- Jason Davis

In what seems like a mildly desperate bid for attention from Ohio's elected officials - admittedly a group of people who could help them get a new stadium in the state capital - the Crew will play an exhibition match on the lawn of the Statehouse tomorrow in Columbus. Part of "Paint the Town Black and Gold Week", the match will feature a selection of players and conclude with a meet-and-greet where fans can chat with their favorite Crew stars. Or more likely, the reservist who drew short straw.

- Jason Davis

Whether the result of shaking off pre-season rusts or due to the greater comforts of being at home, Real Salt Lake proved themselves worthy of their prohibitive favorite status as they dispatched an outmatched Columbus Crew side 4-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday night. A crowd of 15,045 looked on as RSL playmaker Javier Morales scored twice and collected an assist on Alvaro Saborio's opening tally, leading the charge for the home side.

Tonight, I get back on the CONCACAF Champions League horse despite having been bucked off in inglorious fashion just a week ago. Real Salt Lake and Columbus, as if to mock my excitement about "meaningful" competition involving MLS teams taking place three weeks before the 2011 league schedule officially begins, did nothing but run around the Crew Stadium field for 90 minutes, managing only to produce a grimace-inducing soccer-like substance that left me emotionally scarred.

- Jason Davis

Thank god for small miracles, like the MLS season starting before the MLS season actually starts. Training matches are nice, even if we only know those games are happening through official Twitter accounts and the geekiest live chats of all time, but a real game tonight, a full three weeks before the league schedule kicks off, is an uplifting thing for this soccer soul.

Here's a not-so-bold prediction: MLS will have a team in the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals. 


The prediction isn't so bold because it's now guaranteed by the draw; MLS sides Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew will play in the quarterfinals.  And, without a Mexican club on their side of the bracket, there's a reasonable chance we'll have an American CCL finalist come April.

As the MLS regular season enters its final fortnight, the top eight teams in the current league table are virtually assured qualification to the post-season MLS Cup tournament. The bottom three of those eight — Seattle Sounders FC, the Colorado Rapids, and the San Jose Earthquakes — now face an interesting choice as to where they target their playoff seedings.

How did you enjoy the US Open Cup Final? You did watch, right?


If you skipped it, shame on you; not because of any imagined obligation to support American soccer's one open knockout tournament, but because you missed a damn good soccer game. Seattle outlasted Columbus last night in front of 30,000+ engaged and raucous fans at Qwest Field, and almost every moment of the match was befitting of a Cup Final contest.

Tonight, in front of 30,000 fans at Qwest Field in Seattle, the Crew and the Sounder will face off for the oldest continually awarded trophy in American sports.  The backdrop provides the game gravity it rarely possesses.  The two finalists are quality MLS teams in the midst of playoff seasons, and it should always matter when a title is up for grabs.  Yes, the game is on a Tuesday night in a time slot that will make it difficult for some of the country to commit to watching it all; nevertheless, the Open Cup Final needs a bit of hype in the hours before the game.

I groused about the US Open Cup start time last week, a post that got me branded a rampant East Coast elitist; though that wasn't my intention (I should have simply stated that the final should be moved to a weekend), it is certainly discouraging that much of the country would need AM bedtimes to see the game (much less the trophy ceremony) in its entirety.

Word on the street is that Brian McBride will announce his retirement today after a legendary playing career that saw him excel in MLS with Columbus and Chicago, at Fulham as part of the Fulhamerica era, and with the US National Team over the course of three World Cup cycles.

They make it hard, don't they? Some of us want to support the US Open Cup - the tournament has history, provides the only tangible evidence that the US soccer "pyramid" is actually interconnected, and gives the sport here a knockout competition in-line with what we see in almost every other serious soccer nation. But when the latter rounds, the most serious rounds after MLS clubs treat the early stages as a training exercise, are not broadcast or are placed in an inaccessible time slot, it's easier to just give up and call the thing a lost cause.

