I love Baltimore. The place has character, something of which Washington sometimes has a surfeit. Sure, some parts of it aren't the best, as highlighted by one of the greatest television shows of all time, but that's no reason to discount the charm of Charm City.


I've long held the believe that Baltimore could be a great professional soccer market if things were done right.


Because of that, I was happy to see that there's push for MLS in Baltimore thanks to a new a group calling themselves the "Lords of Baltimore" (thanks to The Original Winger for the heads up). The group's stated raison d'etre is "to show the MD Stadium Authority that they should build the stadium and that the team will be well supported by the soccer community in the Greater Baltimore Area." With the Stadium Authority moving forward on a feasibility study for a 17-20k stadium in the city of Baltimore, perhaps to lure DC United their way, I suppose it makes sense for such a group to exist.


While DC drags its feet on a stadium deal for United, and the surrounding jurisdictions have yet to step up in the city's stead, Baltimore might be a viable alternative for the MLS franchise. No one, at least south of the burbs that are more DC metro than Baltimore metro, wants United to move, but it would be naive to think that there's some real pull there for Will Chang and his partners. Go where you're wanted.


Except that Baltimore already has a professional soccer club, the NASL's Crystal Palace Baltimore. CP Baltimore is looking to build their own 7-10k stadium, is moving up to the Division II level this year, and despite the financial troubles of its English namesake, appears headed in the right direction. So why not just support them?


Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing that the Lords of Baltimore are doing anything wrong. I realize the MLS is the top flight with the big pull, and that soccer fans want their city to be involved with the biggest league out there. And hell, the LoBs even have a CP Baltimore ticket package teased on their website. So is the aim to try and lift CPB into MLS, the way that Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver did with their DII clubs? It's hard to know for sure, since the group's website speaks only of proving to the Stadium Authority that support for the game exists in the area.


I wish the Lords of Baltimore the best of luck, no matter what their aim. I would just give them the advice that it might be better to support the club your city already has rather than dream about "stealing" another's.