Pimp My League: MLS
MLS is my local league. I like it, even though sometimes it's retarded (oh hai guys did you know that BECKHAM IS COMING OMFG LOL?!?). The level of play is decent, and the teams are pretty even - no La Liga "oh will Real Madrid or Barcelona win this year" or EPL "which of these four teams will will" or Ligue 1 "how long has Lyon been winning" bullshit. Tickets aren't mind numbingly expensive either, some of the General Admission seats are as low as $10 (even lower if you're under 18), VIP section seats seem to be around $75. Which is very good considering I'm going to college near a team and my near-broke self will be able to come up with about $20 for some decent seats. :D
League website, all team websites are networked together.
History
One of the requirements to have the 1994 World Cup in the US was for the US to establish a "Division One" soccer league.
MLS' first season was in 1996. It started with ten teams, one which is now defunct (Tampa Bay Munity) and one that was disbanded and is coming back next season (San Jose Earthquakes). It has had it ups and downs, but regardless of what some European (and American, sadly) writers think, the level of play is said to be on par with England's Championship by players who have played in both.
Setup
If you've ever followed another American sports league, MLS' setup is pretty easy to follow. The league currently has 13 teams, which are divided into two conferences, Eastern and Western. Currently there are 7 teams in the Eastern and 6 in the Western, but a team is being added next season, so they'll be even.
30 games are played, with an even number of home and away matches. The other six are played against other teams in the conference, sometimes with extra "rivalry" games added on.
The regular season runs March/April to October because it's no fun playing outside in the snow.
At the end of the season, the top two teams from each conference plus the next four teams with the most points go on to the playoffs. It starts with a knockout round - two matches played, the winner goes through on aggregate. Then those winners play one match, the winners of that match go on to the MLS Cup. The winner of the goes on to play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The winner of the MLS Supporter's Shield (best record, runner up in winner also won MLSCup) goes to that as well.
There's also the US Open Cup (Toronto's not a part of this) to play in during the season. It's open to all USSF-related teams, from MLS to USL to all the way down to amateur clubs. And there's the new this year SuperLiga, which is supposed to be set up like a mini-Champions League between MLS and Mexico's Primera División.
Differences with other leagues
There's no relegation/promotion. There are leagues under MLS (USL, USL-2, etc.) but they don't have it either.
There are two drafts, the SuperDraft (which fills out the main roster) and the Supplemental Draft, which fills out teams' developmental rosters. Teams can trade draft picks and allocations and many other fun things that just remind me of baseball so I ignore them.
Another difference is that not all teams have their own soccer-specific stadium. They sometimes play in American football stadiums which leads to issues of "oh look how many people Kansas City brings into Arrowhead Stadium which can hold over 70,000."
Yet another difference is the salary cap. Teams are allowed to have one player (the designated player) go over that salary cap ("the Beckham rule") but could possibly trade players/draft picks to acquire another one.
Lastly, the team doesn't own the player's contract - MLS as an entity does. This causes some problems with players who want a higher salary or to move while they're still under contract, but this and the salary cap were put in place so there wouldn't be a repeat of the NASL's overexpansion.
Note: The "Notable Players" aren't going to be very notable to people who really only follow European football. A * denotes a non-soccer-specific stadium.
Current Teams - Eastern Conference
Chicago Fire - Named after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire which destroyed the city's business district and was supposedly started by a cow.
Founded: 1997
Plays at: Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL (cap. 20,000)
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '98, US Open Cup '98, '00, '03, '06, Supporter's Shield '03, CONCACAF Champions Cup 3rd Place '99, '04.
Notable Players: Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Josh Wolff
Columbus Crew - The name refers to Columbus' blue-collar community.
Founded: 1994.
Plays at: Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, OH (cap. 22,555)
Notable Wins: US Open Cup '02, MLS Supporters' Shield '04
Notable Players: Brad Friedel, Brian McBride, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Frankie Hejduk
D.C. United
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: RFK Stadium, Washington D.C. (cap. 56,692)*
Notable Wins: MLs Cup '96, '97, '99, '04, MLS Supporter's Shield '97, '99, '06, US Open Cup '96, CONCACAF Champions' Cup '98, CONCACAF Champions' Cup 3rd Place '97, '99, '07.