When MLS made the decision to bring their website in-house while adding a news arm that would be "independent" of the league from an editorial standpoint, natural questions emerged. Just how impartial could MLSsoccer.com's writers be if their paychecks came from the very entity they covered? Even with assurances that the league would not dictate content or censor criticism, the new team faced an uphill battle to prove themselves a trustworthy outlet of American soccer news and commentary.


More basically, what do we want from the MLS website? It should provide stats and news, surely, and lighter stories on players, teams, and coaches are acceptable ("player x working really really hard this year"), but can a league sanctioned media outlet ever be an effective source of opinion? If we're letting the league decide what questions to ask, which is the reasonable perception, do the difficult ones get shoved under the carpet? If Garber is doing a poor job, who is going to openly criticize his boss? An independent writer can ask the hard questions and hold the league accountable for its actions in a way an in-house guy simply can't for fear of risking his neck.


The flip side of those questions, a problem perhaps not as obvious at first blush, is the matter of association; if MLSsoccer.com publishes a story that is viewed as biased, unfair, or flat out wrong by certain segments of the league's fan base, it logically reflects back onto the league. Because any questionable or inflammatory content would be published on the league's official site, the league would naturally suffer from the belief that it was sanctioned, perhaps in a de facto manner, by MLS itself. At the very minimum, the material remaining in place after protests were lodged would appear to indicate that the league found no fault in it.


Case in point: in the aftermath of the Crew's uniform-disaster-cum-disallowed-goal in Mexico last week, MLSsoccer.com posted its weekly Power Rankings (which are posted without a byline). In the blurb on the Columbus Crew, number three on in the rankings, was a one sentence statement: "Quit barking about the disallowed goal against Santos. The ref made the right call."


The statement prompted a spate of comments through the site's Facebook-connected mechanism, many of them critical of the tone and questioning the writer's purpose in dismissing what fans, and the Crew themselves, perceived as a legitimate complaint. Anecdotal chatter on Twitter indicated that several of the critical comments were deleted (all comments have since been removed).


MLSsoccer.com followed up on the controversy in Torreón with a story, this time with Simon Borg's name in the byline, on the official match report. In the report, the referee explained the Crew goal was disallowed because Emilio Renteria re-entered without permission; with video evidence that seemed to contradict that version of events, Crew fans and sympathizers found fault with Borg's story, which seemed to back the ruling. Again, comments from readers followed expressing a distaste for the tone of the piece, and again there are anecdotal statements that some were deleted (perhaps justifiably so if the removed comments contained abusive language).


At this point, much of the "controversy" over MLSsoccer.com's treatment was a matter of perspective; Borg (and the site's entire content team, for that matter) are not beholden to defending MLS teams, and shouldn't be if they are truly independent of league oversight. By stating that the Crew fans should "quit barking" (harsh wording, to be sure), and posting a story reinforcing the official version of events, MLSsoccer.com appears impartial.


But this brings us back to the issue of reflecting views; whether Borg is writing impartially or not, his work still appears under the MLS banner. For the uninitiated, uninformed, or otherwise unconvinced, it might appear as though he is stating opinions held by at least a few running around MLSHQ in New York. Short of attribution by association, the league must deal with the ramifications of one of their employees using dismissive language in the aforementioned Power Rankings.


Friday morning, in the site's daily "Kick Off" post and with a headline including the words "Renteria backs ref", Borg linked to a Spanish-language story out of Venezuela that claimed Renteria spoke in support of the referee's decision. Renteria flatly denied making such statements to Columbus Dispatch reporter Shawn Mitchell, who referenced the MLSsoccer.com inclusion of the erroneous Venezuelan article in his blog post at CrewXtra.com.


Again, Borg's intent is questioned in the comments, and the relevant problem of verification is presented. As an employee of the league, Borg certainly has the wherewithal to contact the Crew and check the story's veracity; even forgetting that he's working under the league's auspices, Borg may have an obligation to followup as a matter of journalistic integrity. Whether the information is presented in blog form or not, Borg and his coworkers are professionals operating as a news-gathering agency, and are therefore answerable to a higher standard. By linking to the Venezuelan story, subsequently refuted by Shawn Mitchell, Borg has opened himself up to an additional wave of criticism (it should be noted that an update was made to the post, linking to an MLSsoccer.com story reporting that Renteria denied making any comment backing the referee's decision).


