Why Soccer is Going in the Right Direction in the United States

Well as I've been watching Fox Soccer Channel's coverage of the FA Cup, I came to thinking: The United States format of soccer is actually similar to England's. Obviously, the clubs in England have a chance to play for many trophies a year, (FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Champions League, etc.) but the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League has been making the United States soccer more European, year after year.

Now, I have talked about how we need to Americanize soccer, but in this situation, I'll make an exception, because we need to have multiple pieces of hardware to play for every year. That's what I think makes soccer so great in Europe, you always have something to play for. Whether it is to escape relegation, win a cup, or win the UEFA Champions League, the teams in England are always playing hard. Its also exciting for the clubs, hardcore fans, and casual watchers when a small club from the Football Leagues draw a mastodon like Chelsea or Manchester United.

You can see the similarities when the USL clubs draw the MLS sides in the US Open Cup. Though it is always exciting to see two MLS teams duke it out for the trophy, it's always nice to see a USL squad play an MLS team in a "David vs. Goliath" type scenario. We saw this in 2008 when the Charleston Battery played DC United in a rendition of the Coffee Pot Cup and the US Open Cup championship game. Though the Battery didn't win the match (they lost 2-1) they put up a good fight, and it was good for the fans to see their team compete for a big cup.

This extra excitement that is found in soccer is not found in the other professional sports in America. In the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL you play for one championship every year. You also see teams in the later stages of the season not play hard, because they are out of contention to win anything. Now while this can happen in soccer in some situations, when you are playing for 3 or 4 trophies every year, you can keep it exciting, and keep more clubs afloat.

What I want to see in the future, is a relegation system. It is far off, but the relegation system could work in the United States once the USL and MLS develop a little further. Undoubtedly the MLS has gotten good attendance figures, but if the USL can get each club up to 10,000-15,000 average attendance, then there is a good chance that the relegation system used in England, could work here. Just imagine, "MLS in Charleston" it just sounds good.

To finish this long rambling off, let me say this: English Soccer fans can't talk down to the MLS for attendance, quality of play, or coverage of the sport in the United States, because seriously the MLS has been around for 13 years. I would like to see the English soccer attendance numbers from 1901.

Former Furman Star Clint Dempsey Tearing Up the EPL

Former Furman University standout Clint Dempsey is becoming a strong force for his English Premier League side, Fulham. Dempsey is quickly turning into a fan favorite and star for the English club, and is on the way to setting his own personal record of goals in a season for Fulham (9).

Dempsey played three seasons for the Furman Paladins and started in 61 of 62 games. He scored 17 goals in all of his appearances. He played alongside his United States National team teammate, Ricardo Clark in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. This could be considered one of the greatest college soccer teams in the history of the state of South Carolina, taking into account it had two future national team players. The two have combined for 21 goals for the USMNT.

Fulham is on the brink of relegation, and Dempsey is trying to lead them through their eighth season in the top level of English football and on to their ninth. Fulham is currently 17th in the Premier league, and therefore safe from relegation for now. The club has held this streak of eight consecutive seasons in the Premier League since the 2001-2002 season, and hopes to carry this out for many years to come. Fulham gained top flight status for the first time since 1968 in 2001. Dempsey has scored 6 goals in 17 appearances for Fulham this season, which is first on the team. Not only is he leading in goals, but he is third on the team in assists with 2.

It would be not only devastating for the club to be dropped Football League Championship, but for U.S. soccer itself. Clint Dempsey is one of the top players in U.S. soccer, and to keep form we need to have our top players playing against the best players in the entire world, in one of the top leagues in the world. Let's face it, playing against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United is better than playing Leeds United, Queens Park Rangers, and Cardiff City.

With other United States players, like Stuart Holden, Tim Howard, Jonathan Spector, and Dempsey's teammate Eddie Johnson playing in the English Premier League, the U.S. can only improve. You know what they say, to be the best, you have to beat the best.

CONCACAF Gold Cup Venues in the Southeast: Possible Reason for MLS Expansion?

The venues for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup we're announced on December 17th. The tournament will be hosted by the United States and will bring in teams from all over North America and the Carribean. The winner will get an automatic bid to the Confederations Cup in Brazil in 2013. How does this affect the growth of soccer in South Carolina?

Simply put, the venues are close to home as opposed to the 2009 tournament that was also hosted in the U.S. The closest venue for the last edition of the Gold Cup was in Washington D.C. for the soccer fans here in South Carolina. This time around one of the venues of the tourny is Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The stadium, home of the professional American football team the Carolina Panthers, holds 73,778 spectators and is one of the larger stadiums hosting the tournament. The game that will be played is on June 9th in the summer of 2011.

This is a chance for the soccer fans not only in South Carolina, but the whole of the southeast United States to show that we deserve an MLS expansion. Though it seems the future is dim for an expansion team in the south. The MLS has a goal to reach twenty teams by 2012. With the 19th team in Montreal being added in the 2012 season only one potential spot is left. With Detroit and a revival of the former NASL team the New York Cosmos making strong bids for the 20th franchise, will a grassroots effort be enough to get a team in the southeast?

Don Garber, the Major League Soccer Commisioner, was quoted as saying, "You can’t be a national league unless you have teams in the South." Being a valid point and coming from the head man himself you would hope we could get the whole of the powers at be in on the idea of a southeastern team. And it raises the question: With teams in all corners of the United States, why does the southeast not have a team?

Well, originally there were teams in the southeast. When the MLS was created in 1996 it had ten teams with one in the south; the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The Miami Fusion was added in 1998 along with Chicago Fire S.C. This seemed like a hopeful effort to grow soccer in the south, but it was shortlived. Both teams folded in 2002 and left the south without an MLS franchise. So it seems that the MLS would have problems granting a franchise to any city in Florida. So what is the number one choice?

I think if we did get a team in the southeastern U.S. the number one choice would be Atlanta, Georgia. Owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, has shown interest in bringing an MLS franchise to Atlanta. Sadly, it seems his number one priority right now is getting a new stadium for the Falcons. If he doesn't show serious interest in bringing the beautiful game to Atlanta in the next year, we'll have to wait for an MLS franchise for a couple more years.