Anyone else follow Major League Soccer?
I’m a DC United season ticket holder and watch most of the other games played each week.
Orlando City Lions fan. I have been at 2 of 3 the games against DC United. We finally got one on ya on flag day.
When the best team averages less than 1.5 goals per game and struggles to win 1/2 of the games, it is hard to get really excited about the MLS. It is not a very entertaining product. Nor is the level pretty high. All in all, it is on par with the CONCACAF level. Mexico is toiling in the same mediocrity.
That said, I probably would watch the Sounders more than any other team. Those fans are rabid. I used to watch a few games of LA and DC, but got bored. Soccer is exciting when played well. Just does not happen much on this continent.
@Author So you were at the game where your player dived for the soft penalty 
I was at the game here in DC. I got to be on the field for the warmups and was within 10 feet of your team. Y’all have one of my favorite players (LEWIS NEAL!!). The all-caps represents the awesomeness that he represented in scoring 2 of the most important (play-off clincher in 2012 and Open Cup winner in 2013).
@xIGGI-- I completely disagree the MLS is not entertaining.
Would you rather have a Premier League like BS where only a few teams can compete for the top slots? I would not, there is a level of excitement that comes from knowing that in almost any given game.
Like tonight the Sounders are losing 1-0 to a pretty terrible Philly team.
Sounders fans are not the most rabid fans in the league. In my mind, they at best in 4th.
The Timbers Army is really the gold standard, with the DC United groups coming in 2nd and Section 8 in Chicago coming in 3rd.
The other 3 groups represent completely organic support that isn’t backed by front office money.
Also, I feel very strongly that if you don’t support your domestic league then your credentials are a soccer fan are in question. The posers that show up to fill stadiums in the summer to watch the international friendlies but can’t be bothered to support their local really annoy me,
I follow the Revs somewhat. I watch most games on TV. In the Dempsey/Twellman days we used to go to half a dozen games a season. These days we may catch one game in person a season.
The Dempsey/Twellman teams were fun to watch.
I am a DC United fan, but do not get to many games.
I am excited for the new stadium. I will go to more games then as the new location is much more convenient to me.
First of all, it is OK to disagree about soccer! Most people do that all over the world!
I am afraid to not follow everything you wrote. If you made a reference to the Barclays EPL, I think that a review of the last 5 championship would yield a list that includes more than a few teams. I think that about 10-12 teams might be competitive for a top slot, depending on the season. Beyond the perennial favorites, you have teams such as Tottenham, Everton, and even Southampton. But the top slots are not the only thing to be excited above as the degradation battle is entertaining. Just think Sunderland and Leicester in the past seasons.
Perhaps you were thinking of La Liga where the two Madrid teams and Barcelona share the spoils!
As far as bona fide soccer fan having to follow and support a local team, that goes only so far! For instance, there are plenty of immigrants who never ceased to follow and support their home team in Europe or South America. If the Chivas made an incursion in the US, there are other well known teams. One could support Real Madrid, be a total fan, and be extremely knowledgeable in soccer and never develop an affection or even a soft spot for the US version of soccer.
There are people who might pay for a game played by the US National team and be fully behind them at an international game and find no entertainment in watching a DC United game. There are plenty of people who support the US team during the Olympics and never would think about attending a meet! Same thing for supporting Phelps every 2 or 4 years.
With soccer being a global market, one can pick and choose the teams he might like. For some, there have generations of family members with deep roots to teams that are virtually unknown to the guys who … discovered soccer a few years ago when their … DS and DD learned the game.
I happen to be born in a family with very deep roots in the beautiful game, have been blessed with the opportunity to watch games in very special places, and spent enough time on fields in the US and abroad to have the right to pick my favorite teams, choose the games I want to watch, and have an opinion about US soccer. I am not saying that my opinion is the only valid one, but it happen to be mine. Others have the right to their own.
There is no doubt that my children --when the day come-- will play soccer, and no doubt that I will be schlepping them to the practice fields and the weekend games. My parents did that for me, never missed a game, flew to every state, regional, national, and international games we played, offered massive support to our teams, but never attended a MLS game – safe and except when Cruijff played. I do not think they were pose(u)rs.