The core issue is not one of the rightness or wrongness of Borg or anyone else associated with MLSsoccer.com (minus, perhaps, the journalistic issue presented above); impartially speaking, whether the writers and presenters of the site should side with the league's teams is a matter of opinion. For Crew fans, the actions listed here amount to a pattern of bias, Borg himself is a target of derision, and their reaction is no doubt exacerbated by the simple fact that the offending items emanated from individuals covering the league at the behest of league itself.


It's the perception here that is the problem, with the MLSsoccer.com team damned if they do and damned if they don't; their impartiality is in question from the start because of for whom they work, and anything they write will be viewed through a prism of league sanction. Show the slightest hint of bias, real or imagined, and they risk alienating a portion of the fan base. Fail to follow through on promises of editorial freedom, again real or imagined, and they risk losing credibility.


The revamping of the league's website and the launch of their in-house coverage fills an unfortunate gap that exists in the amount of media attention given to American soccer. Be it through news-gathering, blog posts, or radio shows, MLSsoccer.com serves the fan base in a way much needed and too often neglected by established outlets. The profile of the MLS website, official and therefore a natural destination for fans, gives them an inherent ability to be among the most prominent voices. But by its very existence, MLSsoccer.com's coverage presents problems difficult to overcome but intrinsic to their work, even while their dominating presence gifts them a leading role. Reconciling the two is ultimately up to the fan, who must either search out truly independent opinion as an alternative or carefully parse content coming from the league's official site.


This tête-à-tête with the Crew faithful brings all of the problems part and parcel of the league website as news and commentary outlet into a rather harsh light. This particular controversy is likely to blow over in due time, but the site has certainly lost a number of Crew fans as an unfortunate result of tripping over fine line MLSsoccer.com must walk.


For more on the impartiality issues with MLSsoccer.com and their scooping up of most of America's more prominent soccer journos, see this Pitch Invasion post from March.

Please keep comments on topic; the issue at hand is the problem posed by MLSsoccer.com's in-house coverage, not the validity of any Crew fan complaints over the controversy in Mexico or the website content.

That imposition known as CONCACAF Champions League is back tonight for two MLS teams. The Crew are in Mexico to take on Santos Laguna, a match that should represent the next best chance for MLS to break their Mexico curse.


I say "should" because the Champions League as imposition means a weakened Crew squad will be on the field tonight. No Guillermo Barros Schelotto. No Chad Marshall. No Danny O'Rourke, and a number of starters planted on the bench. Robert Warzycha is coloring his decision as a strategic one, implying that the three points bagged at home against Municipal last week allows for the approach.


And we wonder why an MLS team has never won in Mexico.


Warzycha's logic is fairly sound, don't get me wrong. But his strategy takes all the anticipation out of the game. The chances of the Crew shocking Santos now are essentially nil, and even a draw would be somewhat shocking. Without both their best offensive and defensive player respectively, the Crew are dead men walking against a side with an early lead in the Apertura.


So what to do? The game kicks off at 10 PM Eastern, making it a rather late night if I choose to sit up and watch what seems like a foregone conclusion. On the other hand, I feel obligated to watch as a champion of MLS and fan of the league desperate to see a breakthrough in Mexico. Stranger things have happened in the history of the game than a less-than-full-strength MLS side winning in Mexico; but that specific strange thing has never happened, and I don't expect this will be the night.


I guess that means we'll continue to wait. It's a bit sad that one of the league's top teams heads to Mexico essentially conceding that they can't win, that their institutional (MLS being the institution) lack of depth dictates a pragmatic approach that involves leaving their two best players at home. Columbus is one of the teams that we should believe can break the curse. Not this time.


C'mon Real Salt Lake.

