According to reports, in both the 2010 and 2011 MLS campaigns, MLS as a league finds itself third in average fan attendance within the professional sports landscape in America. Only the NFL and MLB average more fans per game than MLS. MLS has eclipsed the NBA and the NHL in average fan attendance domestically.
MLS also ranks eighth among the global soccer leagues in average fan attendance. Given those kind of facts and understanding the reality that MLS is a more than successful league, is it now time to see the MLS join the traditional FIFA calendar and stand as equals with the other top tier leagues? Should the league at least compromise with the calendar considering the league’s now certain emergence as a world class league?
The Houston Dynamo will host Real Salt Lake this coming Thursday. Eight players will be missing from that game between the two teams because of international commitments. 45 players from MLS have been called away from their respective teams for international duty overall this period.
Which means, for the next round of league games and possibly into the round after that, several MLS teams won’t be at full strength in what is now possibly the most important part of the season as MLS teams fight for playoff births and seeding.
Most global leagues take a break from their league games during the FIFA international periods. Whether it be for friendlies, World Cup qualifiers, or other competitions. In not following the FIFA international calendar schedule and in turn not taking a league break, MLS doesn’t do their teams any favors as they then are forced to field lesser teams because of depleted rosters during a vital part of the season.
MLS as a league also doesn’t present the best possible product to the paying consumer, who has more than helped raise the notoriety of the league, during these international periods, with so many players from the league being international level players.
What should MLS do going forward given its growing stature domestically and globally in trying to adhere to the FIFA international schedule? Should the league’s growing status influence a change within their current operations or philosophy? Should the league maintain the current league status quo for better or for worse? And ultimately, if not now, then when will the league be primed to look at the changing or compromising of their schedule?
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While I would applaud MLS playing at the same time of the year with the other leagues around the world, there does seem to be some team parity as a result of the call ups. With the ‘good’ foreign players being called to represent their country [or in the case of USMNT duty, folks being called up to represent the stars and stripes], what we’re left with this Thursday is two teams of equal strength, right ? I’d like to think of it as an opportunity to see the Sarkodie’s and Sturgis’s and Ownby’s of the world getting some pitch time. There’s guys on the HD roster that I’ll never get to see unless there’s a situation like this one, or I get an opportunity to see a reserve team match.
We’re only as good as our weakest player, right ? Time for these unheralded folks to step up !
While I agree with c.l.’s comments that we want to see the younger players also, I WANT to see the Dynamo FULL STRENGTH with the starters for this important stretch of the season. I hate that International games take our best /starting players(other teams also). I paid good money as a season ticket holder for this reason. Why can’t MLS align with the rest of the leagues since we have to play in the same International games? Ridiculous. I know people say “Well, this is REALLY a test of the team’s depth”.Well, yes, BUT, my focus is primarily MLS. I want the BEST product my team, aka Dynamo, can field all the time. I do not want their season always tampered with with all these call ups. Count me in with an alighment change for MLS. Soccer will keep growing here in the US. Why penalize the fans of the league? Why jeopardize the health of the players in a long season with extra wear and tear after an already long season that started in March? This current system really penalizes any team in Dynamo’s postion in the standings. Makes me Angry!
I Concur with the previous two posts not only would it make it easier for national team duties, lets think about the weather especially in Houston (although it does kinda give us an advantage at home just ask David Beckham and Henry). I only wonder how aligning with the rest of FIFA will effect attendance and TV ratings for the sole reason of paralleling the monster known as the NFL. You think its been hard to get prime time spots on TV before, make this change and NBC will never have an MLS game.
I’d like to see the season shift to more of a late winter start so we can have the same number of games and include the breaks aligning with the FIFA schedule. It would also give me something to watch in that period of the year with the cooler weather. Plus the night games would be more entertaining.
Glenn, am I missing something or are you no longer linked via the chron.com site? horrible redesign! Obviously they didn’t pay attention to their site metrics and click stream. Boneheaded marketing guys.