Charlie Canon of Buffalo, NY says: “The MLS won’t become a superior league without talent. But talent won’t be created in the States or drawn to the MLS while it’s an inferior league.”
Soccer is far and away the most popular sport in the world. However, when the United States thinks of major leagues sports–“The Big Four,” MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL–soccer isn’t included.
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The main reasons soccer won’t attain success in the United States are logistics, lack of player development, and inferior status of professional leagues.
Logistics: Soccer has no scheduled breaks other than halftime and it has an ambiguous clock based on “stoppage time.” This approach makes advertising difficult and many large cooperate sponsors simply don’t bother.
Player development and inferior status of the MLS go hand-in-hand. While basketball, hockey, and baseball are played all over the world, the most elite leagues are located in the United States. But the MLS is inferior to many leagues around the world, including the Premier League, Bundesliga, and La Liga to name a few.
Can you imagine if America’s best athletes dedicated themselves to soccer?
The secondary status of the MLS contributes to lackluster player development. America’s best athletes don’t specialize in soccer. A soccer team consisting of the likes of Russell Westbrook, Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Trout would be formidable. But those athletes chose to specialize in other sports.
It’s a Catch-22 situation: the MLS will not become a superior league without talent, but talent won’t be created in the States or drawn to the MLS while it’s an inferior league.