From the "Who Knew?" file comes some interesting statements from Columbus Crew president Mark McCullers on that club's stadium situation; as the soccer-specific stadium trailblazers the Crew find themselves with an increasingly outdated facility just over ten years after it opened.  When Lamar Hunt put down $28.5 million of his own money, he started a wave of soccer stadium building that is still going strong to this day; that wave had the dual effect of strengthening MLS and pushing Crew Stadium farther and farther down the rankings of best league venues with each new stadium opening.


Which says a lot about how far soccer and the league have come since 1999.  For Columbus to have their own stadium at all was an anomaly for so long that the bare bones nature of Crew Stadium hardly mattered; it certainly didn't stop US Soccer from using the stadium for crucial World Cup qualifiers.  As the first top-flight team to have a dedicated venue, Columbus holds a special place in the modern history of professional soccer in America.  A move away from Crew Stadium would not remove that honor.


McCullers comments are clearly rooting in the business of running a professional sports franchise.  Leaving such a young facility is almost unprecedented, but with other MLS teams playing in a higher standard of venue, the Crew will increasingly be left behind.  If the club has aspirations to become a larger brand, or to simply have a chance to compete with the New Yorks and Philadelphias of the world, then it will need a a facility capable of providing additional revenue in a location that gives it greater visibility in the community.


It's noteworthy that he mentioned, but minimized, upgrade possibility for Crew Stadium. That sounds like a strong indication that perhaps it's less about the current venue than it is about location and the club's place in Columbus as the city strives to become/stay "major league."


Frankly, I'm surprised to see McCullers discussing Crew stadium options, simply because it never occurred to me that they would be even speculatively looking.  The league still has several teams in poor stadium situations, so the focus naturally fell to them; even speculation that the Crew might look to build an updated arena in the area hadn't come up on my radar.


Throwing aside notions of nostalgia for Crew Stadium, or the idea that clubs should work to build history in their venues rather than move on so quickly, I applaud McCullers and the Crew for being proactive, even in an extremely preliminary sense, on their stadium future.


Red Bull Arena cost $200 million or thereabouts. PPL Park cost $120 million. Eleven years ago, no one could imagine that someone would spend that much on a stadium specifically built for soccer. It's thanks to Lamar Hunt and Crew Stadium that those buildings exists, but the their existence has the unintended effect of relegating Crew Stadium to second class status.

Until Real Salt Lake was awarded a late penalty in the dying minutes of their Group A match with Arabe Unido last night, I had that feeling. You know the one: an MLS team was going to to drop points at home in the CONCACAF Champions League despite having every opportunity to grab the game. Make no mistake; RSL was the deserved winner, even forgetting the time-wasting efforts of the Panamanians, but it didn't come as easily as it should have.


Meanwhile, Columbus made due with a single goal (and a very nice goal at that) in beating Municipal, meaning that through 3 of the 4 MLS teams in the tournament have taken 3 points at home. As they should. Anything else would be asking for trouble.


I'm happy enough to see the effort and execution (such as it was) that I'm not even going to bother grousing about attendance in Columbus and Sandy; MLS fans have proven time and time again that they're resistant to non-league games in mid-week, so pointing out the small crowds it hardly worth the effort. Perhaps when an MLS club finally wins this competition, the fans will come out in numbers to support the effort.


It doesn't get any easier for the three teams sitting on their three points; all three go on the road next week. Toronto takes the longer trip to Panama, while RSL gets the daunting task of Mexico City and Cruz Azul. Columbus goes Mexico as well, to take on Santos Laguna. A Toronto win is the most likely of the three, of course, but if the MLS sides can get anything out of those matches, they'll have done themselves and the league proud.


The last MLS team to kick off their CCL campaign is Seattle; the Sounders are in Honduras to take on Marathon. The Sounder recent form (unbeaten in 9) gives hope that they can get MLS to 4-4 and a possible 12 of 12 points by the end of today. For a league with the track record of MLS in this competition, we couldn't ask for a better start.


