has been achieved in the USA.  Since 2000, ten different NFL and NHL teams have won the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup, respectively.  The MLB has had nine different champions over the same span and the NBA has had six.  That's a lot of franchises winning titles.  MLS is no different, with eight squads hoisting the league trophy.  The EPL, as with the rest of the top European soccer leagues, is not  much for parity.  The bottom three teams in each league getting relegated to a lower division is partial proof of that fact.  That just four teams have won the EPL since 2000 offers further evidence.

American sports are simply set-up to ensure that stars are spread across as many cities as possible so that more people will become fans and stay glued to TVs and mobile devices.  And it's working.  The top ten TV programs in modern American history are sporting events.  It's estimated that upwards of 80% of all of-age people in the USA are fans of some sport. On a personal note, I strongly dislike dynasties (unless they feature my team).  So, parity is a superior trait for Major League Soccer.

#2 - Playoffs

 

The MLS has adopted the distinctly American tradition of capping off its season with a tournament to crown the true champion of the league.  Who doesn't love a Playoff?  They offer, by far, the highest ratings for each sport every year for a reason.  Major League Soccer's MLS Cup has continued the common theme of tournaments creating drama through stories of non-favored clubs charging to further reaches beyond their presumed potential in some years, as well as the expected dominance of more talented sides in others.

Colorado Rapids came out of nowhere in 2010 to win MLS Cup

The English Football Association (FA) Cup is a single elimination tournament that gives every pro team in England (at every level) a chance to win a major trophy.  It is a big deal in the UK.  However, for teams in the EPL, it's not even the second highest honor to be achieved in a season (at least for the best squads).  In England, it's not so much about winning THE big one so much as it's about winning A big one.  Winning the league title is a regular season award in the EPL; there are no Playoffs.  As such, the championship can be decided months in advance of the final fixtures.  In the USA, winning the Playoff means winning the championship.  The regular season is a vehicle to seed teams for the tournament at the end of the year that determines the true victor.

The FA Cup goes on throughout the standard season, as does the other of the two major trophies possible for top flight squads in England: the European Champions' League.  So, it's a very different system; one that unquestionably places a higher premium on the regular season, but also one that unquestionably lacks the definitive period on the calendar that says to the viewing audience, "this is the most important part of our year; watch accordingly or you'll miss something huge."     

Playoffs are the best part of American sports and offer MLS a marked advantage over the EPL. 

Is There Any Significance to All-Star Games?

This was All-Star week in Major League Soccer.  Many soccer themes in the United States often take on an "Us vs. Them" mentality - soccer vs. the three major US sports, soccer fans vs. soccer detractors, and even the mere word "soccer" vs. "football."  So, why should the MLS All-Star Game be any different?  League officials, long ago, did away with the standard East vs. West format and spiced things up to feature MLS vs. The World.  In a nifty marketing tactic, MLS began inviting popular European teams to their festivities to take on the MLS All-Stars.  Recent years have seen the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, and AS Roma come to the States during their pre-season tours for matches against combinations of players in MLS voted on by the fans and picked by the appointed manager.  Last Wednesday, 2014 German Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich, came to town.

Did it matter?

Before the All-Star Game

I spent the early part of the week trying to fully wrap my head around the MLS All-Star Game, asking myself two major questions: "Should I get excited?" and "Should the result be analyzed?"  The answer to the first question, by match time, was a solidly unspectacular "yes."  I appreciate the patriotic flair of "our" league versus the world.  Plus, though not all of them played, there were US National Team members scattered about the entire MLS squad, plus a host of internationally famous footballers such as French legend Thiery Henry and Australia's Tim Cahill.  Mix in a few other high quality players and the MLS was well-represented.  Of course, there was the incredibly stacked Bayern side to look forward to, featuring several stars from Germany's World Cup-winning team among others.  Since MLS adopted this format for their mid-season classic, the All-Stars have a 6-4 record against their guests.  Improving that mark against Bayern Munich was a storyline that did not need additional talking points to capture my interest.  Just hours before the match, I was actually pretty pumped up to see how it would go.

The answer to the second question was a resounding "No" on the surface; at least for me.  All-Star festivities (in all sports) wore out their welcome for me when life started to fill up with various important happenings.  They are devoid of the kind of stories that I, usually, wish to see.  At this stage of my sports fandom, I want to watch the drama and passion that stems from something being at stake.  Once upon a time, MLS All-Star teams were, whether they wanted to be or not, fighting for respect, giving them a common goal that helped build team camaraderie in a hurry when playing against an actual team built for winning its respective league.  Those days are essentially gone, though.  Critics like to point out that it is embarrassing for MLS to lose badly, as they did against Manchester United in 2010 and 2011, but MLS isn't going to prove anything to the world through exhibition matches, win or lose.  It's their style of play, the money that they're willing to spend on players, and the overall quality of the league that has gotten international attention and made the league a magnet for stars like Henry, David Beckham, Rafa Marquez, David Villa, Frank Lampard, and Kaka.  Since MLS has improved, it brings back into focus that throwing together 23 players for two practices and expecting them to beat a European powerhouse is unrealistic, at least, and downright silly, at most.

