MLS 3.0 starts with LAFC, but #SaveTheCrew needs to succeed

MLS is continuously developing and, that being the case, what stage are they currently on, and has LAFC raised the bar all on their own? What’s next?

There has been talk the last decade about which version of MLS fans were experiencing at that moment. There are ongoing debates such as to when MLS 1.0 became MLS 2.0, or which development meant more. Going by the loosely defined guidelines and barriers of achievement necessary, what follows is a timeline through the stages. Did your team help to set a benchmark, or still lagging being with a need to update to the new operating system?

Plenty of naysayers and johnny-come-lately types to MLS continue to denigrate our fair league even though the long-time fans have seen massive gains. Some are so critical of what has been built, they would rather sue the federation and not field a team rather than show they can make even those most minimal investments actually work. Plenty of fools have burned money on the game.

Uncles Lamar and Phil were losing millions building the US soccer game through Major League Soccer, while publicity stunt artist dragged the game down through the courts. Win on the field, do so with an attractive game. People will notice. MLS is finally becoming saturated with attacking flair and increasingly the nation, and world, is taking notice.

Twitter, Youtube, ESPN+, Fox, and dozens of international media outlets have paid for MLS rights and seen viewership go up the last several years. Attendance is top 10 in the world and comparable to US sports attendance if we don’t include the behemoth outlier NFL. More bandwidth and ink the ever is being used to cover the league.

Can top MLS teams compete with top European teams? Hardly. Can a match against any two random MLS teams be more exciting than most any European random draw? More than fair chance the MLS game will fair far better in this equation. Especially when the narrative and reason for watching skews towards the bias of entertainment and the emotional investment possible from actually being able to attend a game is factored in.

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Piatti, Gio, Almiron, Horta, Vela, Loderio, the list goes on. Dozens of highly skilled players are making their mark in MLS now. Many will go on to play in the World Cup and possible the European Champions League. The MLS players now strive to play in, to the point they let the league dictate teams in some cases, had to be built from nothing.

This was not a constant stream of momentum towards being a league averaging more in attendance than other American leagues. At some point, there were MLS teams not drawing more than the high school football teams from which they rented a stadium. Atlanta United did not magically have 70k show up one day. The league’s national map was not just filled in for the purpose of being fodder for NYC and LA teams.

Seattle did not invent much in MLS, not even the habit of making ludicrous claims. They did not even invent the Seattle invented joke, as other teams used that to mock the Sounders. They did, however, prove that if the ownership does it right, an MLS team can have a proper atmosphere in a bigger stadium that is downtown. The Revolution fans have all just started to boil with anger.

MLS was hatched before 1990 as a condition to hosting the 1994 World Cup. Even with almost six years lead time, MLS First Kick was still delayed until 1996. In a dark, smoky backroom somewhere lies a plan to host the World Cup and then shrug at the absence of a league. Then the World Cup became just the most splendid, financially successful venture, and some deep pockets formed the league, if only to keep alive the chance at hosting the World Cup again. (Oops.)

MLS 1.0-2.0

This embryonic stage is the beta. First Kick started the 1.0 era. Under Commish Doug Logan, MLS stayed stuck in the mud, attracting just a few, yet still important, American players to go along with the foreign names. When the owners got together in 1999 and hired Don Garber, MLS had reached version 1.5. A curve was being turned, SUM was being created, and a new vision was on the horizon. There need to be after the USA showing in France and the financial returns so far on the MLS investments. Cash calls are such a headache.

Garber and Lamar Hunt threw up an erector set stadium for the most loyal and dedicated fans in Columbus. They reached the 10,000 season ticket deposit mark. They showed up to support the team in the old venue. Oh, and the old venue was going to be under construction and the Crew had no home or plans to move. So where to put the stadium? Out in that field looks just fine. Nope, other side of the Ferris wheel.

When contraction happens, it looks bad. When MLS contracted, it looked terrible. The outgoing owners weren’t exactly pulling their weight, but still wanted something for their time. Garber made the Godfather offer, some pie crumbs were divied out and called aoumoushe boushe, and MLS restructured to the East and West conference format we have today.

After the 2002 World Cup run and the Galaxy winning their first championship in front of 61,000+, MLS decided to rid itself of the gimmick rules which, like the lawsuits happy fools above, deserve no specific mention. Blame Bob Bradley for the shenanigans being exposed if you must. Aligning MLS rules with the IFAB rules and having a new business model were signs that MLS 2.0 was live.

Hot take for all the fans of any team not named LAFC: MLS 3.0 was not a reality until LAFC kicked a ball in anger with a live audience. No, it is not in the rules that each team gets to be it’s own point oh. Great strides were made when Seattle was brought into the league. The Northwest Pacific rivalries add so much flavor to the MLS that existed before. But those were just really good features being added to the already existing system.

Next up, let’s talk about why LAFC raised the standard, and your team didn’t.