Let's not get ahead of ourselves, and we have to keep in mind that all four teams are juggling their league stretch runs at the same time as the Champions League, but there's reason for some quiet optimism.

Even when they play pretty well, MLS teams just can't win in Mexico.


It happened to the Crew last night against Toluca in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series, and means that once again MLS fails to get a team into the semifinal round of the tournament. I think we're all pretty used to it at this point.


In fact, we're probably so used to it that this post will avoid all of the usual discussion of why MLS teams can't make a dent in international competition (roster restrictions, salary caps, and the knockout stages being in pre-season). Either you're of the opinion that MLS stinks and its teams choke abroad, or you take the different financial world that MLS teams operate in into account and blame circumstance; either way, it looks like it's going to be a long while before an American club wins the thing, and there's no point in wringing our hands over it any more than we already have.


Columbus acquitted themselves admirably, though definitely deserved to lose in the end. Toluca hit the post on three different occasions, and would have been hard done by had Zinha not steered two wonderful free kicks in for goals. Even then, Columbus just needed a goal to win the series, since a 5-5 aggregate score would have had them through on away goals. But their effort was crippled by the loss of Steven Lenhart to a red card (I'm still not sure what happened, just that the card came for something "off the ball"), another seemingly typical occurrence for American clubs when they go south of the border.


On the one hand, it would have been nice to see the lone MLS team left progress in the Champions League. On the other, the pressure on MLS to make some concessions to allow their clubs to better compete in the tournament becomes that much greater with the Crew loss. Don Garber gives lip service to the idea that MLS clubs need to do better in these competitions and if he is not just blowing smoke, he needs to take action. The pressure increases further if MLS clubs do poorly in the group stages of the 2010-2011 Champions League later this year.


Most disappointing for me last night was the play of Robbie Rogers. I wouldn't call myself a fan of his, but I did believe him capable of more. Too often his decision making was poor or he put himself in situations where he no longer had options. Like many MLS players, Rogers seems to have ample athletic ability without the soccer instincts to match.


Disappointing play from Rogers (and others) aside, Crew fans should be extremely encouraged about their league chances heading into the season. They looked good enough to be Eastern Conference favorites to me.


Now if they could stop fouling people 25 yards from goal...

The Columbus Crew resume their CONCACAF Champions League campaign tonight at Crew Stadium, where they'll host Mexican side Toluca in the first leg of their quarterfinal series. Not only do the Crew head into the match in the midst of their pre-season preparations, they'll be battling an in-season Toluca without Guillermo Barros Schelotto (suspension), Frankie Hejduk (also suspension) and Chad Marshall (hamstring injury). I'm not holding out hope for a Columbus victory.


It is worth noting, though, that even if Columbus fall flat as MLS clubs tend to do in the CCL, that they might be the only MLS side to play a competitive match in March. With Sports Business Journal's Liz Mullen reporting via Twitter today sources say the League will need to move on free agency to get a deal done despite the involvement of a mediator, a strike is a stronger possibility than ever before.


The League will continue to be have their fingers shoved firmly in their ears over this issue, and any changes to the player movement rules they propose will come well short of free agency. The only saving grace here is that there's room for interpretation of Mullen's tweet, meaning that "free agency" could be taken as a catchall that includes things other than the true free agency the Players ultimately want (but are in no position to force through).


So cheer your boys on, Columbus. I'm doubtful that you'll break the 10k attendance barrier, but those of you that are there will need to help your club in anyway you can to give the Crew a chance of going to Mexico with a realistic chance of advancing to the semi-final round. CBA uncertainty notwithstanding, the league needs a strong showing in this tournament if only to improve its standing around the region. The benefits are mostly ancillary (except maybe the World Club Cup berth), but any competition a club is in should be one they want to win.


Fox Soccer Channel, which I still don't have in HD, will be showing the game at 8 PM Eastern tonight. I'll be watching, because there's a chance it will be the only game that matters involving an MLS team we'll get in March...or maybe the whole of the spring (Ugh).

