On a chilly night in a half-filled stadium, two of Major League Soccer's founding members played an ugly final decided by an own goal while the American soccer community on Twitter mollified itself by ripping anything and everything taking place north of the border.

This week, Jason and Zach review the MLS Cup Final, discuss the return of the NASL name for America's second division, and talk to Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch regarding the MLS CBA negotiations.

Get your thoughts on these topics or others by emailing the show at show@americansoccershow.com

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Special Guest Post by Zach Woosley - cross-posted to Ginge Talks the Footy


I'm not feeling particularly inspired this morning. The 2009 MLS Cup Final left a bad taste in my mouth, very similar to the feeling you get from that awful concoction dentist use to "polish" your teeth. I just feel like we were cheated out of a good match by a few controlling factors. I'll do my best to outline these factors and explain my thought process; all is not negative however and I'll be sure to talk about some positives as well. And since I love spaghetti westerns, I think I'll throw that in the mix.

The Good: The Atmosphere

Seattle was a great host for the 2009 MLS Cup Final. The stadium looked great (aside from the pitch, which I'll address later), the crowd was loud and boisterous, and despite a rather boring first half and dreadful extra time, the second half and penalty kicks gave us plenty of tension and drama. I hate penalty kicks, absolutely despise them, but much like the analogy of a car crash, you just can't look away. Last night's were particulary good though. We had Landon Donovan's amazing miss, Edson Buddle and the exhausted Andy Williams both with unfortunately poor efforts that turned the momentum, and finally Nick Rimando, looking particularly Smurftastic, amazing again just as he was against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Final. It definitely could have been a better match, but it felt like a Cup final and had all the drama you expect from a Cup final. What more can you really ask for?

The Bad: The Plastic Pitch

That field in Seattle sucks, but then all plastic surfaces suck. Toronto knows it and are getting rid of the crap. Seattle can't really do anything as they are stuck with the field thanks to time sharing in an NFL stadium. It really doesn't do any good to complain, so I'll keep this brief while still saying what needs to be said...which is this: That was embarrassing last night for Major League Soccer. The ball bouncing and skipping everywhere, passes going off target; it was really poor stuff. It doesn't help that the art of the first touch is often lost in MLS when you make these guys play on what equates to being in a FC Dallas bounce house.

The Ugly: The Assault on Javier Morales.

Not the flashiest player, but much like Schelotto in Columbus last season, Morales is the engine that turns the wheels for Real Salt Lake. He is entertaining to watch and when he left the match early yesterday, RSL spent most of the first half looking listless and lost on the attack. Halftime adjustments by Jason Kries righted the ship, but you have to believe that game might not have needed extra time, let alone PKs, if one David Beckham hadn't eliminated Morales from the match. The first collision I can let go but it's the second tackle that ruffles my feathers. Beckham's assault on Morales' knee was nothing more than a calculated strike to knock arguably RSL's best player out of the match. Morales knew it and he was none to happy with Golden Balls as he limped off the pitch unable to continue. The skill and talent that Beckham has lost has been replaced by petulance, dirty play and a serious case of entitlement. He bellows at referees and rages at opponents and more than one time this season has been the catalyst for escalating on the field disagreements to near full-fledged fights. Worse still, it's rubbing on his Galaxy teammates. Landon Donovan has been especially petualant this season, including his rage filled arm swing and a shout of "F*** YOU!" in the direction of the referee during the Western Conference Final. Last night though, Beckham physically removed an opposing player from the match with dirty tactics...and that is pathetic.


So there you have it: the good, the bad and the ugly of the 2009 MLS Cup Final wrapped up in a couple easy to enjoy paragraphs. Congratulations are in order to Real Salt Lake for winning their first MLS Cup. Now the fun part for Jason Kreis and his players...trying to repeat. Only 122 days to MLS First Kick 2010 and how fitting that it's back in Seattle on their awful turf.

Real Salt Lake got their moment, Major League Soccer got its glitzy showpiece, and almost everyone, save maybe Galaxy fans, could agree that the MLS Cup Final was a encouraging success. Seattle's Qwest Field, site of so many regular season sellouts throughout 2009, was a solid choice to host the game, and the Sounders community did the league and its fans proud with a production worthy of "Final" status.


But not everything from last night's game is sweetness and light, and despite a dramatic end to the the 2009 season, I have a bone to pick with the league today.


The MLS standard of play is often chaotic, disorganized, overly-physical, and entirely too reliant on athleticism over skill. In a league where cost control is paramount, that's just the way it is; we can grouse and grumble all we want, but until more money is pouring into the professional American and Canadian game via TV contracts, ticket sales, and merchandise, the club game here will continue to be of middling quality. For the powers that be in MLS, it's a sacrifice they're willing to live with in order to maintain a stranglehold on finances, the better to ensure the league's long range existence. On a very basic level, it's commendable that they've been able to achieve relative success in this part of the world while doing so; but when they exacerbate that dearth of skill by playing their biggest game of the year, the one that determines the champion of the league, on an artificial surface, it's time to heap a little scorn.


