<div style="width: 433px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" alt="1930 US National Team" src="http://www.ussoccerhalloffame.net/images/argentinavsus1930.gif" width="423" height="329"></figure></div>1930 US National Team</div>
In the comments made to <a href="http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/not-so-fantastic-advice-to-the-mls-from-the-special-one/2883">my last post on this site</a>, an individual stated that they were sick of hearing about ways to grow the MLS and suggested it should be shut down, put out of its misery. Well as both a fan and commentator on the Beautiful Game (whether you call it football, futbol, soccer, calcio, etc., I really don’t care. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by another name would smell as sweet.” As for me, I just tend to go with what my federation calls the game.), it is my opinion that the presence of one or more organized, professional leagues is important, nay, necessary and crucial to the continued growth and development of the US National Team.
First things first though, let’s make one thing very, very clear. For those who think that soccer in the US is a “foreign” game or that soccer is a relatively new sport in the US, put those false assumptions aside, immediately. The true origins of the game are lost in history and obscured by myth. Lore suggests that sporting games involving kicking a ball existed in China, Italy, and North America long before some lads in England took upon themselves to draft The Laws. It only took 5 years for the Cambridge Rules version of the game, established in 1815, to secure itself in the US. The first organized soccer club in the US was the Oneidas who played on the Boston Commons in the 1860s, and while they were the first “organized” club, they had plenty of opponents to play. The Rutgers v. Princeton match that was held in New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 6, 1876, you know, the one that the NFL claims as the birth of its game, well the ball from that match is in the Soccer Hall of Fame, it’s not in Canton, Ohio. Finally, the United States Football Association became a full fledged member of FIFA in 1914. What separates the history of the game in the US from the history in England was that it was allowed to flourish in England and Europe, while here it was left to grow of its own accord, and when its popularity grew, the powers that be in baseball would play the xenophobia card in explaining why people should spend their hard earned money at baseball games instead of soccer matches. Of course, those same powers that be in baseball were more then happy to rent their ballparks out to teams in the ASL and other regional leagues during baseball’s offseason. Additionally, this is a country made up of immigrants, of the flotsam and jetsam of the rest of the world, so it makes sense that soccer has always had, and will always have, a place on the American landscape.
The problem that existed between 1820 and 1996, was that there was no truly unified and national professional soccer league in this country. That the US did as well as it did in the 1930, 1950, and even 1994 World Cups is a testament to the raw soccer talent that persists in this country despite the game’s relegation to the background of the US sporting psyche. While the NASL managed to break into the mainstream in the late 1970s and early 1980s, its cooperation with the National side makes the MLS look ultra accommodating. 
In the 1980s, realizing the lack of serious professional opportunities for its players, US Soccer stepped up to the plate and signed the national team players to contracts and began paying the players. While this move enabled the team to keep the most talented players it could find, it also meant that these players were losing out on the opportunity to play on a regular club schedule with diverse teammates bring a variety of styles and backgrounds to experience, and limited to whatever friendly schedule along it could develop, in addition to the CONCACAF schedule.
The US National Team barely squeaked into Italia ‘90 and it had an automatic berth into USA ‘94. It has only been since the creation of the MLS that the US National Team has become a dominant force in CONCACAF. Additionally, despite the tension between the leagues, I do believe that the presence of the MLS has lifted the skill level and profile of the USL.
I cannot accurately predict whether the US will ever win the World Cup in my lifetime, but I do know that the team would never have a shot at winning the Cup if the MLS did not exist. There is a large, untapped reserve of soccer talent in the US. The existence of both the MLS and the USL allows for the deployment of more scouts to discover that talent and it gives kids with the talent the ability to know that they can earn a living at soccer, they don’t have to give the game up for football or baseball or basketball when they get to high school. 
So maybe the skill level and aesthetics of the game in the MLS and USL are not up to the standards of the Premier League, but in the end, the MLS and USL will mean more to the growth and development of the US National Team then the EPL will mean to the growth and development of Three Lions. As for those of you who just cannot stomach the MLS and/or the USL, well, those are the leagues we have here and we will hang onto them, and nourish them as long as we can, because that will grow our National Game.

Give me the MLS & USL, or Give Me Death!

