What to look for from Philly

By: travis | March 8th, 2008

Unless you live under a rock, don’t care about the MLS (and if you do, not sure why you’re here), or are simply out of the loop, you’ll have noticed that this happened last week, a lot thanks to these guys. That’s right, Philadelphia finally added a MLS team. And the week of fallout after the announcement has one fan antsy for 2010 to come already.

First and foremost, I’m very excited. I moved from the D.C. area to the suburbs of West Philly (on a playground where I spent most of my days) I lost my local team, that being D.C. at that point, it wasn’t a huge deal to me, as I had yet to contract such a fervor for the beautiful game that I was left unfazed. I toiled through high school, surrounded by Philly sports fans from all walks of life: Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers. You name the team, they bled for them. The fans were merciless to the teams that failed to meet their high standards (read: almost all of them), and celebrated those that almost achieved glory.

Second, the potential I-95 rivalry is mouth-watering. New York, DC, Philly. Obviously, the Red Bull and United will dominate this little rivalry for the first few seasons. But the draw of a road trip so close to home can only help the attendance. I want to live in one of those three cities just to watch how it all develops.

As soccer moves into Philadelphia, the passion and potential that the area has to offer is something to keep an eye on. If the new Philadelphia franchise can muster up the support of heck, a quarter of those who follow the Eagles or Phillies, they could be set. And after more than a week, the area is taking notice. People are excited, as more than 2,000 season tickets have already been booked through a $50 dollar deposit. The local paper, The Inquirer, ran a profile on Bobby Convey. The only mention I can recall of soccer in the paper was either the local indoor team the Kixx or high school score reports. That’s it. Now to see a profile of a “star” from the region, the first played from the area to make it to the top flight in England, it’s obvious that momentum is building.

Like all expansion teams, there are questions to be raised. And I know that the launch of the franchise is two years out. But I can’t help but bubble with excitement, not only because one of my favorite places joined the MLS, but that the MLS itself is now at 16 teams. I’ve made it a general rule of thumb, that supporting soccer in America must come first over other leagues. Why? Because the league needs us to survive. Yes, the level of play leaves something to be desired, at times. But have you ever watched epic EPL battles such as Derby vs Wigan? Those games can leave even the most die hard fans wincing as the ball is bumbled around the pitch.

I hope the MLS doesn’t stretch itself too thin. No need to shoot for the NBA/NFL/NHL level of 28-32 teams. That would be too much, considering most teams might not even turn a profit. The future is good, however, and the fact that a team only a week old has a couple thousand people already lined up for season tickets indicates that the MLS is on the rise.