Soccer players are conditioned to play on grass. The majority of their time playing, never mind all of those years of devlopment that allowed them to become professionals, is on grass. Passes made on artificial turf that would be good, or good enough, on grass, turn into mistakes, turnovers, and fifty/fifty balls. Good first touches turn into mediocre ones, and mediocre touches into poor ones. For the average MLS player, control is not always easy; they need all the help they can get, and when strange bounces or funny spin affects the way the ball moves, they're unable to cope. What results is exactly what we saw last night, during Major League Soccer's culminating game; players unaccustomed and unable to deal with a surface on which the game was not meant to be played.


Soccer should never happen, if it's at all avoidable, in the absence of photosynthesis, and absolutely not when a championship is at stake in a league where the players need all the help they can get.


None of this is to say that the game should not have taken place where it did; Seattle made sense as the neutral MLS Cup Final host for a plethora of reasons, and the totality of those certainly outweigh concerns over the playing surface. As ardent a proponent as I am of the purity of the sport, I can't deny that the business side of the Cup Final is almost as important (for now) as the game itself. MLS made the right call for the location of the final, yet failed when it game to the product on the field.


Would it have been impossible to bring in a temporary grass field for the biggest game of the league calendar? Why is the expense justifiable when Barcelona deigns to visit the States and play the Sounders, or when Real Madrid graces BMO Field with their presence in a money-making exhibition, but not when the league is putting on what is supposed to be its most important match?


Maybe it's impossible because of the season. Maybe the Sounders' partners, the NFL's Seahawks wouldn't allow it. Maybe the the cost is just too high. Maybe none of those should matter when it comes down to it.


The goal, each and every time MLS puts its product in front of eyes that aren't already committed to their league through an evernt like the All-Star Game or Cup Final, should be to make the game look the best it possibly can. Critics of MLS will always exist, and many of them will decry the "terrible" play until the end of time; but there are millions of other soccer fans, both those who allow themselves to be led around by the tail by the critics and those hesitant but ultimately willing to give MLS a chance at some point, who might tune into the Final out of simple curiosity. If those potential fans are not presented MLS at its potential quality apex, with the players given every possible advantage to exhibit the league the best that they can, then Garber and the MLS muckity-mucks aren't doing their jobs. Cost-benefit analysis: spend some money (substantial to you and me, but ultimately a drop in the bucket for the deep-pocketed owners that populate MLS) on grass for a one off game, give your product the best look and feel you can, and give yourself a chance to draw interest from an otherwise dismissive consumer.


It seems simple to me. The MLS Cup Final had too many injuries, both those directly caused by the turf and those that might not have happened had it not been for a turf-affected bounce, too many loose balls, too many errant passes, and too many moments of poor control. The average skill level of MLS isn't great, not by any stretch; but it's better than what we saw last night, and would have been if the grass was just a little naturally greener, not so chemically-created, and a lot more alive.


MLS, you did a lot right last night. I was impressed by most of what took place in Seattle, and I commend you on a major league production. It felt like a final, if that makes sense, and I can find little to complain about save this one tiny little thing. Grass is good, especially for your biggest match of the year. Please remember this. We don't need another artificial final.

Congratulations Real Salt Lake on winning the MLS Cup and on ushering in a new era of MLS.

Perhaps, that is an overambitious statement, but I think it can be justified. Actually, the era was begun in 2005, but it is 2009 that has become the pivotal year in the expansion era. With its win, RSL becomes to first expansion franchise since Chicago in 1998 to win the MLS Cup.* Combined with the first year success of Seattle and the fourth straight playoff berth for Chivas USA, there are plenty of MLS expansion success stories from 2009.

I consider RSL’s accomplishment the most important. Attendance records are great for building the game and building a consistently good soccer team should be a franchise’s goal, but RSL’s winning the Cup is a statement.

RSL’s victory is a coming of age story. After a 1-0 victory that they scrapped out in Salt Lake against the Crew, they went to Columbus to face the Support Shield winner that had a 9-4-2 home record while RSL had a 2-2-11 record and a minus 15 goal differential in road games. RSL went down two early, but fought back for a 4-2 aggregate victory. In Chicago, after another tenacious game, it took clutch penalty kicks and three penalty saves from Nick Rimando to extend their season. In a final that was nothing if not competitive, RSL once again proved its determination. Perhaps there was little difference between last year’s RSL team that lost to New York and this year’s that won it all, but there seemed a maturity in this year’s team that was evident throughout the playoffs.

