THE BOTTOM LINE
Since my last post I’ve been thinking of what the next blog
would contain. What better way to really kick off the season (which is less
than two weeks away) than talking about the Faces of Major League Soccer. When
I say faces I specifically mean the men you think about when you think of a
specific team. Not every team has one. That’s something that very unique to
America. There’s usually a face of a team whether it be a quarterback in the
NFL (example: Tom Brady, the Mannings, Tim Tebow, etc) or a power hitter in MLB
(example: Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, etc) or a leading scorer in NBA
(example: Jeremy Lin, Kobe Bryant, etc).
You associate the teams with these franchise players but
what about soccer? People know who Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona is. He’s
arguable the best player in the world. People also (at least soccer fans) know
who Wayne Rooney of Manchester United is as well. Most non-fans know of
Manchester United and Barcelona as teams not for their individual stars. That’s
something very unique to the sport.
So, my point today is what is different about American
soccer? Will we get to the point where there is a face of the team like other
sports? Or will we continue the same trend as soccer in the rest of the world
currently is doing?
Well, let’s break it down. If you ask someone to name a team
in MLS they can probably name Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, Sporting Kansas City
(thanks Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson”), and that’s about it. Most non-fans don’t
know there are 19 teams with three of them located in Canada. Can they name
players? Probably David Beckham is the only one that will come to mind…
Interesting right? Major League Soccer currently has twenty-one Designated
players. Beckham makes the most with Theirry Henry of New York Red Bulls not
too far behind.
A note to take from that is Los Angeles and Toronto both
have three DPs, Seattle, FC Dallas, Portland, Vancouver, New York and D.C.
United all have two and Chivas USA, New England and Salt Lake each have one.
So these men are the “best” on their teams simply because of
salary. Which of them can be a face of the franchise? With Los Angeles most
people will say Landon Donovan. He’s from Redlands, California and is playing not
too far from home. To non-fans it is probably David Beckham. To those that
aren’t MLS fans it could be Robbie Keane. It is a matter of opinion.
What about the others though? Do other MLS teams have a
face?
The one team I can think of that has a true face to the
franchise right now is Chivas USA. They have Juan Pablo Angel. When I think of
Chivas, I think of JPA. That’s how fans of the league could see Chivas. This
doesn’t mean that’s true but it could potentially definitely garner interest in
soccer fans that do not follow MLS. Given his accomplishments in the past and
his immediate connection to the fans, he is definitely the boost Chivas has
desperately needed since their formation in 2005. Does this mean he will always
be the face? No, that’s like saying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is still the face of
the Los Angeles Lakers… Angel will be remembered as the first identity of
Chivas I’m almost certain to bet on that one.
Now to another point, will MLS capitalize on this and could
they follow the American sports model? Honestly, anything is possible. They can
do whatever they feel as though they are able to do to push MLS farther into
the forefront. Will the American general population gravitate? Again, anything
is possible. Would this be the main reason for fans to flock to MLS? No. If
that’s the reason, they won’t stick to the sport. The one thing it does do if
they decide to push individuals above the whole is differentiate themselves
from other leagues in the world and that could be very good or very bad
depending on the execution. The league is thriving right now and will continue to
grow. One small step at a time and one team’s individual work to either be a
great team or put one man as the face of the franchise is not something that
will ever really be in black and white but the standouts will stand above their
teams just like great sports heroes of the past. I say let the experimenting
begin on this one.
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