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After the recent World Cup, it has become obvious that what was once thought to be a distant dream is now truth. Americans like soccer. Clearly, among the American youth, soccer has always been a popular sport. Yet, professional soccer is beginning to creep its way into American culture. Unfortunately, not in the form of the Major League Soccer, but rather the English Premier league.
The MLS has accepted its inevitable fate of being a developmental league for the time being, as it should. However, the whole marketing strategy of promoting the MLS has fallen flat.
Yes, American soccer has substantial obstacles to overcome, most importantly trying to reel in the United States's best athletes when they can get paid three times more playing basketball, baseball, or football. But there is no question that the worst crisis for the MLS actually lays within its own players.
The main reason for the slow uptake of the MLS is because of the player personalities, or lack thereof. Landon Donovan is clearly the face of not only the MLS but of American soccer. Donovan has the talent, but not the personality.
By all accounts, Donovan is a loyal, charitable and generally an all around great person, but he is not a great celebrity. American sports is built around watching the "it" player, the superstar. The MLS has no superstar or celebrity crossover. This has caused a lack of interest among the typical American.
The EPL has become the source for professional soccer not only because of its elite play, but because of the stars. Americans don't watch Manchester United for their history, they watch to see Wayne Rooney (or, in previous years, Cristiano Ronaldo). They watch Liverpool for Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.
When the MLS has been able to snatch up a quality soccer player from Europe, it has backfired. David Beckham, besides being way past his prime when coming to the league, was a poor decision because he was never a goal scorer.
In fact, the most goals he's ever scored in a season was 16 in 43 appearances (compared with Donovan's best of 20 goals in 25 appearances).
The MLS should have thought twice before bringing a ball distributor to "save" American soccer, when it is built into the American psyche that goal scorers are the end-all be-all (you've seen the T-shirts "chicks dig the long ball"). Then they bring in Thierry Henry, who is a tremendous goalscorer, but unknown to someone who isn't an avid soccer fan.
After all, isn't this the target group that the MLS has failed to draw, the casual fan?
If the MLS is ever going to gain popularity in America, it needs a polarizing figure, someone that draws in soccer fans and casual fans alike. Whatever you think of the outlandish antics of Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco, you can't deny the fact that they bring people to the game and draw attention to the sport of football.
This is the type of personality that is necessary to propel the MLS to a higher ground. Whether the athlete is positive or negative influence, the MLS needs an attention grabber.
Until someone of that caliber comes along, no Mad Men-esque marketing team is going to succeed in preventing the MLS from falling into oblivion. Americans want soccer to succeed, but it is without a doubt that the MLS will never flourish until a superstar surfaces.
Mike Pudlow
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