The balance of power in the league will not tip based solely on a four game run by RSL, but the writing is on the wall for the expansion teams of the last five years to begin making some noise. The expansion teams seem to be rising. Chivas or TFC both have the pieces to be next year’s coming of age story. Seattle has laid out a blueprint for how to make a first year team successful. Can it be followed as successfully by the Union? Meanwhile, DC looks to rebuild, LA, Houston, Chicago, and Columbus may all lose stars this off season.

But this moment belongs to RSL. While fans may look back on this win as a paradigm shift in MLS, the players, coaches, and management should all be congratulated for not only surviving but also succeeding in an extremely tough stretch of matches.


* The Dynamo’s wins in 2006 and 2007 were the first for an expansion team, but it was the same franchise as the original San Jose Earthquakes. If you don’t think that matters just look at the success of the Ravens versus the new Browns.

Guest Post by Matt - US Soccer Daily

To be completely honest, I was pulling for the Galaxy last night, even though I have no connection to the team or the city of Los Angeles. I wanted to see Landon Donovan win a title in what might be his last game in MLS, and I figured a championship for David Beckham would lead to plenty of media exposure for the league both domestically and internationally, which is always a positive. Despite that, it was hard not to root for Andy Williams as he walked up to the spot last night trying to seal victory.


Williams is one of the league’s truly crafty veterans, periodically injecting a piece of skill that even opposing fans can’t help but appreciate. And as he roamed the midfield last night and helped push an increasingly confident RSL attack forward, there was little evidence of what has surely been an extremely draining and difficult year for the Jamaican international. With his wife Marcia now improving after an innovative treatment for her rare form of leukemia, it would have been a storybook ending if Williams could have earned his team the title to complete the happy ending to a trying time.


Unfortunately, things didn't work out perfectly, as Josh Saunders made a huge save to keep the Galaxy alive and put RSL's championship dreams on ice for the time being. However, once Robbie Russell found the back of the net to give Jason Kreis’ squad the title, you could see just how much it meant to Williams, who broke down in tears. As he hugged teammates and wiped his eyes with a scarf, I couldn't help but feel so happy for him. Soccer is just a game (as Williams of all people has surely realized through these difficult months), but it can bring so much joy, particularly to those who need a ray of sunshine in their lives. So though I'm not particularly thrilled about RSL winning the title after being fairly underwhelming for an overwhelming majority of the season, I couldn't be happier that it was Andy Williams hoisting the trophy above his head last night at Qwest Field.

The days leading up to the MLS Cup Final over the last week included more than a few opportunities for Commissioner Don Garber to speak on a variety of topics related to the way the league is run. Among those many topics was single table, and from the way Garber addressed the issue, he's both clearly tired of talking about it and solidly against it.


Last night in Seattle was a perfect example of why The Don sees American soccer as needing playoffs, and defends to the death his position.


When the Real Salt Lake's captain Kyle Beckerman took the trophy from Garber and joined his teammates on stage for the triumphant release, a moment which was immediately preceded by the team chanting "WE WANT THE CUP!", it was hard not to get chills. Without the playoffs, and without a knockout tournament that ends in a final game packed to the breaking point with tension, that moment just cannot happen.


The game itself added to the glory of the moment, of course, though I'm sure the Utahans wouldn't have been any less ecstatic to win had they dominated. 120 minutes of soccer, ugly at some times, well-played at others, but always highly competitive, came down to spot kicks, ratcheting up the drama to the highest level possible. Both keepers, Josh Saunders despite having to come in off the bench, acquitted themselves well. Players on both sides took the moment by the throat and banged in their penalties with authority. Others, as always happens in those situations, failed at the biggest moment, inevitably putting the focus on those that missed. Stars who miss get the lion's share of that focus, and that is what Landon Donovan will deal with, at least for a few days.


But the game wasn't just about Donovan, or Edson Buddle (who also didn't score on his penalty, which was poor), or Beckham; the game was about the crowing of a champion in that way that Americans are so accustomed. It was also about the stage on which the drama unfolded, and it would be wrong not to point out what wonderful stage it was; Seattle and its fans put on a proper Cup Final, showed up in large numbers to support the league despite their team's playoff dismissal, and capped off one of the most extraordinary expansion stories one will ever see. 2009 may just be another year in the developing history of Major League Soccer or it could go down as one of the more memorable ever; the latter seems more likely, with so much to point to in the maturation of professional soccer in the United States. Love them or hate them, much of that is thanks to the record-breaking success of the Seattle Sounders.


David Beckham and the Galaxy didn't get their championship moment. The last chapter (or most recent; we'll see what happens next July) of The Beckham Experiment ends with disappointment. Landon Donovan may have closed out his MLS career on a low, leaving behind the memory of failure in the biggest moment. The Galaxy, a worst to first story thanks to the coaching of Bruce Arena and the reconciliation of their two brightest stars, head back to LA as runners-up. The game doesn't always cooperate when it comes to fairy tale endings.


