By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent
There I sat on my coach Sunday early-evening trying to catch-up on the few La Liga matches I'd missed, but had DVR'd. In the past few weeks I've consumed all-you-can-eat portions of La Liga trying to be as knowledgeable as I could for this column on WFD's site. And after nine rounds where has it got me? A table with Espanyol (#5) and Mallorca (#7) each overachieving a little bit, but everyone else about where you would expect them. The SPL on steroids? I don't think that's fair. But, ridiculously predictable? Yes. Real Madrid and Barcelona are on pace for 97 and 92 points respectively. A discussion about how to redistribute the television money more similar to the EPL could not come at a more vital than now. In case you were wondering, this is what the table looks like ...
1. Real Madrid
2. Barcelona
3. Villarreal
4. Valencia
5. Espanyol
6. Atlético Madrid
7. Mallorca
8. Sevilla FC
9. Athletic Bilbao
10. Getafe
11. Real Sociedad
12. Racing Santander
13. Osasuna
14. Hercules
15. Sporting Gijon
16. Almeria
17. Levante
18. Málaga
19. Deportivo La Coruña
20. Real Zaragoza
As entertaining as watching Sporting Gijon and Villarreal unjustifiably draw 1-1 due to some shocking officiating, I found myself drifting to thoughts of MLS Cup Playoffs. At least I have the Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy at 8:00 PM. Did I just think that? I musingly watched what a Giuseppe Rossi and Jozy Altidore fantasy-partnership might look like for the US national team. Can't Rossi see that we have a better cast to create opportunities for him? Maybe I'm seeing things through rose-filled glasses.
If you did see the Sounders and Galaxy, you saw the future of sport in America. The more people see that kind of atmosphere on television, the more casual viewers will drop-in. The Sounders supports were strident "Green Hell". They looked and sounded like they believed in something. There are a lot of people that want to feel that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Drew Carey and his boys got this soccer thing down really well. You had to feel for them when Edson Buddle had his wonder-shot.
Looking around the field, it was remarkable how much the talent-level has increased in MLS in just the past few years. You had rising-stars that will likely soon be plucked by bigger clubs like Fredy Montero (23), Steve Zakuani (22), Sanna Nyassi (21), Omar Gonzalez (22), and Adolph Joseph DeLaGarza (22). There were MLS veterans with Edson Buddle, Jeff Parke, James Riley, Sean Franklin, Dema Kovalenko, and Mike Magee. Long-time international greats with Kasey Keller and Eddie Lewis of the US, Donovan Ricketts of Jamaica, and Leonardo Arce Gonzalez of Costa Rica. Stars of this summer's World Cup with Landon Donovan and Blaise Nkufo. Finally, there was a FIFA World Player of Year runner-up in David Beckham. The thing is, this was just a first round game. Now, I'm not going to lose the plot and start comparing MLS with La Liga in terms of talent, quality, tactics, or technique. If I do, commit me. But, in terms of interest these next couple weeks, MLS has the edge.
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