Attention in MLS, at the All-Star break, remains focused on league play, now, as it should be.  Such is why so many teams pulled their participants from the game this year, leaving the 2014 squad with a lot of (deserving) replacements.  Besides, Bayern is in their pre-season.  This game doesn't mean anything to their record either.  The host city, Portland, gets a rare and important opportunity to showcase itself to the sports world, but nothing about the game, in my opinion, is particularly relevant.

After the All-Star Game

Well, any reservation I may have had going into the game was erased within the first ten minutes of high quality soccer full of scoring chances and beautiful combination passes.  Storylines emerged throughout the game that added something often missing from similar exhibitions in the past, the most memorable of which might have been Thierry Henry's sendoff from the Portland fans.  Henry is expected to retire at the end of the season and the Timbers' faithful made it known that they appreciated his contributions to Major League Soccer these last four years.

It turned out to be a memorable night for a lot of reasons.  Robert Lewandowski’s goal to give Bayern a 1-0 lead was awesome.  For non-soccer fans, it was the type of goal that would have you wondering, “How did he bend it in mid-air like that?”  American Julian Green, who scored that nifty goal against Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16, was subbed in for Munich early in the game in a classy move from their manager, Pep Guardiola.  Nick Rimando’s first half goalkeeping had US fans remembering Tim Howard’s performance against Belgium back in June.  Bradley Wright-Phillips’s equalizing goal was just a touch less brilliant than Lewandowski’s. 

The real story, though, became the belief by the MLS All-Stars that they could defeat the 2013 European Champions.  It was a striking game of back and forth between the sides.  Bayern was expected to dominate, but with each minute that they failed to take full command, the MLS squad appeared to grow more confident.  Tying the game just after halftime surely helped.  I, personally, kept waiting for a sense of inevitability to permeate their psyche, what with the second half additions of so many German World Cup stars looming (most didn’t play the first half).  It never came.  Instead, they kept ratcheting up the intensity level (including a couple of physical fouls) and Landon Donovan trickled in a goal past all-world keeper, Manuel Neuer, to give the MLS a 2-1 victory.  It was an oh-so-sweet moment for Donovan, the face of American soccer who had struggled during his time in the Bundesliga a decade ago and who, the day after the All-Star Game, announced that he would retire after this season.  Guardiola was none too pleased.  The apparent combination of his disappointment in losing and his annoyance with some of the hard tackles from the MLS All-Stars prompted him to wave off a handshake with Portland Timbers and All-Star coach, Caleb Porter.  It ended the proceedings on a rather sour note to see such a world-renowned soccer personality show so little class. 

After a few days of reflection, the questions that I posed before the game remain pertinent to the All-Star Game discussion, as do the answers.  The game’s result was nothing to analyze.  However, it was a very exciting exhibition full of intrigue.  It wound up demonstrating the increased quality of play from MLS, with stars on the field who could not have been there without the improved ability of MLS teams to pay higher wages.  American soccer is in constant need of momentum.  It received a ton of it from the 2014 World Cup.  Surprisingly, the 2014 MLS All-Star Game kept the momentum going…

Los Angeles Rules the MLS Galaxy

Last week, I excitedly sat down to watch Seattle play a key Western Conference home game.  My bubble was burst within 36-minutes.   The Sounders were down 3-0 by then... 

The Los Angeles Galaxy are the class of Major League Soccer.  For all my burgeoning enthusiasm about the Sounders, their well-run organization, and the passionate fans that pack their stadium in league-record numbers, the Galaxy proved in a relatively easy outing last Monday that they are still the team to beat.  There is so much parity in MLS that LA might not win the trophies every year, but there should be no mistaking that they are the most consistently dominant side in American professional soccer.

In sports, the media often define periods of play through team-specific eras.  College Football is currently in the era of the Alabama Crimson Tide.  The NBA recently wrapped up the Miami Heat era.  In pro wrestling, they called their most successful period of mainstream prominence the "Attitude" era.  The San Francisco Giants have established their own era in Major League Baseball.  The term "dynasty" is often applied in such cases.  Reserved for an even higher elite status are the teams that win consistently over the long haul.  The San Antonio Spurs, for instance, never won consecutive championships, but they have captured the NBA title five times since 1999.  Manchester United of the English Premier League are, perhaps, the world's model for excellence.  What they've done is staggering.