Unless you're the winner, of course. "Fairy tale" is exactly how one might describe the ending for Real Salt Lake. The last team in the playoffs, lucky to even make the post-season, Jason Kreis and Co. took advantage of their lifeline and turned it into a championship. The RSL story is a good one, whether the playoff system is the best system or not; they stepped up when it counted most, and there's a certain fairness in that. Columbus was the best team over the course of the season, but failed against RSL when given the opportunity to prove their predominance; rail against the "hottest team wins" circumstance if you like, but there's nothing "undeserving" about Salt Lake.


Great drama, great crowd, great game, and a new champion. Congratulations to Seattle, congratulations to MLS, and most importantly, congratulations to Real Salt Lake, your 2009 MLS Champions.

Real Salt Lake are your 2009 MLS Champions. Wow, what a game.


It's late on the evening (morning?) after the MLS Cup Final, and I'm only moments away from dragging myself off to bed; but before I go, I wanted to outline what you can expect from MFUSA in light of the events in Seattle.


I should have a post on the spectacle that is the MLS Cup Final up sometime Monday morning; the game itself and the drama it carried were fantastic showcases for the league, and rightly deserve a look. I also plan to follow up with a piece on the field surface at Qwest, and how it turned a potentially well-played game into a series of poor touches, bad passes, and ugly tackles. Injuries were too big a part of tonight's match, and while Qwest served as a nice backdrop for the game, too much was lost by playing it on artificial grass.*


I'm also hoping to cajole our other MFUSA writers into giving their thoughts on what took place tonight, be it on the game as a whole, the Final-as-showpiece, or the ugly PK miss by Landon Donovan in what might be his last MLS match.


Check back regularly as we attempt to look at the MLS Cup Final from every angle possible.

*All of that is dependent on if I can get my brain to work tomorrow. Here's to hoping.

It's a super live blog for a super Cup Final. Join Jason and a cast of prominent soccer bloggers as find who will be crowned 2009 MLS champion.

The entirety of the MLS season comes down to tonight at 8:30 ET (ESPN2) when the Los Angeles Galaxy face off against Real Salt Lake at Seattle's Qwest Field. Over 40,000 are expected to be in attendance, weather permitting, and the game, besides determining this year's MLS champion, will be a nice showcase for America's top-tier soccer league.


The match-up isn't as sexy as the league and many fans probably would have liked, and the dream scenario (for the league at least) of the Sounders making the final in their own stadium didn't happen; but the league's two biggest stars will be on the pitch, meaning attention for the game should be significantly higher than last year's mundane (with apologies to the Crew and Red Bulls) championship game.


The game itself should be fun, simply from an observer's perspective, and the story of the plucky underdog going full-out for an unlikely title is a nice companion to the star-power and turnaround of LA. Regardless or the story lines, and there obviously are plenty (concern over Beckham's health being one) of note, the game represents the culmination of the American soccer year, one that has felt different than many before.


2009 included groundbreaking US National Team success, MLS marketing victories off the field around the country, seminal moments of national attention for soccer in various forms, packed stadiums from Baltimore to Pasadena, the expansion sagas of Philadelphia (stadium delays), Portland (stadium red tape) and Vancouver (stadium nonsense), and a general sense that soccer is penetrating the national consciousness in ways it has never before outside of a World Cup year.


The economy hit the game pretty hard, and there are certainly negatives to go along with many positives; but for all of the handicaps soccer has face this year, those many positives are incredibly encouraging. 2010, with that aforementioned World Cup, the debut of Red Bull Arena, the addition of the Philadelphia Union and the proper debut of the Sons of Ben as a supporters group, as well as expected improvements in media coverage (by me at least; ESPN has picked up their game considerably this year), should be even better.


I guess I'm an optimist at heart, meaning my point of view often runs counter to so many in the American soccer community that seem to have trouble seeing much positive. But there is a difference between glossing over problems (which I'm not) and choosing not to see them as outweighing the good. As a net calculation, I think it would be tough to argue that American soccer didn't take some large and exciting strides in 2009. The MLS Cup Final is a nice way to cap it all off.


So I'll be watching tonight, not as a fan of either team, but as a hopeful fan of the game in our part of the world, getting myself ready for 2010. Here's to hoping it's a good game.

Guest Post by Matt - US Soccer Daily

After the France-Ireland game on Wednesday, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. The swirling amalgam of anger, frustration, and disappointment made me eager to get my feelings down on paper, but also impeded my ability to actually express many coherent thoughts. With time, my emotions have simmered, though I still feel strongly opinionated about what transpired. Over the past couple days, though, this topic has been talked about so much that I feel like I’d be beating a dead horse to post on it now. Instead, I think it’s the right time to start looking forward to MLS Cup, our domestic league’s biggest spectacle, and what it means in terms of the USMNT.


