Posted by Rick Fitzgerald

I remember when I first started watching MLS, I have to admit, I was a bit underwhelmed.  Matches held on college football fields where the lines and football logos were simply covered over - poorly, I might add -  was a distraction trying to figure out where the penalty area began but I assumed it was somewhere around the pitch that was colored red and said "UTAH."  To say the product put out by the MLS was shabby is like saying that the movie "Battlefield Earth" was slightly bad (in fact, it was rated one of the worst 50 movies ever.)  I watched a match here or there out of pure morbid curiosity - and because I love football - but to be honest, I didn't see this league going anywhere.  Of course I had to compare it to the (then) EPL and other well established leagues.  But see, that's what I get for being a football snob.

Fast forward to today.  While some teams are still playing on those covered up football greens, a lot of teams have moved or built "soccer" stadiums that capture that old English glory in their design and construct. Seeing some of the grounds now, one might think they were walking the grass at Craven Cottage or the City Ground.  This small change in the quality of the product presentation, along with the inflow of talented superstars like Henry, Keane and of course, Beckham, has lifted the MLS from a backyard dirt-lot, cones for goals soccer game into a beautiful stage where thousands of die-hard fans gather to watch the elite in America play.  So to the MLS I say, well done!

But the point of this blog isn't to lick the boots of the MLS because even with all of the added quality, there would still be no sport if not for the support of you (and me), that 12th player..or, the fan.

Since day one, Seattle has been ridiculous in its support of the Sounders.  Watching a match there was like being in The Black Hole at a Raiders game without all the bloodshed and stabbings.  Seattle has boasted one of the most solid fan bases in the league and rivals many of the teams over seas.  Sure, we don't house 85,000 people like some places in Europe, but averaging 37,000 crazy, screaming fans is not too shabby especially for a sport some would say doesn't exist here in the US.  Go to a match and just look around.  The noise is ear-piercing, the scarves raised high and the fans dedicated till the last second.  This driving force of Seattle Sounder-ites makes itself known with a presence in this stadium the likes of which I had never previously seen.  Clubs coming to this ground know that they are not only playing the likes of Montero and Keller, they are also going up against the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC.  Fans like these make this stadium one of the hardest to leave with points in hand.



Along the way, Toronto FC, Vancouver and Portland have also managed to start campaigns with very solid and boisterous fan bases.  I think people along the way are beginning to realize, en masse, that the MLS has taken big steps to promote football and produce exciting matches week in and week out.  Fans across the country are taking note and showing up in droves with their blue hair and lifted scarves and, yes, the vuvuzela (ugh!).

So as an American football fan and snob, I have to say that it is great to see football - the real football - is alive and kicking here in the US.  While teams come from across the pond and, for the most part, kick the hell out of the MLS squads, I believe with the fan base and overall support this league has, expansion will continue and quality players will continue to arrive.  Those days of fearing BPL teams are just about over.


On a final, unrelated note, how bout it Seattle???  4-1 over Comunicacion?  Not a bad way to start another round of the CONCACAF Champions League, huh?

Till next time

Be safe and take care


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