On Friday, following Columbus' poor showing at the gate for the second leg of their first round playoff series with Real Salt Lake, I argued that the Crew should be moved to Montreal. The reaction to that argument, which I made as an effort to replicate the knee-jerk nonsense that floats around so much of the American soccer blogosphere (how many times have you heard "he's crap" about a player after one poor match?), was telling; many of you thought the argument well-reasoned enough, or read it already with feelings on the subject in mind, that you agreed with it.


For the record, there was a clue as to the provenance of the piece; I had a note, in super-tiny print, that the post was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. If I failed to convey that in the actual text itself, that's my failing, even if it does prove that Columbus' performance in the stands is worrying to many. I had hoped that the bluster and hyperbole would give enough clues that I was using thin arguments to push for a Columbus move. I guess not, as evidenced by how many took it at face value.


I was mildly surprised by the reaction, though I did receive push-back from some segments of the soccer community; Fake Sigi took it apart, and did so emphatically. Some commenters came to the Crew's defense, and with the passion I would expect from someone defending their club. Still, it seems that dissatisfaction from around the greater American soccer community with Columbus and their attendance woes runs deep, and while I believe that none of the arguments made in my original piece are enough to warrant picking the team up and shipping them off anywhere (much less Montreal, who doesn't need an existing franchise, but should be entering the league as an expansion side), my concerns have been deepened.


Because, although I don't hold to the views set forth in my piece in reality, there is a kernel of truth there. It's hard not to be when the most successful side in the league over the last few years can't fill half of their stadium for a playoff match.


I have trouble divining the line between relocating clubs to best benefit the sport and the league and the need to weather to storm to better build a community of fans that will last, which will only come with a consistent presence in the community (and without the threat of relocation). Relocation, no matter the sport, is distasteful, even as we Americans have come to expect it from time to time. Because the franchise model means sports teams are wholly controlled by private individuals, there's always the possibility that the man (or woman) in charge could pick up and move their asset to another city when money is more easily made. The community, to whom the club belongs on some level even if it's only via an outdated romantic notion, has little or no say.


Columbus has a stadium of their own, stage or not. Columbus has ownership with a solid financial portfolio, operational ineptitude and an inability to understand their fan base or not. Those two facts alone make moving the Crew a non-starter; MLS, and professional soccer in general, doesn't have many cities that can provide both of those elements, and it would be ridiculous to take a club out of one. Columbus' problems involve management and marketing, not an intrinsic problem with the market itself. I have no doubts that if those issues were properly handled, the Crew could increase their average attendance dramatically, and in short order.


I have no special affinity for the Crew, and I don't know much about Columbus. The arguments made in "Time to Move the Crew" may have some validity, but they fall well short of proving that relocation is the best way to "fix" the club. Relocation sounds like an easy answer, and putting the Crew in a market (like Montreal) that would conceivably provide full houses, is tempting. But Major League Soccer's future lies no in band-aids and misdirection, but in doing the hard work of making its teams relevant in each and every market it inhabits. Maybe Columbus wasn't the best place to put a team back in 1996, or maybe it was the perfect place and things just haven't gone well; neither view matters, because the best thing for MLS, MLS fans, and certainly the Crew faithful, is to make it work there.


Next week, I'll present "Time to Move FC Dallas".


Only kidding.

This post is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Or not. It was supposed to be, but apparently I failed. Maybe the Crew really should be moved...

Another playoff run, another Columbus disappointment, and I don't mean on the field. Despite having what has been the best team in Major League Soccer over the last two seasons, Columbus fans still fail to show up in big numbers at Crew Stadium. Last night, only 10,109 could be bothered to watch the men in yellow go down to Real Salt Lake. Lest you think this is an aberration, brought on by the opponent (no one ever accused RSL of being a big draw) or the day of the week, note that during last year's run to the Cup final, Columbus only averaged 13,000 between two home matches.


That, my friends, is what we call "not good enough".


