Minnesota United has escaped the wobbly North American Soccer League, which is losing at least three teams this offseason. But now it joins Major League Soccer, which still seems to think that it's fighting for survival as well. It's a mentality that is hurting the league's on-field product.
All signs point to continued growth for MLS. The cavernous, empty football stadiums of the early years have been replaced with soccer-specific stadiums in all but a handful of cities. Franchise values have skyrocketed, to the point that high-end MLS teams are now worth about the same as low-end NHL teams. New owners are lining up to pay $100 million-plus expansion fees. Demand for new teams is outstripping supply.
Even so, Minnesota's new league still is driven by the fears of the past. The league sets the salary cap so low that it would barely pay for a middling baseball relief pitcher. It bans teams from taking charter flights for all but a handful of away games, to keep any team from gaining a season-long competitive advantage.
It's all done to ensure that no team falls behind, but the effect is ridiculous parity, like a basketball league that bans players over 6-6 from raising their hands above their head. Every single MLS team, even the truly putrid ones, had a winning home record this season. Not one managed to put together a winning record on the road. Every team struggles mightily to build a solid squad; it's parity, but at a cost.
MLS also insists on scheduling five weeks' worth of playoffs and a meaningless midseason all-star game. This means that the league has to fit in games during FIFA-mandated international breaks, so teams lose some of their international stars for multiple games during the year. The league could get around this by scheduling more midweek games, or cutting down the games outside of the regular season, but it still clings to its playoffs and showcases.
Add in the league's convoluted, ever-shifting rule book and the effect is to make MLS look decidedly minor league. The cost control, the scheduling, the rules — none of these leads to better soccer teams. They just reduce the chance that a team is going to fold.
As the new expansion teams come into the league, it's time for MLS to start focusing on the field, not the fear. The schedule needs to be altered so that the league's marquee players are available 100 percent of the time. If that means allowing teams to take charter flights to ease the difficulty of midweek away trips, that seems like an easy decision to make. The salary cap needs to be opened up so each club can build an excellent team, not just throw money at three Designated Players.
It's time to change the league so that it focuses on soccer, not survival. Better on-field play should be the goal, not refighting the battles of the past.
