Anyone who knows me knows that I have a passionate dislike for the MLS and would do anything not to watch an MLS game on TV. In preparing for the World Cup I want to see as much live soccer as possible, including the MLS so I will have something to compare to when I get to Cape Town and watch truly world class soccer. So, during Fall Break myself and fellow teacher Mr. Matt Noble made the 3hour journey north to Chicago on Thursday, October 22, 2009 to watch the Chicago Fire take on the Chivas.
My dislike of the MLS is very simple to explain. I grew up watching European soccer on ESPN, like the EPL or La Liga and even the later rounds of the UEFA Cup finals and that was good soccer and still is good soccer. The MLS is good home grown soccer, but when our players compete on the international stage with the national team they cannot keep up with the fast pace of play and skills of the other foreign players. In order for the MLS to get better they need to have more international players and coaches from Europe or Brazil. Obviously there are many things wrong with my thinking, like paying the high salaries to bring in these foreign players. All that I am trying to get at is that the foreign players and their level of play will only make our players better here at the local level and on the international stage.
My first live MLS experience was awesome. It started raining as soon as we arrived in Chicago and it rained hard the entire game. It was very cold with a stiff wind and by the time the game was over I was soaked from head to toe. I purchased pretty good seats, only 8 rows off the field and I was very impressed when Natalie from the Chicago Fire called me the day before and wanted to know if I had any questions or concerns about getting to the game. We ended up sitting next to two guys who grew up on the SE side of Indianapolis and one of my soccer players was sitting with his mother two rows in front us. The game went fast and even though it rained the entire game the atmosphere was electric. The die-hard Chicago Fire fans have their own general admission section, in which they are standing, yelling, waving flags, singing, and setting off colored smock bombs. The only goal of the game came in the 68th minute when the Chivas scored an own goal on a Chicago Fire corner kicker. The stadium, Toyota Park, erupted in madness and due to the rain some of the fans began to leave. The Chivas had already clinched a playoff berth, but the win by the Chicago Fire put them into the playoffs, which starts next week. I enjoyed my first MLS game and will definitely go back to see another game.
