Now that the World Cup is over......

My only concern with the EPL is that Chelski is simply going to run away with the title. As good as they were last year, they have now added Ballack and Sheva. It is hard to really follow any other leagues with FSC, because they usually only show one game a week, and in most leagues (Germany and Italy especially), they get, at best, the third choice game.

MLS is still a pretty good watch, especially on those fields which aren't marked with American football lines.

 

probably not. the passion isn't quite there.
would like to see when the best teams battle, though.

 

As a season ticket holder to my local MLS team, I'll continue going to their games. I am also an avid fan of the SPL, in particular Rangers. As such, I'll be watching those games.

As noted by others, MLS is vastly underrated. DC's dismantling of Celtic last night is a sign of this. (Article Link) I would suggest checking MLSnet.com's highlights section to see some of the video of the goals and such.

 

We get a channel called SKY Sports here. I think they show a lot of soccer, but I am not familiar enough with Euro soccer to follow. I wish I did though, soccer is a growing favorite of mine along with curling (not joking).

 

It's not that hard to follow, Beard.
The Premier League is 20 teams, play each other home and home, three points for a win, one for a draw.
Total points wins the title. No playoffs. You can follow the standings (they call it a "table" at premierleague.com)
The Champions League is a breeze to follow, with, as I said, a format similar to the World Cup -- just spread from October to May. Uefa.com is the web site.

 

When you combine the ABC and Univision viewers for the final, there were more than 17 million American TV sets tuned to the World Cup final. While that's roughly a fifth of the Super Bowl's audience, that's still an impressive figure.

It may be a bit premature, but do you think this could push MLS to start going after some of the bigger names in soccer? Obviously, players in their twilight stages would be interested, but what about those entering or in the middle of their primes?

 

The best way to get into it is to move to London (just kidding)....though I never watched soccer and now i can't stop reading about it, watching it, etc...i'm really looking forward to August 19th (the start of the new season)....

 

I see where you are going with this, but the answer is no. MLS cannot go out and spend a bunch of money on players like Cristiano Ronaldo. There are several reasons:
1) The league does not have that kind of money at this time.

2) The allure of such a player, should each team have 1, would wear off eventually.

3) The development of American talent to feed the US National Team as well as the American audience would be hindered.

4) Ticket prices would need to go up.


Basically the league is 10-years old. It needs to continue to progress as a developmental league. It can only reach the higher levels where middle-of-their-prime European players come after the league becomes completely solvent and has established a larger foothold in the American conscience.

 

MetroFanatic.com Article

 

Crass, DC is an impressive squad no doubt about it. Caught them last weekend in Columbus, where they won 1-0. Just a great all-around team and really bottled up the Crew from doing much, even playing with 10 most of the second half.
And you're right, the MLS is pretty underrated. It's not the EPL, but the games are good and it's always fun to spend an evening watching live soccer. Crew tickets are $10, so you can't beat that, either.

 

Having been to Columbus Crew Stadium, I will say that it is a very nice place to catch a game.

As to the comparisons to EPL... it is arguable to state that the top MLS teams would be mid-level teams in the EPL. They won't beat out teams like Chelsea or Man U but they'll take down teams like Wigan, West Ham or Watford.

 

Crass -- I assume that you aren't going tomorrow afternoon or evening.

I think that the better MLS teams would be on the promotion/relegation border for the EPL.