Since the Premier League was created in 1992, only 5 different teams have won it-- which is better than La Liga but not much. In contrast, 10 different teams have won the MLS Supporters Shield which is the comparable achievement.
Lots of games last night. To me the least entertaining was the Galaxy blowout of the Timbers. The Timbers just looked awful.
The United-Chicago game was pretty entertaining and the game winning goal was a goal of the week contender.
You switched from top slots to the winners only. There was a first division before 1992. The name changed.
Again, the EPL is entertaining not only for the top but for the relegation battles. But heck, if you want to cling to a provincial and villager’s view of soccer, power to you!
I am well aware of the history of English football. I just used the Premier League era since it was most comparable to to MLS.
I agree the fight for survival is at least as exciting as the battle at the top.
I watch almost as much EPL as MLS, I enjoy watching leagues besides our but feel strongly that football fans that choose to not watch their domestic league are missing out on some decent soccer as well as helping promote the growth of the sport.
“if you want to cling to a provincial and villager’s view of soccer”-- wow that was a little uncalled for.
I enjoy watching any level of soccer (keep my subscription to Fox Soccer+ for the SPL games). I just think supporting our domestic league is important and I have no tolerance for the folks that claim to be soccerheads that can’t be bothered to watch.
To use a beer analogy-- given the choice between some mass-marketed European beer and something from my local craft place, I will go local everytime.
In terms of my soccer cred— I’ve played regularly since I was kid and I coach multiple teams.
My soccer plans this weekend-- Women’s World Cup, various MLS games, attending the Washington Spirit match (NWSL) and maybe attending the DC United U23 game on Sunday.
Yes, it was, but it was also in answer to calling people who might not support a local team and flock to summer games … poseurs. Or calling out people who do not have the same passion for the sport at a local level.
There is nothing wrong about being a great local fan and believe that more should be supportive. That has been the story of soccer in the US that has had problems converting from one of the top participating countries at the youth level to a dynamic MLS program. Obviously, you do believe that the current MLS is a dynamic and entertaining proposition.
I did suggest that, with options from various parts of the word, one might prefer to watch games they find more appealing. I also suggested that people LOVE to argue about soccer.
I do not doubt that you have been deeply involved in the game and found it a great source of joy, as a player, coach, fans of various teams, and probably one of those people who have volunteered at various level to sustain the U-X games. I mentioned that I was NOT oblivious to those activities as my parents were just doing the same things all the way from YMCA 3 on 3 games for kids who could barely walk all the way to supporting the efforts at the international level.
It is not hard believe that the landscape is NOT different in Virginia than it is in North Texas, California, or even in other countries. You see a lot of dedicated parents and officials sweating for the benefit of others. One has to applaud the people who are working in 100+ weather to organize tryouts in the heat of Texas. Again, I am sure you’ve done your share of those. And I will more than probably do the same when my own kids will pick the game later in my life.
All if us have a number of choices. But it is not because one person might not be ticket holder for the San Jose team --and not drive a couple of hours to go see a game-- that he’d lack affection for the game in general.
PS To address the beer analogy, you might indeed prefer a local artisan beer over the imported mass produced beers. And that makes sense, but that argument might fall flat on its face (and palate) if the comparison is between the product of self-anointed brewmeister with a small set of skills and one of the great beers of the world. I think I’d stick to a Westvleteren XII (and a few more) over just about anything produced in the US by alchemists and pretenders. Oops, I was about to write posers. 
De gustibus!
I’ve been watching the World Cup.
USA defeated China 1-0.
Next week they will play Germany.
http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2015/6/26/8854943/usa-china-2015-womens-world-cup-live-updates-score-results
I love soccer. I don’t watch MLS, but I wouldn’t criticize a fan. I take this time of year, after the Champions League Final, off from most soccer watching.
spent the afternoon watching MLS games from yesterday.
Watched the US Women win the World Cup. Getting ready to watch the Timbers game
Resurrecting this thread because I’m so excited–and nervous–to watch my beloved Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup tomorrow. Anyone else the least bit interested?