By VictorM: Today marks another important step in the forward progress of professional soccer in the United States. At 10:30 PM Eastern Time, ESPN2 will show the first of what will be a weekly series of Thursday night Major League Soccer (MLS) matches, between the LA Galaxy and Dallas FC.

This places ESPN in charge of the telecast and having a monetary interest in advertising the show. Now, besides the obvious benefit of a weekly presence on prime time, ESPN is motivated to promote the game and to take it more seriously. A side benefit, for example, is the drastic reduction of deprecating remarks about the sport by their sportscasters. Also, news segments on the network now cover soccer scores and news with more frequency.

Clearly this is not a silver bullet – not any one thing is. But when considering many of the other developments that have occurred, such as the building of soccer specific stadiums, setting up youth academies, and signing players like Beckham, Blanco, and Reyna, this TV deal is another step in the right direction.

Labels: david beckham, major league soccer, soccer

By VictorM: Today is the start of the 2007 Major League Soccer (MLS) season. After the busiest and most exciting off-season ever, the 2007 season starts with much promise. A few of the major developments:

1. Signing of world-class players: English superstar David Beckham, Mexican icon Cuauhtémoc Blanco, and America's most accomplished player, Claudio Reyna will be playing with LA, Chicago, and NY respectively.

2. TV Contracts: All games will be televised, with ESPN2 showing one game every Thursday night during prime-time. There will also be games shown every Saturday and every Sunday.

3. Soccer specific stadiums: Colorado and Toronto will start the season playing in their own stadiums. Chicago will start their first full season in theirs. And stadiums are under way, or will be shortly, in New York/New Jersey and Salt Lake City.

4. SuperLiga: A summer tournament pitting 4 MLS teams versus 4 Mexican teams.

Labels: claudio reyna, david beckham, mls, soccer

By VictorM: Slowly but surely, soccer’s image in the United States is changing. Years ago, the only coverage of notice the sport got in the American press was that soccer breeds violence. This article goes into detail about the current violence in Argentine, Italy, Colombia, and other countries, and the general tone is that the “problems stem from the culture of leniency and neglect,” and that most stadiums in those countries are too old and unsafe. They detail how organized these hooligan groups are, how they export their tactics, and how they extort money from teams. But, what stood out to me was that not once was the sport itself blamed for the violence. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Labels: Argentina, barrabrava, hooligan, Italy, soccer

By VictorM: The United States beat Mexico 2-0 fair and square. Oh, sure, luck was involved and during most stretches if the match Mexico played better and created more chances. But in the end, they lost yet again to a team that was younger and less experienced. I can understand their frustration but there is no excuse for not shaking hands with the American players after the game. This showed a terrible lack of class and was a pathetic display by the team and their management. They are going to have to get used to the idea of losing to the United States -- it's going to happen very frequently.

Labels: mexico, soccer, usa

By VictorM: The United States plays Mexico tonight in what is called a "friendly" game. But the rivalry between the two teams is so intense that there is nothing friendly about it (on ESPN2 at 9:00 PM ET). Fans and players have helped fan the fire of this intense rivalry. In 2003, during a tournament in Mexico, fans greeted the U.S. team with chants of "Osama, Osama." A television crew filmed forward Landon Donovan, the marquee player for the U.S. squad today, urinate on a Guadalajara, Mexico, field after a practice. Donovan later said, "I don't regret it. You gotta go, you gotta go." That's the spirit Donovan! 62,000 passionate fans in Arizona, a sell-out crowd, the world's most popular sport, two teams aiming to get ugly -- this ain't no sissy purple rain stuff! Bring it on!

Labels: arizona, mexico, soccer, usa

By VictorM: David Beckham is soccer's best known star in the United States. At 31, he no longer figures in England's National Team's plans and his playing time at Real Madrid has been sparse. A move back to the English Premier League -- it's highly doubtful he'll play for one of the big clubs there -- or a move to the USA would mean the same thing: admission that his career at the highest level of the game is over. So, he can warm the bench at Real Madrid, languish in a middle-of-the table club in England, or he can try to be the man who pushes soccer over the top in the USA. His positive impact on the sport in the USA is almost certain, and it's a nicer epitaph than finishing 9th in the Premiership. But the time to make the move is now. With his effectiveness declining and the level of play in USA's Major League Soccer increasing, Beckham may not be worth nearly as much in 2 years.

Labels: david beckham, epl, mls, real madrid, soccer