I’m sick and tired of defending Major League Soccer. In conversations pertaining to athletics, most people lose faith in my sports knowledge when I even casually mention the word “soccer.”
Soccer? You’re joking, right?
At this point, my buddies take a good three to four minutes to bash the game they don’t fully understand. It’s boring. There are not enough goals. The players dive all over the field and shy away from contact. I’d rather watch other American sports. They don’t even have their own stadiums.
Hold it right there.
Those first four complaints I cannot argue with; they are indeed your own worthless and narrow-minded opinions. Please allow me mercilessly counter attack that argument of yours you so graciously threw down on the table.
As of right now, of the 16 participating MLS clubs, nine play in their own stadiums.
THE LANDON DONOVANS
I’m not going to delve into detail too much here, but you should know that most of these stadiums outline the blueprint for success, with a few mixing and matching: full house, rowdy and energetic fans, flags waved, scarves adorned, close proximity to the actual city, long lines for season tickets, etc.
Chicago Fire – Toyota Park
Colorado Rapids – DSG Park
Columbus Crew – Crew Stadium
FC Dallas – Pizza Hut Park
Real Salt Lake – Rio Tinto
Seattle – Qwest Field
Toronto – BMO Stadium
THE BRIGHT FUTURE JOZY ALTIDORES
The Home Depot Center in Carson, California and home to roommates Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA is technically defined as a multi-use sports complex but was designed specifically for soccer-related purposes.
New York Red Bulls and expansion side Philadelphia Union will be rolling out the red carpet for new stadiums when the MLS season starts in March. Hopefully, the Red Bulls won’t be dazed and dazzled by the likes of their new supposed-to-be-gorgeous soccer complex, but then again, nothing was worse than last season for them. As for the Union, if PPL Park turns out be anything remotely like Qwest Field in Seattle, MLS administrators will be pleased.
The Kansas City Wizards, having long ago bid farewell to Arrowhead Stadium, temporarily settled at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in 2008. These days, the lads in blue and white are eagerly awaiting the development of their new home, tentatively named Wizards Stadium for a 2011 opening.
AEG, the club owner of the Houston Dynamo, is heading talks of finalizing a deal in which a 21,000 – 22,000 person seating capacity stadium would be built southeast of the Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston.
THE JONATHAN BORNSTEINS
As of right now, a new soccer stadium is the least of DC United’s problems. RFK Stadium works per se, but the club in general is two steps away from a downright free fall. Plans for a new stadium have been proposed, but myriad of problems with financial woes topping the list have blurred the focus on that endeavor.
Really the only ammunition soccer bashers have is produced in the name of the New England Revolution. Gillete Stadium is awful. I’m not sure about you, but watching soccer games in not even half full stadiums makes me cringe. Focus your attention off Tom Brady, New Englanders and fix this problem now.
Give the MLS a few years and they won’t be the butt of American sports jokes. The evidence of improvement and expansion rests right above you. On a side note, check out our US Men’s 23 on the plane to South Africa post tomorrow morning.
Tim Patterson is a staff writer for The Yanks Are Coming. He can be reached at tim@yanksarecoming.com.