#SaveTheCaps, Record pace all around & more | Thursday Round-Up
I wrote about the 'Caps, as did everyone else this week. I think the salient part is this:
The threat of relocation, of the abnegation of a club's history just like that because there's a better real estate deal to be had three states over means the scale of passion we see in the stands in Dortmund – or, if you want to keep it closer to home, next week at El Volcan – will always be two generations away. Those dudebros will always choose France vs. Argentina, and those kids will always choose Real Madrid, and MLS will always fall just short.
You understand what that means, right?
We will never get there.
I've been working forever to try to help make MLS a league of choice (heh), and I just don't believe people are going to choose this shit in the numbers we've all dreamed of if they know – if they constantly have it shoved down their throats – that their team can be ripped away from them.
I had Nashville atop the Power Rankings this week (again) based upon their combination of excellent club form and steady ConcaChampions progress into the semis, where I genuinely felt like they were favorites against Tigres.
Didn't play like it, though. Maybe that would've been different if Sam Surridge hadn't picked up another injury this weekend – they clearly missed him. But MLS teams clearly need every little thing to go right in order to just make it to the CCC final, let alone win it.
That includes LAFC, who did well to get a 2-1 home win over Toluca sans Denis Bouanga. Nice result in a vacuum, but certainly not enough when they're heading to the top of a mountain for the second leg.
The winter of 2022/23 was the time to add two more DPs and $2 million more of cap space. I genuinely believe if MLS HQ had done that, MLS teams would be at least on equal footing with the very best Liga MX has to offer. Instead, it's another decade of playing catch-up.
The Big Sunday Column was, as always, about everything. One of the big sections was on the Quakes, who – as my buddy Ben Wright pointed out – are one of four teams on track to top 80 points. I haven't run the numbers yet but I'll go ahead and lay some money down that this is unprecedented at this point in the season.
I think this erosion of parity comes back to 1) GAMflation, which has meant more teams could roster more good players than in years past, and 2) better player pipelines (and coaches who aren't cowards – these guys will actually put a 19-year-old out there to do some heavy lifting).
It's a huge triumph for the league that I don't particularly feel like trumpeting right now given how fucking pissed off I am about the 'Caps thing.
Good Reads:
- Mike Arace from the Disrespected (which you should subscribe to!) takes us down memory lane with Save the Crew, and what it'll mean for #SaveTheCaps.
- A fellow by the name of Chris Beneteau wrote a screed on r/MLS I'd like everyone to read.
- "If Vancouver Moves, MLS Begins Its Decline" by Wes Burdine really nails it.
A note: I have been battling walking pneumonia for about two weeks now and it's been pretty miserable. So there will be no Brown Liquor Special this month, and I had to push back a bunch of my podcasting appearances to next week.
The good news is I'm finally feeling vaguely human again. So hopefully I'll be closer to 100% by the time next Monday rolls around.
I still did make an appearance on Soccerwise but was so doped up on cough suppressant that I have no idea what I said.
• As always, thank you so much for your support. And please do pass this along to friends who you think might be interested in subscribing and learning more about MLS, the USMNT and the World Cup.
Yes, there's World Cup coverage coming. No, I don't yet know what that is. I'll take content planning suggestions in the comments below, though! All feedback is appreciated.
Comments ()