In order for Soccer to&nbsp;make it to&nbsp;the U.S. sports fan’s main menu, it must play a schedule that has both sense and purpose.&nbsp; An American professional soccer league must begin play every year&nbsp;1-2&nbsp;weeks before the Major League baseball season begins and it must end its regular season 3 weeks before the start of the NFL season.&nbsp;
A professional league must make every attempt to take advantage of the U.S. sports calendar so that soccer can get the limelight needed to reach diehard U.S. sports fans.&nbsp; Every ounce of sports spectating in America, including awards shows, is scheduled&nbsp;to a specific time in the year in order&nbsp;to gain a place within the public’s eye.&nbsp;&nbsp;
When there is a hole or dip in the sports schedule, like the MLB all-star game, soccer must&nbsp;fill the&nbsp;spot in a big way.&nbsp; This year and in past years,&nbsp;professional soccer&nbsp;has not scheduled games on baseball’s all-star break.&nbsp; This is an error in judgement from those who are the decision makers for professional soccer.&nbsp; Professional soccer should always try&nbsp;to maximize its exposure in&nbsp;the sports spectator calendar, especially on days when no other major U.S. sports are being played.&nbsp;
There are few holes left in the sports calendar, but tradition doesn’t need holes in schedules.&nbsp; Tradition can bring&nbsp;professional soccer&nbsp;to its&nbsp;rightful place on the U.S.&nbsp;sports calendar.&nbsp; Tradition should be that&nbsp;professional soccer always stays one step ahead of both baseball and footfall.&nbsp; Placing its regular season&nbsp;on the U.S. sports calendar for the months of March, April, May, June, and July,&nbsp;with its playoffs in August, will stabilize and solidify professional soccer’s niche in the sports spectator marketplace.
Professional soccer in the U.S. from March to August should build towards a 40-50 regular game season.&nbsp; The schedule must find consistency from year to year and only allow interference from the most reputable tournaments(i.e. USOC, CCL).&nbsp; Clarity in the schedule&nbsp;and more games means more opportunities for pro soccer to make a lasting impact with U.S. sports fans.
The perfect start to the 2009 season would be the first day of spring, Monday, March 23rd.&nbsp; Monday Night Futbol would be the perfect anecdote to keep the fans&nbsp;engaged and enthused over a 20-week professional soccer schedule.&nbsp;
The schedule should permit for play Thursdays through Mondays.&nbsp; Friday nights will see a&nbsp;heavy schedule.&nbsp; Saturdays will see a&nbsp;heavy schedule for day and night, while Sunday will see a&nbsp;heavy&nbsp;schedule for day and late afternoons.&nbsp; Monday and Thursday nights will see a lighter schedule.&nbsp;
Teams should prepare to travel for 2-3 game sets (against the same team) over a&nbsp;3 to 5 day period, similar to professional baseball.&nbsp; There should be games to view&nbsp;on television from Thursdays through Mondays all over the country.
Scheduling is the most critical element to ensuring that soccer gains the most exposure possible.&nbsp; Groups of games must start one after another.&nbsp; By staggering the start times, fans watching on television, should be able to see games in a consecutive manner.&nbsp; Start times need to be prepared long in advance.

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