Tuesday's Column: MLS celebrates a sweet 16
Did fans like these in Seattle and players like Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller make this the best-ever MLS season (AP Photo)?
It was while watching the uninspiring Galaxy-Chivas USA game Sunday that I realised just how good much of the rest of this MLS season had been this year by comparison, especially games like the Seattle Sounders-San Jose Earthquakes contest I witnessed 24 hours earlier.
The 1996 Major league Soccer season will always stand out for me simply because it was the first and American fans had waited so long for the return of top flight soccer.
The attack-oriented 1998 Galaxy team will always retain a soft spot in my heart simply because many of the games were just so much fun to watch.
But the 2011 MLS season overall may have been the best yet, which is the case I make in today's column.
Agree? Disagree? What do you think?
Updated
The Galaxy are reportedly close to adding another stop (or two) on their end of season tour and David Beckham is reportedly close to staying another year with the Galaxy.
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About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
It certainly has been a good year for MLS and soccer in the US. When you bring up soccer people no longer seem to make automatic snide remarks. People tend to know general information about the players and teams. This is the first year where soccer has seemed (to me) like a mainstream sport in the US.
The soccer specific stadium is an interesting issue. Having soccer specific stadiums has certainly helped the game grow by creating a better atmosphere during games. But that growth could begin to restrict teams. If you can pack them in an NFL sized stadium, than having that small soccer stadium is a terrible idea. If soccer continues to see the growth it has seen lately then all these stadiums are going to become useless. But without them, I don't think we would have seen the same growth.
I predicted this would be a great season back in March and things have worked out accordingly. This will be THE season for me if LA does not choke and makes it into the final at it's home stadium for the first time. Yes, the '96 and '98 seasons were special, actually all pre-Sigi seasons were special, but playing and winning the MLS Cup at home should wake up the sleepy soccer masses and push LA into the next level of real fan support sans the kiddie brigades.
Btw, we may see the MLS Cup final be played at the home field of the finalist with best record in near future.