Major League Soccer can be similarly divided into eras and has featured dynastic squads throughout its history, but the Los Angeles Galaxy have been incomparable when it comes to maintaining success.  They have the highest winning percentage, the most total victories, the most playoff appearances (15), and the best goal differential in MLS lore.  Their trophy case sets the pace for the league with four 1st place regular season finishes (earning the MLS Supporters' Shield) and four MLS Cup titles. Through 18 completed seasons, the Galaxy have rivals but no equals.

They're kind of a glitzy franchise, borrowing from the identity established by their basketball-playing neighbors, the Lakers, the model of NBA supremacy since the league was founded in the late 1940s.  A little Hollywood flare has helped the Lakers become a part of pop culture.  By signing David Beckham to an astonishing $250 million contract (a combo of salary, revenue sharing from the club, and endorsements) in 2007, the Galaxy became the toast of the town; and if you're the toast of SoCal, then you're internationally relevant.  Ever since that day, the Galaxy have had a profile unlike any other MLS team.  Beckham was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, celebrities flocked to LA's state-of-the-art, 30,000 seat Stub Hub Center, and the television media blitz was World Cup-quality.  The Galaxy had already been very successful, winning the MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield twice each in the early 2000s, becoming champions of North America in 2000 (via the CONCACAF Champions League), and making the MLS Final three other times, but the league changed after Beckham's arrival and the Galaxy spearheaded an era that many in American soccer refer to as "MLS 2.0."   

Beckham signing with Galaxy in 2007

The exposure that Beckham brought with him helped MLS grow substantially.  He was the very first "Designated Player," which meant that his signing could be counted against a very strict salary cap in a manner different than other players.  The DP rule made it possible for MLS clubs to compete for players on the international market, tremendously advancing the star power necessary for the league to become more attractive to viewers and sponsors.  2015's expansion franchises have already signed three huge stars in Kaka, David Villa, and Frank Lampard.  That doesn't happen without Beckham's arrival in Los Angeles and, arguably, neither does the city approval for the seven beautiful soccer-specific stadiums that have opened since 2007 thanks to the league's growth.  Soccer pundits can be a particularly fickle bunch, so there are some doubters to these claims.  Dutch legend Johan Cruyff might say, in response, “Coincidence is logical.” 

On Beckham’s watch, league attendance grew by an average of over three thousand fans, overtaking the NBA and NHL.  Four teams were added, as well.  The mere fact that he was in MLS made a difference.  “I think there is an interesting impact [just] because of his presence,” said Grant Wahl, author of The Beckham Experiment and long-time writer for Sports Illustrated.  Beckham put the team on the international map.  He sold more jerseys in 2007 that any other athlete in the world.  More importantly, he brought MLS into the consciousness of prospective owners with the business acumen to thrive in a new American sports market.  Wahl demonstrates, “The most successful team, business-wise, in the league is the one in Seattle which started in 2009. The [part] owner of that team is Joe Roth, who used to run Disney Studios, and the reason he invested in the league and a team in Seattle is because of the attention that Beckham could bring.  That team might not exist if Beckham had not come to the US."  Former US Men’s National Team defender and current ESPN soccer analyst, Alexi Lalas, echoes the sentiment.  “The fact that when people talk about American soccer, most people around the world now know about the LA Galaxy - that's the type of brand awareness that you die for… there is incredible value to that.”

Of course, it wouldn't be LA without a little drama.  Landon Donovan, one of America's all-time greatest soccer players, justifiably and publicly called out Beckham on his fleeting interest in MLS as the team struggled to find its footing in 2007 and 2008.  “When David first came, I believed he was committed to what he was doing,” Donovan was quoted in The Beckham Experiment. “[But then] he just flipped a switch and said, ‘Uh-huh, I’m not doing it anymore.’”  Becks wanted to leave, but the Galaxy held him firm to his commitment.  The rest is history; the two stars/teammates cleared the air, Beckham stayed, and the Galaxy went on phenomenal multi-year run that did not overshadow their accomplishments of the past but did repeat many of them in more dramatic fashion that moved soccer in Los Angeles from a blip on the sports page to the front page.  

MLS all-time leading goal scorer, Landon Donovan

The results do not lie, be it on the field or around the league.  From the days of Cobi Jones, Carlos Ruiz, and Kevin Hartmann through Beckham’s years to the current club led by Donovan and All-Stars Omar Gonzalez and Ireland’s all-time leading goal scorer, Robbie Keane, the Galaxy have been the finest club in MLS history.  Of course, it has helped that their two best periods have come with the two all-time winningest coaches in MLS, Sigi Schmid from 1999-2004 and Bruce Arena from 2008-present, at the helm.  The Galaxy have been the league standard bearers for victories, trophies, game-changing player signings, shirt sponsorship money, local TV contracts, and total revenue. 

This week, I’ll watch the All-Star Game and attempt to forget that, as I look at the league standings, the most successful franchise in MLS history is right on Seattle’s heels…