Nov 23, 2010 - From the moment we learned who would be representing MLS in its showcase event, we knew there was bound to be some level of disappointment.
The teams lacked marquee names. The weather was going to be bad. The local fans were upset with ownership.
That the game was less-than-stellar did not help. There were some questionable — to say the least — calls and noncalls. Two of the three goals were of the garbage variety. The stands were at least half empty by halftime which may or may not have been part of an organized protest. To top it off, the commissioner of the league made some less-than-popular announcements at halftime.
All in all, it was an unfortunate way to end a season that was a step in the right direction in many ways.
In that sense, the Colorado Rapids were the perfect champion.
They did not look great getting there — they went 3-1 and didn't outscore any playoff opponent by more than a goal — but the history books will record this as the greatest season in their 15-year history. Not only did they win their first major trophy, but they also recorded their best regular season (by points per match).
Just as importantly, they may have finally broken through to the Denver sports fan.
Although they averaged just 13,329 fans per game — which is actually fewer fans than they averaged during their three-year no-playoff run — they did draw almost 18,000 for the Eastern Conference final game despite freezing temperatures. Historically, a franchise's first MLS Cup translates to a roughly 5 percent attendance bump the following season. That would give the Rapids about 1,300 more fans per game and put them back where they were when they first opened Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
The Rapids are likely to have the core of their team back next season, will be competing in CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in this format and could really be building something that is very similar to their Rocky Mountain Cup rivals, Real Salt Lake.
All is obviously not perfect. TV ratings — especially for MLS Cup — moving in the wrong direction, is maybe the most concerning issue facing the league.
But from lots of perspectives this was a season where MLS moved in the right direction.
Success in the stands
The 16,675 fans that attended the average MLS match was the third best total in the league's history — behind only the inaugural season and David Beckham's first year. That also was a 4 percent increase over last year and ended a two-year attendance slide.
The league also broke the 4 million mark in total tickets sold for the first time, which was a nearly 10 percent increase from last year.
The credit for these increases goes mostly to three sources: the Seattle Sounders' increasing capacity by nearly 20 percent, the New York Red Bulls opening their new stadium and the Philadelphia Union joining the league. Looking a little deeper, nine of the 15 teams that played in 2009 did see varying degrees of improved average attendance. One of those that didn't — the San Jose Earthquakes — can blame that almost entirely on playing all of their games at Buck Shaw Stadium instead of holding a handful at Oakland Coliseum. Three more teams — DC United, New England Revolution and Chivas USA — had decidedly worse seasons on the field.
That basically leaves MLS with two head-scratchers: the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas, both owned by Hunt Sports Group.
At the start of the year, there were hopes this season would set a new average attendance standard. While that didn't quite happen, the addition of two teams next year — both of whom will have strong season-ticket bases — that mark could again be within reach.
International Respect
It's hard to say just how important MLS or its fans take CONCACAF Champions League. At least now, we know a few teams and their fanbases do.
Not content to just pay the international tournament lip service, Real Salt Lake, the Columbus Crew, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC all put some heft behind their efforts with starters getting significant minutes.
Both RSL and the Sounders drew more than 20,000 fans for games against Mexican opponents.
More significantly, RSL became the first MLS team to win its group under the current format. They will play the Crew in the quarterfinals for the chance to become the first MLS team to advance to the semis. Both the Crew and RSL beat Mexican opponents on their way to this point.
One of the knocks against the league has always been an inability to convince those raised on the sport in other countries that MLS is worth their attention. Performances like these can only help the league gain traction with these fans.
Moving Away From Mediocrity
That MLS fans were complaining about a 46-point team won the league's championship actually says a lot about how far the league has come. Sure, the Rapids were the seventh best team during the regular season, but their point total was actually only three fewer than the Supporters' Shield winner had in 2009.
Never before have so many qualified teams made the MLS playoffs as no No. 8 seed has ever come close to matching the Rapids' 1.533 points per match.
The Galaxy posted 1.931 points per match, which was the fourth-best mark in MLS history and the best since 2005. Despite that, the .379 gap from the No. 1 seed to the No. 8 seed was the second smallest in history — last year's .300 gap was the only one closer. It was also the first time in history that all eight playoff teams posted positive goal-differences.
The eight teams to make the playoffs were clearly the best eight teams in MLS this season — the .310 PPM gap from No. 8-9 was the second biggest in history and the biggest since 2001 — and even the No. 8 seed had better bonafides than a few former MLS Cup winners.
Maybe it's too early to say that parity is dead — after all, two teams that didn't even make the playoffs made it to the MLS Cup — but at least we can say it's becoming increasingly unlikely that bad teams can win the title. Baby steps people, baby steps.
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