The MLS

[Kire]

First off, I hate those horns at the MLS games. I think those red one-note horns that blare non-stop at every game are just as much to blame for the MLS doing so poorly as are anything else. Is it the same guy? Doesn't it give him a headache? I jest, of course, but they are really annoying. You know what I'm talking about?

And the drums that go, Bum, Bum, Bum-bum-bum. That should stop too. Why can't we find songs to sing like the Europeans?

Finally, what do you think would happen if the MLS started a relegation/promotion policy? Are there enough teams in the country? Where else would they come from? The USL? I think it would really inspire expansion on a grassroots level, rather than the top down approach coming from the owners and investors, who are sure not going to let it happen, but I'm just saying, it would be better.

[brentspeak]

1. Promotion is a good idea

Any team being promoted from the USL would have to make sure they have a decent-sized stadium comparable to the MSL teams. It wouldn't be a good idea to demote teams, though.

I could do with a change in the music, even if it means singing "Na-na-na-na-Hey-hey-hey" or "We Are The Champions".

[nickgutierrez]

2. At least in Chicago, the supporters do have songs.

I went to a Fire game last year, and was fortunate enough - and I say that with a straight face - to sit within earshot of the "official" cheering section. Not only did they have at least a handful of songs, but they were more or less original (as these things get). The problem, maybe, is that the crowds aren't big enough or well-established enough to know the words to the songs. You have to remember that some of the big European giants are a hundred years old or more - the US league is still a baby compared to, say, the English leagues, even as the Premiership itself isn't that old.

The drums seem to be a Central/South American import, and I actually like them sometimes.

There isn't enough established talent to go with a relegation/promotion policy, and the current structure - not just in MLS, but in high school and college - would seem to work against the idea working the way it does in Europe. On the other side of the pond, players are developed by clubs, which allows the players to get top-class instruction from as young as five or six years of age, and for the clubs to train these players to fit their organization and their system. Here, players aren't really serious about any sport until they reach high school, for the most part. This is why American sports like baseball doesn't often have a Wayne Rooney-type - the last I can think of is A-Rod - that emerges as a bona fide superstar in his teens.

[brentspeak]

3. There is a US soccer program to groom potential stars

Bobby Convey was part of it, as is Freddy Adu. It's not as comprehensive as Europe's, though.

Convey, playing in England, has come along well, but Adu, in the MLS at just age 16, has developed an ego problem. Probably the result of everyone telling him he's a soccer prodigy. It's never good to fill a person's head -- especially a kid's head -- with platitudes of "genius".