The question still remains: Can soccer ever become popular in the United States? I still believe there is a market for it and that it can grow. There still seem to be more people in the United States who would rather watch English Premier League games, because they feel this is a better brand of soccer. More Premier League jerseys than MLS jerseys are sold every year in the United States. I think that the team in Seattle turned a lot of heads this year, with record attendance and a great fan-base who even turned out for a game where there team wasn’t playing. The MLS will shy away from the neutral site championship games next year, and the team with the highest record of the team teams in the MLS Cup will play host. As seen with the attendance at Gillette the year the Revolution were in the final, this has worked in the past.
The MLS has to continue to work to attract top players like Beckham into the league. Even for those who hate Beckham, no one can deny he brought attention to the league itself. Without the money that European teams have to throw around at top-notch players, it is difficult for the MLS to compete. However, I feel it is moving in the right direction, as more teams build soccer-specific stadiums and gain sponsorships to bring in money (Xbox was very prominent throughout Qwest Field on Sunday night). Although the talent may not be there, the MLS is still a very exciting brand of soccer as we saw in the playoffs. Hopefully, after the exciting championship we just saw, more people will give the MLS a shot.