MLS Research Papers

Soccer, the beautiful game, the world’s game, but not America’s game. This could possibly change, however, especially if the MLS has anything to say about it. The MLS is trying to grow their ranks and cement themselves as a legitimate sports league here in the United States. Many people believe that this will never happen, and they use the same reasoning time after time, “It’s just too late” and, “We’re just not good enough”. When people argue that it’s too late, they are referring to the fact that soccer was invented so long ago that the U.S. has missed their opportunity to grow the game. The earliest recordings of a ball-and-foot game date back all the way to 2,500 B.C. The game became popular in England and surrounding nations in the Middle Ages, “By the end of the 14th Century, the game has become deeply embedded in the English culture” (Football Bible). The English league arose in 1863, and many other countries developed their own leagues

The National Team may not be one of the world’s best, but they are actually very popular. In the 2014 world cup, the U.S.’s final game against Belgium had a T.V. rating of 9.6 and 16 million viewers. For comparison, the 2014 NBA finals averaged a rating of 9.3 and 15.5 million viewers (business insider). Now there is no argument that the game in general is popular, the World Cup viewership is on par with the other American sports. It is only a matter of time before people become cognizant of the fact that they don't have to wait four years for soccer, there is a professional league that competes every year. The league even contains most of the american stars they see in the World Cup. With the interest in the National Team at all time high, it only makes sense that the focus will soon shift inward to the american league that plays from spring to