Notable Players: Bobby Convey, Freddy Adu, Hristo Stoichkov, Jaime Moreno.
Kansas City Wizards - Named this because Dorothy from Wizard of Oz is from Kansas. Kansas City happens to be in Missouri; Kansas is across the Mississippi.
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO (cap. 79,451)*
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '00, MLS Supporters' Shield '00, US Open Cup '04
Notable Players: Mo Johnston, Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Johnson
New England Revolution - So named because the American Revolution was born in New England.
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA (cap. 68,756)*
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Clint Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, Avery John, Taylor Twellman
Red Bull New York - Formerly the New York/New Jersey MetroStars
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ (cap. 80,242)*
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Tim Howard, Juan Pablo Ángel, Cladio Reyna, Clint Mathis
Toronto FC
Founded: 2006
Plays at: BMO Field, Toronto, ON (cap. 20,195)
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Danny Dichio, Ronnie O'Brien
Current Teams - Western Conference
Chivas USA - Owner also owns Chivas Guadalajara in Mexico.
Founded: 2004.
Plays at: Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (cap. 27,000)
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Claudio Suárez, Maykel Galindo, Ante Razov
Colorado Rapids
Founded: 1995
Plays at: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO (cap. 18,458)
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Pablo Mastroeni, Marcelo Balboa, Marcus Hahnemann
FC Dallas - Formerly the Dallas Burn.
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX (cap. 21,193)
Notable Wins: US Open Cup '97
Notable Players: Carlos Ruíz, Hugo Sánchez, Juan Toja, Shaka Hislop
Houston Dynamo - Originally the San Jose Earthquakes, was relocated. Was going to be named Houston 1836 because that's when Texas declared itself independent from Mexico, but some Hispanics boycotted it.
Founded: 2005
Plays at: Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX (cap. 32,000)*
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '06
Notable Players: Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Ching, Pat Onstad
Los Angeles Galaxy - Named because Los Angeles has a lot of "stars."
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (cap. 27,000)
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '02, '05, MLS Supporters' Shield '98, '02, US Open Cup '01, '05, CONCACAF Champions Cup '00, CONCACAF Champions Cup Second Place '97
Notable Players: David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Abel Xavier
Real Salt Lake
Founded: 2004.
Plays at: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT (cap. 45,017)*
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Eddie Pope, Alecko Eskandarian
League website, all team websites are networked together.
History
One of the requirements to have the 1994 World Cup in the US was for the US to establish a "Division One" soccer league.
MLS' first season was in 1996. It started with ten teams, one which is now defunct (Tampa Bay Munity) and one that was disbanded and is coming back next season (San Jose Earthquakes). It has had it ups and downs, but regardless of what some European (and American, sadly) writers think, the level of play is said to be on par with England's Championship by players who have played in both.
Setup
If you've ever followed another American sports league, MLS' setup is pretty easy to follow. The league currently has 13 teams, which are divided into two conferences, Eastern and Western. Currently there are 7 teams in the Eastern and 6 in the Western, but a team is being added next season, so they'll be even.
30 games are played, with an even number of home and away matches. The other six are played against other teams in the conference, sometimes with extra "rivalry" games added on.
The regular season runs March/April to October because it's no fun playing outside in the snow.
At the end of the season, the top two teams from each conference plus the next four teams with the most points go on to the playoffs. It starts with a knockout round - two matches played, the winner goes through on aggregate. Then those winners play one match, the winners of that match go on to the MLS Cup. The winner of the goes on to play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The winner of the MLS Supporter's Shield (best record, runner up in winner also won MLSCup) goes to that as well.
There's also the US Open Cup (Toronto's not a part of this) to play in during the season. It's open to all USSF-related teams, from MLS to USL to all the way down to amateur clubs. And there's the new this year SuperLiga, which is supposed to be set up like a mini-Champions League between MLS and Mexico's Primera División.
Differences with other leagues
There's no relegation/promotion. There are leagues under MLS (USL, USL-2, etc.) but they don't have it either.
There are two drafts, the SuperDraft (which fills out the main roster) and the Supplemental Draft, which fills out teams' developmental rosters. Teams can trade draft picks and allocations and many other fun things that just remind me of baseball so I ignore them.