I’ll probably take a stroll down memory lane on Sunday, back to 2002. I’ll see the fields of Korea and Clint Mathis, streaking down the field with a flashy Mohawk to match his fiery swagger. I’ll see Bruce Arena pumping his fists after Brian McBride’s diving header pushed his team’s unlikely lead over Portugal to 3 goals. I’ll see Eddie Lewis and Gregg Berhalter celebrating after beating Mexico in the Round of 16. I’ll see Cobi Jones taking a vicious challenge from Rafael Marquez. And I’ll see Landon Donovan, in a daze, being helped off the field after the heartbreaking loss to Germany. So much of the USMNT’s past will be on the field and on the sidelines at Qwest Field that fans like me can’t help but feel nostalgic.


I’ll also get to see the current face of American soccer on the league’s biggest stage. Landon Donovan has answered his numerous critics by putting in arguably his best year as a professional. It’s almost a shame that Landon won’t have any games for a little while after MLS Cup; it just might be the only thing that can put a halt to his incredible run of form that has spanned several months. This past week’s games only confirmed what every USMNT fan already knew: Landon is the engine that drives the team. Captain or not, Donovan has emerged as the leader on the field, and the USMNT will only go as far as he takes them in the World Cup.


I might just be getting a glimpse into the future too, with guys like Robbie Findley and Omar Gonzalez squaring off. The incredible consistency and poise that Gonzalez has shown (particularly for a rookie) has helped turn a previously woeful Galaxy defense into one of the league’s best. Findley’s raw speed and nose for goal have seen his stock rise considerably as well, particularly with Bob Bradley in desperate need of someone to help fill the void left by Charlie Davies’ unfortunate injuries. While Findley’s opportunity will likely come well before Gonzalez’s, I can’t help but think that both of these guys could very well be making the trip down to Brazil four and a half years from now.


An MLS Cup between Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy might not have been everyone’s dream matchup, but it will definitely be a unique opportunity for fans to see several eras of the USMNT connected by one common venue. Who knows, maybe Clint Mathis will turn back the clock and show us one more flash of brilliance. Or maybe Robbie Findley will turn in a scintillating performance and make us eager for the annual January friendly to roll around. Or maybe, and this one is most likely, Landon Donovan will leave his mark on the game and remind us all once more that he is the best player in the United States. Regardless of the result, I’m going to enjoy this game, and I hope all of you do too.

One day (presumably), MLS will get to the point where which clubs progress to the MLS Cup final doesn't really matter. By then, it will be all about the competition, and no matter who is playing, the final will receive ample attention and strong casual interest.


As long as the league continues to hold onto the notion that a singular marquee final is needed, ala the Super Bowl (or Soccer Bowl for that matter), the goal of the season, from a marketing standpoint, will be to drive as much attention as possible to the championship match. Drawing in casual fans, or more appropriately soccer fans who have not yet taken to MLS, is a major concern; for that reason, the game is half almost as much about the spectacle as it is about the competition.


After the first legs of the opening round playoff matches, picking out favorites to win it all is difficult. Margins are either nonexistent or razor thin for every match-up, and that means that every club still has at least a reasonable chance to advance. From a intrigue standpoint for fans of the league, it's a wonderful thing; even those whose teams fell short of the playoffs can get some enjoyment out of the tournament. That's why the playoffs exist.


As per the MLS playoff structure, the eight qualifying teams entered the playoffs each on equal competitive footing; any of them has a shot, and while some clubs may have more talent than others, luck is as much a part of things as skill. Fair or not, that's just the way it is.


On the field, things may be level. In the arena of marketing, they're clearly not.


Some, even to the point of conspiracy (I kid, a little), believe that MLS is anxious for a Beckham-Blanco showdown. On the surface, it makes sense; Beckham and Blanco are the league's two biggest stars, each attract large groups of fans from different demographics, and a MLS Cup Final with them involved has the potential for large (by MLS standards) TV numbers. Americans love stars.


But there's another possible match-up that might actually bring the league more in terms of excitement, television drawing power, and ultimate credibility: Seattle Sounders FC against anybody else.


The Sounders making the playoffs, bringing with them their massive crowds and fervent support, was a major coup for the league. TV ratings are better when the Sounders play, casual fans of the league take more notice thanks to their success and attendance records, and one of the new faces of the sport in the United States (for better or worse), Drew Carey, gets to be out in front extolling the virtues of the game while he roots on his club. Both from an on-field and marketing standpoint, 2009 has been a dream start in the Pacific Northwest.


The MLS Cup Final will be played at Qwest Field, home of those aforementioned Seattle Sounders. It would go beyond the point of obviousness to say that the Sounders in the final would be the best case scenario for the league; if Seattle did make it all the way, there could conceivably be 60,000+ in attendance. Ask the average American if they believe it possible (provided they're aware of MLS) that a crowd that large would show up for a domestic league soccer game in the United States, and I bet they'd probably have a hearty chuckle. Pulling off an event that big in the championship final would go a long way towards giving MLS a bit more respectability in the sports marketplace; Americans aren't exactly sheep, but they're certainly more likely to take an interest in something that brings in large numbers of fans.


