This blog has spoken about soccer more than most undefined American sports blogs. But, as most soccer coverage, I have primarily spoken about European soccer. In most of those blogs I have mentioned that I really don’t care all that much about MLS. My soccer red flag is that I really don’t care all that much about MLS. It’s not like I haven’t tried; I’ve been to a fair few Dynamo games, and they’re always fun. I just have a stronger connection with the European game. To be fair to myself, I’ll also watch AFCON and CONMEBOL games when I get the chance thanks to some totally legal streams.
But, starting tonight, all of that changes. I have made the decision to try and watch the MLS this season. A few years back, Brian (the co-host of this blog, and Twitch streamer), decided to watch more Astros games. Turns out he decided the best possible year to make that plan, because the year was 2017. So, I’m hoping some of that magic translates to me. I know the Dynamo have been relatively okay the last couple of years, winning the US Open last year. One of the main problems is that I have no clue if that’s important. I know in the Premier League, the cup matches are important at the final, but no one is going to bat an eye if their team falls out before then.
One of the reasons I think that the MLS is so much harder to watch, is because of the media coverage. In preparation for this blog I tried to look up MLS preview on YouTube in the hope that I could figure out what to look forward to this season. I was hoping to figure out who was actually good, because, again, I have no clue. Well when I searched that the first video was about Messi and how the MLS will deal with him (spoilers: he’s been there and his team is still bad).
so, I tried MLS predictions, which I probably should have tried in the beginning. Again, I was met with a slew of pretty bad results, with an ESPN FC video with 800 views on top. The fourth result was also a video pertaining to the election, with a thumbnail of RFK Jr. When I went back to take a screenshot of it, it had disappeared. I had a really funny joke prepared about RFK Jr. was also going to lose the MLS Finals, but it was only funny with the thumbnail. This goes about proving my point – the US sports media just will not cover the MLS in any meaningful capacity. Which has led to me forgetting about its existence, and unable to really name anyone on the Dynamo’s roster.
The playoffs also kind of ruin the regular season. I know, as an American, I am derelict in my duty to the country if I am not endorsing the playoffs wholeheartedly (except, American exceptionalism would probably say that playoffs are stupid). But, in the case of the MLS, it seems like literally everyone makes the playoffs. And the team that does the best in the regular season gets the Supporters’ Shield, which feels like something you win in a charity match. It’s all a weird concoction that makes the regular season just feel worthless. And by the time the playoffs role around, it’s too late to get into it.
I have also been wanting to do something called “The American Soccer Review” for months now, and I’ve posted a couple. But I just did a terrible job getting into it. So, in the spirit of KickTV and Jimmy Conrad, this is my pledge to watch the MLS this season and get better at posting the American Soccer Review, because the MLS needs better representation, because it’s not that bad of a league; just no one cares about.. Expect more MLS content (hopefully).
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