New MLS watcher

[Bearded Kyle]

Originally Posted by creambot

But the team that finished top of the table the last two years is not the same team that won the championship the last two years! Seriously, D.C. United should have been relegated each of the years from 2000-2002. Not exactly dominance, as compared to the best teams in European leagues. Thanks to the 'salary cap,' I find it hard to believe that any truly great team will develop in this league to challenge clubs outside the MLS.

As for rivalries, similar complaint. Without relegation, the league is expanding based on expansion fees. I just can't imagine natural rivalries developing without two teams in the same cities. Chivas-LA, I like.

Bring back the New Jersey Cosmos, and I'm there, dude.

Why do we need dominant franchises? I'm probably biased growing up in the North American atmosphere but I like a sporting climate that is competitive and anyone can compete in. It's absurd and frustrating to watch clubs like Man U steal other team's best players. How is that at all sporting?

Edit:If you want to see a need for the salary cap then look no further then what the New York Cosmos did to the rest of the NASL. Crazy contracts to bring in players like Pele and Beckenbauer meant that other teams that couldn't afford it offered big contracts to players like Cruyff and Best. The league imploded and your beloved Cosmos were everything that was wrong with the league. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you'd be a fan of "big team" being that you're a Red Devils fan. For a league at the stage the MLS is at, the salary cap is a good thing. Build up the domestic support and then go on to compete at bigger tournaments. Not to mention that the way that this league will become a strong league is if the quality of the American players rise, not so much the quality of the imports.

Speaking of, how many international club tournaments are there worth caring about? The upcoming Concacaf Champion's League? Sure but I would suggest that the best MLS teams can compete in that now, maybe they're just a tier below the best Mexican teams. The Fifa Club World Cup (or whatever it's called?) I didn't think that had a lot of prestige in Europe but I think any club that got there would be honoured enough. There's no reason the MLS should be trying to build towards that of all tournaments.

Rivalry's are generally an organic thing and are not that hard to come by. As you mentioned, LA-Chivas is a good one. The top teams meeting in the playoffs on a regular basis would create a good rivalry (New England-DC?) I know as a Whitecaps fan that once we play Toronto and Montreal for the Canada Cup there will be lots of bad blood from a fan's perspective.


Either you like the soccer or you don't. The rest is peripheral.

[dsp87260]

Originally Posted by creambot

But the team that finished top of the table the last two years is not the same team that won the championship the last two years! Seriously, D.C. United should have been relegated each of the years from 2000-2002. Not exactly dominance, as compared to the best teams in European leagues. Thanks to the 'salary cap,' I find it hard to believe that any truly great team will develop in this league to challenge clubs outside the MLS.

As for rivalries, similar complaint. Without relegation, the league is expanding based on expansion fees. I just can't imagine natural rivalries developing without two teams in the same cities. Chivas-LA, I like.

Bring back the New Jersey Cosmos, and I'm there, dude.

NEColourULike already responded to your post, as did Bearded Kyle just previously to this, but I wanted to touch on your rivalries statement a little more...

You definitely don't understand American sports if you think there are no rivalries in MLS right now...or that they are "contrived" rivalries (ie not "natural"). Many rivalries in the US (in Major league sports) are based just as much or more on political and regional issues as for sporting reasons.

Possibly the biggest rivalry in MLS right now is San Jose and LA Galaxy...both for sporting reasons and not sporting reasons. There is a long standing animosity between Northern Californians and Southern Californians over water rights and many other issues. Anything from So Cal will face instant hatred and rivalry when going up against anything from Nor Cal. We'll see how that manifests itself between San Jose and Chivas USA, but it's already there between San Jose and the Galaxy (remember that they are simply resuming their franchise...the fans and history are still there from their previous years in the league).

LA vs NY is also a huge rivalry in American sports....based on the both of them styling themselves as the top city in the US.

Dallas and Houston is a huge rivalry too....again, both of them with pride at stake about who's the best city in Texas. I don't know enough about their regional issues that cause animosity between them, but I can assure you that there are plenty of those as well.

Another potential rivalry in the future for MLS...for both sporting and political/regional issues is that between Seattle and Portland (if/when they get a franchise).

There may not be a lot of sporting reasons behind some of many of the rivalries in the US sports, let alone MLS, but I assure you that those rivalries are just as heated (if not more so) because of the non-sporting reasons.



One thing I forgot to touch on.....the size of the US....you're not going to get very many cities with more than one team (look at all the other sports as well). It'll help you if you look at states or regions as you would cities in a smaller country....such as Dallas/Houston in Texas, San Jose/LA in California, Portland(OR)/Seattle(WA) in the Northwest region, etc.



Oh, and why do you keep calling them the "New Jersey" Cosmos?...they may have played there, but they were the New York Cosmos.