I have trouble rooting against the Sounders because of the massive potential a home MLS Cup Final could have in Seattle. From a purely competitive standpoint, I cringe at the thought that an expansion side could win the Cup in their first year of existence in the "modern" MLS. Still, it would make for such a great story that as unbiased observer, I find myself hoping to see a sea of "rave green" at Qwest Field on November 22nd.


It won't even really matter who they're playing (but I guess Blanco and the Fire would be the league's preferred choice).


Just to better frame my thoughts on Seattle, I want to point you in the direction of a column I wrote for MLS Daily way back in March. The style is a little different than what I do here, but I don't think the importance of the Sounders success on the long term future of the league can't be overstated, and so I hope you'll read it.

Over the past week or so, I've found myself pondering the playoff structure that MLS uses to determine its champion. I'm both solidly American (and no, that's nothing to be ashamed of) and a fan of the "traditional" aspects of the world's game; this means I'm a touch conflicted over the issue of single table versus playoffs as a way to crown America's top club.


As an American, I understand the benefit and shortcomings of the system. I appreciate that holding a post-season playoff tournament is just the way we do things here when it comes to professional sports, and that decades of history have conditioned the American sports fan to expect one. I also get that most (but certainly not all) top soccer leagues around the world just don't do it this way; the best team over the course of a season is given the title, as a acknowledgement that it's not just about getting hot for a few weeks but about being the consistent best team over the course of a long journey.


Part of what makes a single table champion viable in most football competitions is a balanced schedule; there are twenty teams in each of the top tier European leagues, a nice round number that allows for a full season of home-and-away matches. The inherent fairness of that system means that the team with the most points at the end of the year deserves their reward. Without a balanced schedule to this point, thanks to both a small number of teams and a desire to leverage rivalries as much as possible, Major League Soccer could never consider a true single table.


In 2010, MLS will finally go to the balanced schedule. Philadelphia's entry brings the number of clubs to sixteen, and home-and-away matches across the league makes for a nice round thirty league games. The time seems right to move to the single table, crown the top point-getter at the end of the season the league champion, and get on with the business of lining up with the majority of the footballing world.


Not so fast.


The playoffs serve a purpose for Major League Soccer, balanced schedule or not. Americans, despite becoming more and more familiar with football as played around the world, are still comfortable with them. While the club on top of the standings after a full regular season certainly deserves to be crowned champion, the knockout style post-season tournament brings an additional level of intrigue and drama still helpful to selling the American product. MLS still needs a showpiece game, a massive "show off" event once a year that will hopefully draw a little mainstream media attention. I'll admit that there's an element of pandering to the non-soccer media there; though it's distasteful, it's unfortunately necessary. The MLS Cup Final is the league and the sports marquee event, and without a serious knockout up tournament, won't be going anywhere anytime soon.


Don't forget that US Soccer, and not MLS, runs the under-appreciated US Open Cup; even if the final of the tournament was a proper showpiece, it does the league no good. If the playoffs were to go away, the league would need to fill the void left by the loss of the MLS Cup Final. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer for how to do that. It becomes a case of the tail wagging the dog, if just a little; the league needs the final, therefore the playoffs are here to stay.


We've established that the playoffs aren't, and probably shouldn't, be going away. We know that MLS has committed to a balanced schedule for 2010. It only makes sense then, with the travel and regional concerns no longer at play in scheduling, to abolish the conference system and move to a single table with playoffs. Play the season out, thirty games consisting of home-and-away with every other team, and send the top eight to the playoffs. It's clean, simple, and without all of the complicated nonsense of incomprehensible tiebreakers. If you need a tiebreaker, goal differential will do nicely.


I think there's a chance MLS will do the right thing and move to this system for 2010. Conferences mean nothing now; they're just arbitrary delineations that have no bearing on the competition. Holding onto something that literally has no bearing would not only be ridiculous, it would only serve to bring MLS more criticism. Surely the league knows that labels like "Western" and "Eastern", when the schedule is not affected by them, is ridiculous beyond comprehension.

While you ponder what exactly the TPL might be, I've managed to collect a few intriguing links from around the internet to further stimulate your mind.

Soccer, perhaps more than the traditionally relevant and entrenched sports leagues in the United States, is about looking to, and preparing for, the future. Intelligent people are on the job all over the country, including L.E. Eisenmenger at Soccerlens; her piece there today proposes a youth transfer fee system in the United States, something which could help bridge the gap between the massive youth clubs our country possesses and the new-on-the-scene MLS clubs.