Give me the MLS &amp; USL, or Give Me Death! - World Soccer Talk

With the&nbsp;release of&nbsp;the United Soccer Leagues&nbsp;2009 D1 schedule and accompanying Fox Soccer Channel tv schedule, USL shows once again that MLS is not the only game in town.&nbsp; USL&nbsp;proves again&nbsp;that it carries a lot of weight when it comes to professional soccer in the U.S.&nbsp; The USL infrastructure is strong enough to continue to be a thorn in the side of MLS.&nbsp; It has major partnerships with European clubs,&nbsp;its own youth and development leagues&nbsp;and a Women’s league.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Unfortunately, the USL&nbsp;at the professional soccer level, has a lack of innovation and leadership.&nbsp; There’s no backbone and no guts.&nbsp; It has the same losing business model as MLS.&nbsp; It suffers from an identity crisis, just as MLS does.
The key statistics to follow this year will be the same as it has been for every year that MLS and USL have been existence, attendance and television ratings.&nbsp; The next&nbsp;significant key statistic to follow&nbsp;is how many goals are scored per game (Offense brings sports fans in the U.S.).
In order for one of the leagues to stand out and become mainstream, they must solve the puzzle.&nbsp; It is the greatest sports conundrum in the history of modern American sports, why can’t soccer make it in America?&nbsp;
The&nbsp;pot of gold&nbsp;is out there, it is buried at the end of the rainbow, but the rainbow is multi-layered and multi-dimensional.&nbsp; MLS and USL will never be able to count on what’s happening with soccer leagues everywhere else around the world to be able to discover the treasure.&nbsp; They must figure out how to market soccer, the beautiful game, to American sports fans and not just soccer purists and/or soccer enthusiasts.
The most interesting stories to follow from USL and MLS are its business dealings.&nbsp; Both leagues are so lost in what direction they want to go.&nbsp; There is intrigue involved at every corner of every new stadium being built, both the small ones and the bigger ones.&nbsp; Sometimes, the strategies involved with play calling, coaching and watching&nbsp;games does not match the intrigue and strategies involved with which developing&nbsp;soccer areas&nbsp;of D2 and Premier of USL are next to breakout and become new soccer havens.&nbsp;
Who will be this year’s Cleveland City?&nbsp;and What will be the next small city to emerge as having the label of a pro soccer city, like Austin?
To its credit, the USL’s&nbsp;D1&nbsp;is hanging around.&nbsp; Even as it struggles for its survival, it deserves to&nbsp;get&nbsp;attention when it makes news.&nbsp; Today it made news and showed all of the U.S. soccer&nbsp;fans&nbsp;that it will maintain an appropriate&nbsp;schedule.&nbsp; With its organizational strength, the USL&nbsp;is indicating a commitment to provide a high level of pro soccer for fans in North America and the Carribean to enjoy.&nbsp;
USL and its teams have worked hard in recent years to gather&nbsp;business sponsorships and marketing parterships with major and minor companies.&nbsp; It has also made tremendous leaps on the international stage and in the U.S. through its participation in sanctioned pro and open&nbsp;league tournaments.&nbsp;
USL has earned a right to be mentioned in the same breath as MLS.&nbsp; It’s too bad that what&nbsp;USL is&nbsp;inhaling is the same kind of&nbsp;poison that MLS is swallowing.&nbsp;&nbsp;The lifespan of these leagues is hanging in the balance.&nbsp;
USL is trying to put a veil over the real issues, just as MLS is doing.&nbsp; New ideas must replace the stale ones if soccer wants the big piece of the sports action in the U.S.

USL Marks Another Milestone

USL Marks Another Milestone - World Soccer Talk

The United Soccer Leagues has been a doormat to the MLS for too long.&nbsp; They have allowed MLS to walk all over them.&nbsp; MLS has taken multiple cities from the USL to put into their league and have not suffered any kind of legal troubles or image issues.&nbsp;
This has been a coup for MLS.&nbsp; They have done&nbsp;the deed&nbsp;without having to put forth the effort normally associated with bringing along brand new franchises.&nbsp;
But, without any formal partnership, who is really at fault?&nbsp;
The USL has a flawed business model, and&nbsp;the future for its First Division&nbsp;franchises are all in jeopardy.&nbsp; Anytime a&nbsp;First Division&nbsp;franchise shows promise, its immediate goal becomes how to make MLS.&nbsp; Even as new franchises come on board with USL, such as the Austin Aztex or others, it is easily apparent that with the right moves, MLS is not too far away.&nbsp;
History shows that the USL should compete directly against MLS.&nbsp; In both the history of football and basketball in the U.S., leagues have merged&nbsp;and absorbed each other.&nbsp;
In football, the American Football League (AFL), consisting of teams such as the&nbsp;Kansas City Chiefs,&nbsp;New York Jets, and Oakland Raiders, merged with teams from the NFL, which consisted of teams such as the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.&nbsp; In basketball, teams from the American Basketball Association were absorbed by the NBA after an agreement of merger.&nbsp;
Perhaps the USL’s future will be to be bought up by MLS to be a ‘minor leagues’ of sort.&nbsp; But, the USL should consider that MLS is susceptible and it is possible that the USL could be the dominant league at some point in time in the future.&nbsp;
As the USL sets its course for its future, with foundation at the youth and community levels as its bases, it should be more bold with its professional teams and not take for granted that MLS must be the ‘dominant’ league and the USL only a ‘funnel’ league.
The USL should approach an outsider cable television station like VERSUS to broadcast games on a regularly marketed basis.&nbsp; It needs to bring its league closer to the American audience so that it can promote its&nbsp;Second Division teams sooner and form a more broad First Division.&nbsp; A team in Charleston or Rochester is impressive with its own kind of marketing potential.&nbsp; A league with many teams from cities or areas of 300,000- 500,000 or more people&nbsp;can also&nbsp;provide tons of soccer excitement.&nbsp;

USL Should Compete Directly against MLS

USL Should Compete Directly against MLS - World Soccer Talk

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Give me the MLS & USL, or Give Me Death!

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USL Marks Another Milestone

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USL Should Compete Directly against MLS