Another difference is that not all teams have their own soccer-specific stadium. They sometimes play in American football stadiums which leads to issues of "oh look how many people Kansas City brings into Arrowhead Stadium which can hold over 70,000."
Yet another difference is the salary cap. Teams are allowed to have one player (the designated player) go over that salary cap ("the Beckham rule") but could possibly trade players/draft picks to acquire another one.
Lastly, the team doesn't own the player's contract - MLS as an entity does. This causes some problems with players who want a higher salary or to move while they're still under contract, but this and the salary cap were put in place so there wouldn't be a repeat of the NASL's overexpansion.
Note: The "Notable Players" aren't going to be very notable to people who really only follow European football. A * denotes a non-soccer-specific stadium.
Current Teams - Eastern Conference
Chicago Fire - Named after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire which destroyed the city's business district and was supposedly started by a cow.
Founded: 1997
Plays at: Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL (cap. 20,000)
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '98, US Open Cup '98, '00, '03, '06, Supporter's Shield '03, CONCACAF Champions Cup 3rd Place '99, '04.
Notable Players: Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Josh Wolff
Columbus Crew - The name refers to Columbus' blue-collar community.
Founded: 1994.
Plays at: Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, OH (cap. 22,555)
Notable Wins: US Open Cup '02, MLS Supporters' Shield '04
Notable Players: Brad Friedel, Brian McBride, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Frankie Hejduk
D.C. United
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: RFK Stadium, Washington D.C. (cap. 56,692)*
Notable Wins: MLs Cup '96, '97, '99, '04, MLS Supporter's Shield '97, '99, '06, US Open Cup '96, CONCACAF Champions' Cup '98, CONCACAF Champions' Cup 3rd Place '97, '99, '07.
Notable Players: Bobby Convey, Freddy Adu, Hristo Stoichkov, Jaime Moreno.
Kansas City Wizards - Named this because Dorothy from Wizard of Oz is from Kansas. Kansas City happens to be in Missouri; Kansas is across the Mississippi.
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO (cap. 79,451)*
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '00, MLS Supporters' Shield '00, US Open Cup '04
Notable Players: Mo Johnston, Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Johnson
New England Revolution - So named because the American Revolution was born in New England.
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA (cap. 68,756)*
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Clint Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, Avery John, Taylor Twellman
Red Bull New York - Formerly the New York/New Jersey MetroStars
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ (cap. 80,242)*
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Tim Howard, Juan Pablo Ángel, Cladio Reyna, Clint Mathis
Toronto FC
Founded: 2006
Plays at: BMO Field, Toronto, ON (cap. 20,195)
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Danny Dichio, Ronnie O'Brien
Current Teams - Western Conference
Chivas USA - Owner also owns Chivas Guadalajara in Mexico.
Founded: 2004.
Plays at: Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (cap. 27,000)
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Claudio Suárez, Maykel Galindo, Ante Razov
Colorado Rapids
Founded: 1995
Plays at: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO (cap. 18,458)
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Pablo Mastroeni, Marcelo Balboa, Marcus Hahnemann
FC Dallas - Formerly the Dallas Burn.
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX (cap. 21,193)
Notable Wins: US Open Cup '97
Notable Players: Carlos Ruíz, Hugo Sánchez, Juan Toja, Shaka Hislop
Houston Dynamo - Originally the San Jose Earthquakes, was relocated. Was going to be named Houston 1836 because that's when Texas declared itself independent from Mexico, but some Hispanics boycotted it.
Founded: 2005
Plays at: Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX (cap. 32,000)*
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '06
Notable Players: Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Ching, Pat Onstad
Los Angeles Galaxy - Named because Los Angeles has a lot of "stars."
Founded: 1995.
Plays at: Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (cap. 27,000)
Notable Wins: MLS Cup '02, '05, MLS Supporters' Shield '98, '02, US Open Cup '01, '05, CONCACAF Champions Cup '00, CONCACAF Champions Cup Second Place '97
Notable Players: David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Abel Xavier
Real Salt Lake
Founded: 2004.
Plays at: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT (cap. 45,017)*
Notable Wins: None.
Notable Players: Eddie Pope, Alecko Eskandarian