L.E.'s suggestion makes sense on several levels, and while the details would certainly have to be worked out, fixing the disconnect should be a priority for US Soccer, Major League Soccer, and those that run youth clubs around the country. If the clubs have incentive to develop players for the professional ranks, much of the animosity that exists between the two levels could be washed away, making for a more productive environment for the game in the U.S.

• Also a nod towards the future and building the game in the US is the launch of USSoccerProject.com, a site that will provide a free online hub for the sport in America. Audacious in its aims, the US Soccer Project's corporate backer, Elite Design Corporation, plans to purchase a European club "to enhance player development and bridge the gap between the U.S. youth system and the structure of youth soccer around the world". It will be extremely interesting to see where this site goes, and if their ambitious goals are achievable.

• Coming on the heels of last week's announcement that the MLS Cup Final will be moved to prime-time as well as cable comes one writer's call for the game to move away from neutral sites. The argument here is that MLS is wrong to follow the "NFL model", and should instead move to be more in line with South America's Copa Libertadores (a two-legged final). I'm fine with a two-legged final in each finalists home stadium, but I chafe a bit at the idea that the series should take place on consecutive Wednesdays in order to limit competition for attention. Then again, does MLS really need to play their final on a weekend up against American football?

• Our last link for today relates to a unfulfilled future, and one that has faded fast in recent times. Extrafootie remembers when Freddy Adu was America's chosen one, and throws salt in the wound with a video highlight package of the young phenom. I still feel for Freddy, who was never placed in a position to develop naturally because of the hype that surrounded him. You have to wonder if he would have become a great player if he was either not American or had come after someone else had blazed the trail that it seems he was forced to. Although different players in style and talent, it's worth considering whether Jozy Altidore would have become the player he is today if Freddy Adu hadn't come before him.

And now the part I always forget: Deep Cuts will attempt (but not always manage) to bring you soccer links from off the beaten path on a daily basis. If you come across something you think would make a good Deep Cut, please send it along to matchfitusa@gmail.com.

The MLS Cup Final, traditionally a Sunday afternoon affair broadcast on over-the-air network ABC, will move to cable (ESPN2) and a prime-time slot (8:30 pm) for the first time, the league announced today.

The move was made to allow for the match to start later in the day local time, which places it solidly in the East Coast evening time slot. The final will now go up against NBC's Sunday Night Football rather than afternoon NFL games, a situation that could actually work in Major League Soccer's favor. The trade-off from over-the-air to cable is significant, though the competition for viewers might actually be less intense. ABC was unable to accommodate the game with a later start time thanks to their own Sunday prime-time lineup, which includes several popular shows.

NBC's Sunday Night Football on November 22nd feature the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears; while both teams feature strong national profiles, neither may be serious championship contenders at that point in the season (in my humble opinion, they won't), which could push a few casual viewers in the direction of ESPN2 and the MLS championship match. For a sport and a league that draws paltry television ratings no matter the slot, competition, or platform, even a few more eyes would be a bonus.

Last year's final received a paltry 0.7 rating, which means that the move from broadcast to cable should be of little concern. ESPN2 is widely available enough that a rating similar (although hopefully better) is possible.

What do you make of this move? Will it ultimately benefit the league, or is the move to cable for the final a mistake?

I'll give you a moment to digest the headline.

If you're not from Seattle, it might give you indigestion.

I apologize if I've done any damage to your system, but I truly believe this statement:

A championship match appearance by Seattle Sounders FC would be a major boost for MLS.

I say this for two reasons; one, the game itself will be played at Qwest Field (per today's official MLS announcement), and two, Seattle as a market (thanks to ticket sales and an apparent civic fervor) has already shown it has the potential to be shining light on the American soccer landscape.

Nothing could showcase the league better than 60,000+ fans packed into a stadium designed for great crowd noise and the crowd making said noise doing so for American soccer. Don Garber must salivate at the thought.

Consider this a hope and a dream for yours truly, and although I have no affiliation with the Sounders, their fans, or their city, I want to see what's best for MLS and American soccer. A showcase match on a magnitude greater than Beckham-in-New York (sorry, New Jersey) or Beckham-in-DC is desperately needed; MLS Cup in Seattle, Sounders v. Whoever, could be that showcase match. Something with stakes, something that means something. Something where the payoff is more than some pretty bloke taking his shirt off as thousands of teenage girls scream with delight. A showcase match like that might even drum up a little hype from the hated mainstream sports media. How could they ignore what is supposed to be an American football stadium filled to the brim with soccer fans?

The kicker is that it's extremely unlikely that the Sounders will be good enough to get there. While the MLS playoff structure allows any team that makes it a shot at the title (see: Red Bull, New York), simply making the playoffs could be a difficult task for the brand new club. Sigi Schmid's offense might not be a problem, but there are questions about the defense.

