What I Am Thankful For – MLS Edition

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  The last week has been a barrage of news and rumors in the world of MLS, and the next few weeks will likely be the same with the 2018/2022 bid announcements and re-entry draft.  But for one day, let us step back and give thanks for all of the good things that MLS (and soccer overall) gives to us every day.  Sports are an escape for every day living, an alternate world where curving a soccer ball earns you millions or being the right height guarantees a job for twenty years.  And without it, society would be a much more depressing place.

This Thanksgiving, here is what I am thankful for:

I am thankful for Dax McCarty going to DC United – quite a good trade yesterday for DC United, sending Rodney Wallace to Portland for the former FC Dallas player.  The Black and Red now have another creative midfielder to score goals, something that has been mysteriously absent from RFK this year, as well as another offensive threat to pair with Andy Najar.  I think this is the beginning of a good rebuilding for DCU.

I am thankful for expanding technology to watch even more games – do you realize that I can practically travel anywhere and watch a soccer match?  If I have a laptop/mobile device, wireless, and headphones, I can pull up ESPN3, foxsoccer.tv, YouTube, or a number of video sites and watch highlights or an entire match.  It has never been easier to enjoy the beautiful game and the league(s) of your choice.

I am thankful for balanced scheduling, at least for another year – even with two new clubs this season, I will still have the opportunity to watch every club at least once in my home team’s stadium.  You can’t say that about many American sports, and I think it’s something we sometimes take for granted.  And in that vein…..

I am thankful for living so close to an MLS club – I live within a half hour of an MLS club, and have the opportunity to see my home team in action, something residents in many large cities (let alone rural areas) do not have the chance to do.

I am thankful for U.S. soccer supporters – overshadowed by English hooligans and fan clubs, the U.S. has its own great fan base for soccer.  At the national level, Sam’s Army travels to all the matches and provides a good base of support for Bob Bradley’s squad.  At the club level, every team has great supporters, and some like Seattle go above and beyond the call of fandom.  Good fans really help make a match a great one.

I am thankful for Don Garber and Sunil Gulati – I am the first to criticize these gentlemen at times for their boneheaded decisions, but their jobs are not easy.  They have to grow a sport in a country where the sport’s landscape is already crowded and soccer is sometimes seen as a foreign influence.  Their job is not easy and I am thankful they are there to do it.  Plus, they provide constant topics for posts on the site.

And finally, I am thankful for you – Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, Tweets, and shares the content on this site.  Without you, this site would not be as dynamic as it is and full of diverse thoughts and opinions.

What MLS or soccer things are you thankful for this year?