MLS Thoughts; I am a Fan

All the anticipation of a new season is about to pay off.  Over the next three days, 19 teams will begin their 2012 MLS campaigns.  For some of us, this is a difficult and amazing thing to understand.  I can recall a day when the possibility of a top flight soccer league in the United States seemed impossible.  Even when the league was announced, and the original garish jerseys were debuted, it seemed destined to fail.

Then the games started.  The league started by building a dynasty with DC United.  The first championship game was intense and exciting and had story lines to spare.  Great players came and went and the league expanded.

It was not long before the naysayers began to sing.  The Fusion and the Mutiny were contracted and the league looked to be in trouble.  Lamar Hunt and Phil Anschutz wanted other owners to get involved. The league brass never left the script.  They always maintained that their plan was working and modest growth was the way to go.

Positive news began flowing in.  Crew Stadium became a first, a soccer specific stadium in the US.  This was followed by the Home Depot Center and several others.  As this season begins, fifteen teams play in soccer stadiums with rumors of two or three others in the works.

World class players choose to play in the league.  Main stream media knows the names of the teams.  Players leave the league and find success in the biggest leagues in the world.  Major soccer powers are interested in the financial workings of MLS.  The league is a legitimate part of the world soccer landscape.

I sit here tonight, on the eve of the first game of the 2012 season, and i am proud that i have been with the league since day one.  I am in awe of the growth of the league and the product that it puts out.  I am anxious for the games to begin. I am a fan.