Reasons to watch MLS Soccer | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

4 Reasons to Watch MLS Soccer

Fall in love with America's fastest growing league

176
4 Reasons to Watch MLS Soccer
@alexaarant Instagram

In This Article:

Soccer is quickly growing in popularity in the United States, with every World Cup and every new release of the popular FIFA video game only serving to bolster it. MLS is quickly and rapidly growing, with many teams beating out attendance averages over their local baseball teams. From Orlando to Seattle, MLS only has room to grow here stateside, but it encounters a few challenges. There are many naysayers who despite living in the United States, still refuse to watch their local teams for a variety of reasons. But despite these, there are many reasons to watch MLS.

1. The Experience

No matter where it is, soccer always has the ability to attract fanatic fans, these fans tend to find other like-minded fans and form supporters groups, otherwise known as Ultras, who come to every home game, travel to a lot of the away games, and yell loudly and proudly for their teams, far and above what the average fans do. These Ultras typically have their own chats that they do during the games. These chants provide both a lift for the fans and a lift for the players out on the field. A great example of these is done by the El Matador supporters group at FC Dallas games. Although hard to hear in the video, El Matador's FC Dallas chant reverberates around the stadium, its something truly special.

2. The Quality

A common argument posed by stateside soccer fans is that the MLS does not have any quality. This is simply not the case. The people who say such outlandish statements have likely never even seen an MLS match and are just making a wild assumption. Such people who are only fans of the European leagues and do not like the MLS because of its supposed "lack of quality" are called Eurosnobs.

Here is just a small sample of the quality found in MLS.

3. The Accessibility

For obvious time-zone reasons, It is difficult for many people to watch European leagues, especially if you live on the west coast, where the early morning English Premier League games start at 4 AM. Even at that, just because it might be 2 top teams facing off against each other, it is not guaranteed to be a good game. From personal experience, last year I woke up at 6 AM to watch league giants Manchester United and Liverpool face off. The Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, decided to not try to win the game, instead opting to play incredibly defensively and only go for a tie. The game ended 0-0 and I will not get those 2 hours of sleep back, how sad. But in MLS, when big teams play, there are almost always guaranteed goals, for example, the 4th of July game between the Western and Eastern Conference leaders, FC Dallas and Atlanta United, was an incredible nail-biter which finished 3-2 in favor of Dallas, who scored 2 goals in the last few minutes of the game to seal a wild comeback. This game started at 7 PM CT, so no one would have had to have gone out of their way to set an early alarm on a day off just to watch it. Another example of early games being less accessible than MLS games comes on a warm October morning when Manchester United was playing Tottenham Hotspur very early in the morning. I woke up and watched the first half on my phone, then fell asleep during halftime and woke up just as the game ended, still holding my phone. I missed the entire second half of an exciting game because I fell back asleep.

4. The Excitement

MLS is called boring. Factually, that is incorrect, as MLS lead all European leagues in Average Goals per Game by nearly a full goal.


Here is a quick recap of the aforementioned FC Dallas comeback win,



So give MLS a shot, its just so much easier and more exciting than you expect and who knows, you might just fall in love with a team.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Kardashians
W Magazine

Whether you love them or hate them, it's undeniable the Kardashian/ Jenner family has built an enormous business empire. Ranging from apps, fashion lines, boutiques, beauty products, books, television shows, etc. this bunch has shown they are insane business moguls. Here are seven reasons why the Kardashian/ Jenner family should be applauded for their intelligent business tactics.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends
Photo by Elizeu Dias on Unsplash

If I have learned one thing in my lifetime, it is that friends are a privilege. No one is required to give you their company and yet there is some sort of shared connection that keeps you together. And from that friendship, you may even find yourself lucky enough to have a few more friends, thus forming a group. Here are just a few signs that prove your current friend group is the ultimate friend group.

Keep Reading...Show less
ross and monica
FanPop

When it comes to television, there’s very few sets of on-screen siblings that a lot of us can relate to. Only those who have grown up with siblings knows what it feels like to fight, prank, and love a sibling. Ross and Monica Geller were definitely overbearing and overshared some things through the series of "Friends," but they captured perfectly what real siblings feel in real life. Some of their antics were funny, some were a little weird but all of them are completely relatable to brothers and sisters everywhere.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Types Of Sorority Girls

Who really makes up your chapter...

3094
Sorority Girls
Owl Eyes Magazine

College is a great place to meet people, especially through Greek life. If you look closely at sororities, you'll quickly see there are many different types of girls you will meet.

1. The Legacy.

Her sister was a member, her mom was a member, all of her aunts were members, and her grandma was a member. She has been waiting her whole life to wear these letters and cried hysterically on bid day. Although she can act entitled at times, you can bet she is one of the most enthusiastic sisters.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

10 Reasons Why Life Is Better In The Summertime

Winter blues got you down? Summer is just around the corner!

2699
coconut tree near shore within mountain range
Photo by Elizeu Dias on Unsplash

Every kid in college and/or high school dreams of summer the moment they walk through the door on the first day back in September. It becomes harder and harder to focus in classes and while doing assignments as the days get closer. The winter has been lagging, the days are short and dark, and no one is quite themselves due to lack of energy and sunlight. Let's face it: life is ten times better in the summertime.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments