One year at a time: alive and kicking on the field, MLS needs to make more than just lateral moves off of it - Special Section: The 2001 MLS Season In Review - Cover Story

Soccer Digest, Jan, 2002 by Michael Lewis

NO ONE EVER SAID IT WAS going to be easy, but six years on MLS isn't exactly where its founders expected it to be. Average crowds of more than 20,000 and a league of 16 or 18 teams were envisioned as the new century dawned. In reality, attendance struggles to break 15,000 a match and expansion to 14 teams is at least two years away.

That's not to say that it's time to call MLS a failure, however. There were a number of encouraging signs this past season that commissioner Don Garber, owners, and investors have pointed their ship in the right direction. Attendance increased and the quality of play continues to improve, but the league still faces numerous challenges, including increasing its exposure on national TV, building more soccer-specific stadiums, and expansion.

"There are no lightning-in-a-bottle solutions that will suddenly pack our stadiums, explode television ratings, or guarantee a U.S. victory in the World Cup," says Garber.

Many MLS officials peg the future of the league on soccer-specific stadiums. Those stadiums affect so many things from atmosphere and revenues to scheduling and proper playing conditions.

Here's a look at MLS's key issues following the 2001 season:

ATTENDANCE

This is the most promising news of all: After four consecutive years in which they fell, attendance figures rose in 2001. The average MLS crowd was up an encouraging 8.8% a game, from 13,756 to 14,961.

This was no isolated incident--all but three of the clubs showed increases. The revived Miami Fusion led the way with a whopping 49.8% gain (7,460 to 11,177), with the Colorado Rapids (22.4% from 13,387 to 16,388) and Kansas City Wizards (20.2% from 9,112 to 10,954) also making sizable improvements.

D.C. United pulled in a league-high 21,518 a match and the MetroStars averaged 20,806, the first time in four seasons that two teams broke the 20,000 barrier. "We clearly needed to make improvements," says Garber. "Our goal was to make progress. I would have hoped that we had hit the bottom."

But there are concerns about the three teams that lost their audience. The most confounding drop was by MLS champion San Jose Earthquakes. The fans apparently were not convinced of the turnaround as crowds fell off 22.6% from 12,460 to a league-low 9,635. The Los Angeles Galaxy (down 14.7% from a league-high 20,400 to 17,387) and Dallas Burn (a decrease of 4%) also slipped.

"We're not out of the woods," says Garber. "We have a long way to go before we are part of the sports culture in this country."

ON THE FIELD

There is little doubt that the quality of play has greatly improved since the league's inaugural 1996 season.

Thanks to MLS, Chris Armas, Clint Mathis, and Josh Wolff have developed into impact players for the United States national team, but that's still not enough.

One problem is that too few players are getting the chance to train at the top level. MIS rosters were trimmed to 18 players this year, down two from the previous season. This created more movement between MLS and the United Soccer Leagues. On some occasions, teams could not even field a full complement of substitutes on their bench.

Reserve teams are desperately needed to develop young talent. The Chicago Fire and MetroStars have established such teams, which is a start. The MetroStars' efforts already have born fruit Brazilian-born forward Rodrigo Faria, who was discovered while playing for Concordia College and spent a year with the Metros' reserves, was one of the league's top rookies.

Still, reserve teams that are on the par of European clubs are many years away. "That process is evolutionary," says Garber. "We still have a long way to go before our teams are structured like those around the world."

It is also distressing that few, if any, American players perform in playmaking roles. The U.S. was reminded of this weakness the hard way when it played without the injured or suspended Claudio Reyna and John O'Brien in World Cup qualifying losses to Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica. In those games--with the Columbus Crew's oft-injured Brian Maisonneuve also missing from the team's roster--no American player was able to control the midfield.

STADIUMS

Two years after Columbus Crew Stadium debuted, the league is still waiting to build more of its own venues. "I won't be satisfied until every market has a soccer-specific stadium," says Garber.

In August, ground was broken for a 834-million, 20,000-seat stadium for the Galaxy on the Cal State-Dominguez Hills campus in Carson, Calif. The stadium will double as a training center for the U.S. national teams. That project will be completed in late 2002.

Fire officials hope to build a modular stadium called the Fire House on the grounds of Arlington Racetrack or in a city location, although that plan has run into roadblocks.

The MetroStars found a site in Harrison, N.J., but they are awaiting approval for public funds by the New Jersey lawmakers in November. Even if they get approval, a new stadium wouldn't be ready until 2004.

"Our teams are somewhat restricted by forces that are subject to change," says Garber. "We're still optimistic."