Despite the unlikely nature of a Seattle cup run, an expansion team winning it all is not unprecedented. The Chicago Fire managed to pull off the trick way back in 1998, so it can happen. Although, all I want is for Seattle to be one of the two teams in the final; I don't really care if they actually win. And that can happen too.

Not that I think it will. But a man can dream, and the league needs it.


As for the game being in Seattle in the first place, I realize that some (like Ginge) have concerns about Qwest's fake turf. I hate the stuff too, but I think it's necessary to make sacrifices in order to raise the profile of the league.

The annual hype-fest known as the Super Bowl has come and gone for another year, leaving behind a trail of office absences, Monday morning hangovers, and for this writer, contemplation of the American fascination with the "Big Game". After weeks of interviews and features, countless hours of speculation and analysis, and day after day of endless buildup, a single American football game was played. Millions of Americans with no rooting interest gathered together around televisions in their homes or in bars to watch two teams compete for a championship. It's this iconic, far-reaching appeal that casts a shadow over the rest of American sports. The Super Bowl is so ingrained in the American culture that it has understandably colored how we view the tastes of the American consumer.

The behemoth of glitz, glamour, and marketing potential that is the Super Bowl has become a phenomenon that transcends sports. The NFL has 40 years of culturally relevant history behind its signature event, years that have served to make Super Bowl Sunday America's sports "holiday". The game on the field is often dwarfed by the extraneous happenings that come with it; the advertising boon the broadcast represents has itself become a major American cultural event. Mass media outlets descend on the Super Bowl's host city in numbers seen almost nowhere else. The exposure gained by the NFL, the NFL's corporate sponsors, and other entities that capitalize on the game's mass appeal is so large as to be almost immeasurable.

The hype that surrounds the Super Bowl can easily lead to frustrated feelings for soccer supporters in the U.S. The attention the final game of the NFL season receives often seems overblown, gratuitous, and (in some cases) undeserved, and we find ourselves asking why MLS Cup (or any American soccer event for that matter) cannot seem to attract even a fraction of the coverage the Super Bowl receives.

Major League Soccer, with a single game championship that echoes the nature of the Super Bowl, has looked to tap into the "Big Game" phenomenon. MLS has pushed the MLS Cup Final as their showpiece event, subscribing to the theory that the American sports mentality requires that a playoff tournament be played to determine a champion. While most of the world's foremost competitions use a single table format that crowns a champion based on overall points, MLS uses a playoff format that culminates in a championship match. In addition to fitting in with the American sports mindset, the MLS Cup final has served as Major League Soccer's biggest single annual event. The final is a benefit of the playoff format, a match that serves to draw attention to the league for one culminating day that would not exist in a single table league. The MLS Cup final garners almost no mainstream media attention, has little hype attached to it outside of the usual soccer suspects, and carries with it no culturally significant extras; yet it remains an important part of the American soccer effort, both presently and for the immediate future.

In a perfect world, I would prefer a single table. I believe that soccer, more than any other sport, is a game that does not need a playoff to crown a worthy champion. Other avenues to fill the American need for playoff competition (i.e. U.S. Open Cup) are available and should be expanded. But my view that MLS Cup is a necessary component of the professional game here (at least for the time being) is a pragmatic one; a point of view to which more American soccer fans should be attuned. Concepts like the single-table format, promotion/relegation, and the European calendar are intriguing and appealing to the traditionalists/Euro-centric among us, but are either too foreign, too difficult to implement, or simply impractical for professional soccer in the U.S. as it currently exists. Until a viable replacement for the marketing and exposure benefits MLS Cup provides can be found, the league cannot seriously consider a single table format.

While the MLS Cup final will more than likely never reach the level of the Super Bowl, the concept of a one off championship match aimed at pushing the hype meter as high as is possible remains a sound one. A single table format would certainly make MLS unique, but the loss of the MLS Cup final as the annual showpiece event of the American soccer calendar would more than mitigate any gains. MLS needs to garner all the attention it can; if the MLS Cup ceased to be, the league would lose a significant marketing tool. MLS Cup provides the league with an opportunity to exhibit itself for VIPs, current and possible corporate sponsors, the casual sports fan through a network television outlet it does not normally possess, as well as to reward loyal MLS fans with a "big game" event.

Despite the screaming of the vocal minority, MLS Cup will be around for the foreseeable future. The league may tweak the playoff format, and could conceivably consider staging the final in the home stadium of the team with the better regular-season record (which I believe is unlikely to happen), but the final itself will continue to be a part of the MLS schedule as long as it brings with it a showcase for not only the teams on the field, but the league and its future. Super Bowl-level hype or not, the MLS championship match serves a purpose for the league and fits nicely into the American concept that championships are won in championship games. With a little luck, a little more exposure, and a competition that continues to improve, perhaps MLS Cup can get its own share of hype.