Vote "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion."
It might not be the best league around, or even in the Northern Hemisphere, but it's better than what we had before, which was nothing. So you have a choice: MLS, or nothing.
You're probably thinking: What has the MLS done for me? And the answer is twofold, depending on your soccer-politico leanings. Possibly, the MLS has given you everything you've ever wanted from a pro sports franchise; a stable league, a team to support, rivalries with other teams, local bars that espouse your team along with the overall cause of American soccer within the grander scheme of things in the arena of world soccer. Or, possibly the MLS has given you very little, if anything at all; they haven't made you any extra money, in fact you're probably paying them money. The ticket, drinks, food, jerseys.
To those who like the MLS, good news: The league's expanding! More of what you like. To those who feel robbed, sorry, but the league's expanding! So is soccer. Get on board. Get used to it. And yes, the US men's team is going to win the World Cup, someday. Not necessarily in Russia, but possibly the venue after that...or the next one. Regardless, it will happen. It depends on many factors, one of which being the MLS continuing to thrive, however painstakingly difficult it is for some Americans to stomach. But for others, it's just great.
Either way, to the MLS cynics out there, you might be thinking: They bring in all this old talent from overseas. Guys who are entrenched in the system. Why don't they produce more homegrown talent? Without the older guys from overseas, there might not be a league. By voting "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion" you're not only getting overseas talent, which may or may not be on their last leg, you're also getting a mix of American talent, with great players from places like Paraguay, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Guatemala, Zambia and other interesting geographical locations you often don't hear from in the EPL or Serie A. This is part of the beauty of the MLS; you get talent from under-tapped resources. So don't listen to people like Ballon d'Or recipient Ruud Gullit, who walked away from a MLS coaching job under a cloud of laughter. He's a big know it all. A big Dutch soccer bully* who claims to know more than you do about passing, and possession, and quality of play, and talent, and dribbling, and shooting, and goalkeeping, and the offsides trap which he would probably claim is outdated and unnecessary on the field of play in the modern game, but whatever. Aside from the aforementioned litany of things that make up the actual game, what does he know? And forget about the fact that he won a European Cup as captain of Holland, or his other championship runs with AC Milan. Forget about all that. In fact, forget that he's likely a genius of the game, a soccer Buddha. Put that aside for now. By voting "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion" you're telling guys like him that someday, very soon, any number of MLS teams are going to threaten the ranks of AC Milan and Chelsea, organizations Gullit played for.
And yes, someday, those teams might be wondering how they can import players from the US to enhance their leagues, if only for a few years.
Remember: Without the MLS you have nothing. Technically you had the American Soccer League, which yielded powerful championship dynasties like the "Kearney Scots" of New Jersey from the 1930s and 40s; the "Philadelphia Americans" and "Nationals" from the 40s and 50s, the "Uhrik Truckers" (formerly the Philadelphia Americans); and the "Ukrainian Nationals" from the 60s (also from Philadelphia). Without the MLS you have that. Or nothing. "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion."
*In the nicest regard.
It might not be the best league around, or even in the Northern Hemisphere, but it's better than what we had before, which was nothing. So you have a choice: MLS, or nothing.
You're probably thinking: What has the MLS done for me? And the answer is twofold, depending on your soccer-politico leanings. Possibly, the MLS has given you everything you've ever wanted from a pro sports franchise; a stable league, a team to support, rivalries with other teams, local bars that espouse your team along with the overall cause of American soccer within the grander scheme of things in the arena of world soccer. Or, possibly the MLS has given you very little, if anything at all; they haven't made you any extra money, in fact you're probably paying them money. The ticket, drinks, food, jerseys.
To those who like the MLS, good news: The league's expanding! More of what you like. To those who feel robbed, sorry, but the league's expanding! So is soccer. Get on board. Get used to it. And yes, the US men's team is going to win the World Cup, someday. Not necessarily in Russia, but possibly the venue after that...or the next one. Regardless, it will happen. It depends on many factors, one of which being the MLS continuing to thrive, however painstakingly difficult it is for some Americans to stomach. But for others, it's just great.
Either way, to the MLS cynics out there, you might be thinking: They bring in all this old talent from overseas. Guys who are entrenched in the system. Why don't they produce more homegrown talent? Without the older guys from overseas, there might not be a league. By voting "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion" you're not only getting overseas talent, which may or may not be on their last leg, you're also getting a mix of American talent, with great players from places like Paraguay, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Guatemala, Zambia and other interesting geographical locations you often don't hear from in the EPL or Serie A. This is part of the beauty of the MLS; you get talent from under-tapped resources. So don't listen to people like Ballon d'Or recipient Ruud Gullit, who walked away from a MLS coaching job under a cloud of laughter. He's a big know it all. A big Dutch soccer bully* who claims to know more than you do about passing, and possession, and quality of play, and talent, and dribbling, and shooting, and goalkeeping, and the offsides trap which he would probably claim is outdated and unnecessary on the field of play in the modern game, but whatever. Aside from the aforementioned litany of things that make up the actual game, what does he know? And forget about the fact that he won a European Cup as captain of Holland, or his other championship runs with AC Milan. Forget about all that. In fact, forget that he's likely a genius of the game, a soccer Buddha. Put that aside for now. By voting "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion" you're telling guys like him that someday, very soon, any number of MLS teams are going to threaten the ranks of AC Milan and Chelsea, organizations Gullit played for.
And yes, someday, those teams might be wondering how they can import players from the US to enhance their leagues, if only for a few years.
Remember: Without the MLS you have nothing. Technically you had the American Soccer League, which yielded powerful championship dynasties like the "Kearney Scots" of New Jersey from the 1930s and 40s; the "Philadelphia Americans" and "Nationals" from the 40s and 50s, the "Uhrik Truckers" (formerly the Philadelphia Americans); and the "Ukrainian Nationals" from the 60s (also from Philadelphia). Without the MLS you have that. Or nothing. "Yes" to Prop "MLS Expansion."
*In the nicest regard.
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