MLS 2023 - the American art of ball gazing

[Zack Murray]

oh yes, this man appears to have really mastered things

Major League Soccer, or MLS for short if you're not good with acronyms, is the top tier of U.S. domestic football (or soccer as the name suggests). The American soccer pyramid consists of MLS at the top, followed by the USL Championship in tier 2, and MLS Next Pro/USL League One/National Independent Soccer Association all jockeying for position in tier 3. As many may already know, there is no promotion or relegation in U.S. footy and teams may only enter the top flight by virtue of a league expansion admitting them into MLS. This is not common but has happened several times over the past few years, which we'll review in a moment.

A long time has passed since the last time I posted an MLS thread, or indeed posted on U75 at all, but I figured what better way to get back in the swing of things than to resurrect the thread for a new year. The season has just started, with this weekend featuring the first match-ups after a lengthy and intensely boring off-season. But the league has undergone a variety of changes since we last met, so why not review some of the major highlights?

• Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC, or "LOL, Another Fucking Club") won both the Supporters' Shield with a record of 21-9-4 and went on to win the MLS Cup in penos in 2022. The Shield is our trophy given to the best team in the regular season, and of course the MLS Cup is awarded to the winners of the playoff final.
• Several new teams have joined the league since 2016 - Atlanta, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Miami, Nashville, Austin, Charlotte, and St. Louis have all been awarded their own teams, with Los Angeles gaining the aforementioned LAFC in addition to the existing L.A. Galaxy, because sure, why not. Cincinnati's team formerly played in USL One, making it one of the few teams to have made the jump to the big show.
• The CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the international club competition for domestic CONCACAF teams, has been rebranded as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League because we really want people to ask which one you mean when you say "Champions League" I guess. The Seattle Sounders won this in 2022, beating Club Universidad Nacional A.C. from Mexico.
• The playoffs have expanded to 9 teams from each conference, and the first round has moved to a best-of-three series. Previously the MLS used two-leg aggregate scoring, followed by a traditional single-elimination game, and now we've got a best-of-3 series format. This is easily one of the dumbest things they have done to this already stupid league.
• Streaming services have finally got their grubby hands on MLS, and while you can watch nearly every game stateside on FOX, those who love masochism will have to purchase an Apple TV subscription outside of US/Canada/Mexico in order to watch any matches.

I think that pretty much covers the most important things you never wanted to know. I won't be posting the league table in this post, because MLS has updated their website and it now looks positively terrible, but if you're particularly interested you can find it here: Conference Standings | MLSsoccer.com

Anyway, if you've read this far, welcome - now let's see some of America's best in action shall we?



Yup, that's MLS for you...here's something a little more traditional.



We've come a long way as far as quality goes, but many major strides must be taken before this league can truly earn any proper respect. Now let's have a pint and watch the footy

 

[technical]

oh yes, this man appears to have really mastered things

Major League Soccer, or MLS for short if you're not good with acronyms, is the top tier of U.S. domestic football (or soccer as the name suggests). The American soccer pyramid consists of MLS at the top, followed by the USL Championship in tier 2, and MLS Next Pro/USL League One/National Independent Soccer Association all jockeying for position in tier 3. As many may already know, there is no promotion or relegation in U.S. footy and teams may only enter the top flight by virtue of a league expansion admitting them into MLS. This is not common but has happened several times over the past few years, which we'll review in a moment.

A long time has passed since the last time I posted an MLS thread, or indeed posted on U75 at all, but I figured what better way to get back in the swing of things than to resurrect the thread for a new year. The season has just started, with this weekend featuring the first match-ups after a lengthy and intensely boring off-season. But the league has undergone a variety of changes since we last met, so why not review some of the major highlights?

• Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC, or "LOL, Another Fucking Club") won both the Supporters' Shield with a record of 21-9-4 and went on to win the MLS Cup in penos in 2022. The Shield is our trophy given to the best team in the regular season, and of course the MLS Cup is awarded to the winners of the playoff final.
• Several new teams have joined the league since 2016 - Atlanta, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Miami, Nashville, Austin, Charlotte, and St. Louis have all been awarded their own teams, with Los Angeles gaining the aforementioned LAFC in addition to the existing L.A. Galaxy, because sure, why not. Cincinnati's team formerly played in USL One, making it one of the few teams to have made the jump to the big show.
• The CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the international club competition for domestic CONCACAF teams, has been rebranded as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League because we really want people to ask which one you mean when you say "Champions League" I guess. The Seattle Sounders won this in 2022, beating Club Universidad Nacional A.C. from Mexico.
• The playoffs have expanded to 9 teams from each conference, and the first round has moved to a best-of-three series. Previously the MLS used two-leg aggregate scoring, followed by a traditional single-elimination game, and now we've got a best-of-3 series format. This is easily one of the dumbest things they have done to this already stupid league.
• Streaming services have finally got their grubby hands on MLS, and while you can watch nearly every game stateside on FOX, those who love masochism will have to purchase an Apple TV subscription outside of US/Canada/Mexico in order to watch any matches.

I think that pretty much covers the most important things you never wanted to know. I won't be posting the league table in this post, because MLS has updated their website and it now looks positively terrible, but if you're particularly interested you can find it here: Conference Standings | MLSsoccer.com

Anyway, if you've read this far, welcome - now let's see some of America's best in action shall we?



Yup, that's MLS for you...here's something a little more traditional.



We've come a long way as far as quality goes, but many major strides must be taken before this league can truly earn any proper respect. Now let's have a pint and watch the footy

Thanks for this. We went to a Columbus Crew game last summer while visiting family in Ohio - really enjoyed it. They've got a great stadium in a downtown location and there was a good atmosphere. Beat New York City FC 3-2.

Who are the favourites for this year then?

 

[Zack Murray]

Thanks for this. We went to a Columbus Crew game last summer while visiting family in Ohio - really enjoyed it. They've got a great stadium in a downtown location and there was a good atmosphere. Beat New York City FC 3-2.

Who are the favourites for this year then?

Lower.com Field is a great stadium, and MLS' increase in popularity has resulted in some proper grounds being built rather than shoving teams into an NFL stadium as was the norm in its early days. Providence Park in Portland, OR and Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN are really awesome. My local team (New England Revolution) are still playing at an NFL stadium sadly, as several projects to build one just for the Revolution a little closer to Boston have petered out. Was there for a 35k turnout for a playoff match once though and the atmosphere was really electric - if only they could sustain those numbers for the regular season! That's what happens when you play in a stadium out in the middle of nowhere...

LAFC is the favorite to repeat their title in 2023 according to oddsmakers, followed by the Philadelphia Union and New York City FC to round out the top three.

My team's keeper (Matt Turner) left the US last year and was signed by Arsenal. I hope the Gunners are treating my boy nicely, even though he's just the backup to Ramsdale for now

 

[Zack Murray]

went to see a match last night...my revs are out of the gate screaming this year atop the eastern conference and added to their totals with a 2-1 win last night at the cavernous Gillette Stadium. 19k in attendance, although hosting MLS in an NFL stadium seems to inevitably give off the impression of an empty stadium, which is fair looking at the photo. would be much nicer if we had a soccer-specific stadium that sat 20-25k (although the crowd climbs into the 30k range during playoffs)