Perhaps you're inclined to put the onus of poor attendance on Hunt Sports Group, the owners of the Crew and proprietors of one of the league's other poor attendance performers, FC Dallas. Unfortunately, HSG can't be used as an excuse. Americans love a winner; it's proven, it's true, and it generally means people show up to partake in the glory. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Crew have been winners in recent years. Americans love a winner?


I guess it the axiom doesn't apply in good old C'bus.


Why that might be, I have no idea. It doesn't make sense to me that metropolitan area with a population of 1.7 million (good for 32nd in the country) can't provide enough fans to fill a stadium with a capacity of 22,555. The Crew's regular-season average over the last two years is less than 15,000. Sure, Columbus is college football town. Sure, it's not a city with a large Hispanic population that could augment their soccer fan base. Sure, the game is a tough sell in the Midwest, a part of the country dominated by American football and college basketball. Still, none of those represent reasonable excuses for why the Crew can't draw a decent crowd.


Crew Stadium itself is a landmark of American soccer, the first dedicated venue for the sport in the United States built in the modern era. It will always be viewed as representative of the rise of soccer here, a monument to the builders of MLS and their dedication to the sport. But that history, and that status as both an MLS first and as a reliable home for the US National Team, should not keep the league from doing what is necessary. Major League Soccer just isn't working in Columbus, Ohio. Believe it or not, it's time to move the Crew.


Don't be so shocked. MLS has shown the necessary callousness in the past when it was clear a market wasn't cutting it. Yes, they went back to San Jose despite evidence that the place was a deathbed for stadium deals. Yes, they went into Salt Lake City before Toronto, though that hasn't worked out so poorly. But they killed the Florida teams, as they should have, and have shown good foresight with expansion teams since. Forget Crew Stadium; if the Crew can't draw respectable crowds, why should they remain in Columbus?


Back in the summer, when DC United was going through stadium plan travails, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said what needed to be said to the local governments of the region: Find a place for United, or the league might find it necessary to move the team. DC United is one of the flagship franchises in MLS, and yet they weren't deemed untouchable from the distasteful step of moving clubs like chess pieces, to homes that will both properly appreciate them and maximize the league's bottom line. United's situation is clearly different than that of Columbus, and yet somehow they're related; original MLS teams, each with issues in their markets, whose future in those markets should not be assured.


Anathema? I don't think so.


Luckily enough, there's a market in North America ready and willing to accept a Major League Soccer team: Montreal. There's a stadium (ready to be expanded), an owner who could take the Crew off the hands of the Hunt Sports Group (who would be better off focusing on one club), and a fan base ready to show up. "Perfect" doesn't begin to describe it.


Montreal is an MLS market waiting to happen. The city's eventual entry into the league is seen as a foregone conclusion, and the people there have proved that they'll fill any stadium presented to them. Stade Saputo, sold out on a regular if not consistent basis? Done. Olympic Stadium, with 50,000+ for a CONCACAF Champions League game? Done. It's a matter of simple math; Montreal offers fans willing to spend their hard earned money on soccer while Columbus continues to prove that winner or not, they just won't come out.


Canada is the new frontier for Major League Soccer. A whole other country connected to the United States by cultural links, common language (mostly), and sporting history, the Great White North has much to offer as place to grow the game. I may be American and proud of it, but even a flag-waving, red-white-and-blue-bleeding, son-of-a-serviceman like me can't deny that for MLS to be successful, and therefore for soccer to become a prominent sport in this part of the world, it must go where it's wanted. And it's wanted in Montreal.


I don't think we can say the same for Columbus.


There are a lot of very good, very passionate, Crew fans. The beauty of the Nordecke and the movement that created it shouldn't be dismissed. But a few thousand hardcore supporters just can't make a soccer club, no matter how rabid they are. Columbus had its shot, and I guess you could call it a decent fourteen year run; but it's better to get out too early than too late, and all of those empty seats at Crew Stadium during a crucial playoff match only confirms that the time to get out is now.


MLS, make it happen. Send the yellow boys north, where you have an owner and a city ready to embrace them.

*UPDATE 11/10* Since this still seems to be getting some attention, I should probably point you in the direction of the follow up post as well.