MLS “already has momentum” leading into this year’s FIFA World Cup, but the question is whether the tournament can “transform that into lasting popularity, creating a legacy for the domestic game beyond the month-long soccer party,” according to Ben Steiner of SI. The “challenge” for MLS will be to “ensure that the World Cup serves as a bridge to its post-Messi future, something that will be aided by the post-tournament shift to a more traditional, winter-based schedule.” In its first domestic World Cup season, MLS leadership made a “massive shift” in the approach to its Apple TV broadcast deal. After three seasons with most live matches behind an extra paywall of “MLS Season Pass on Apple TV,” MLS and Apple dropped the extra cost. In May, MLS “touted that the new structure was working.” This summer, many fans will get a chance to watch over 100 MLS players represent their national teams at the World Cup, with an MLS player lifting the trophy as a “realistic possibility.” Given the recent accessibility of MLS, “fans could flock to the league,” but it is “not as easy as it may seem.” Despite Fox showing several games, MLS “rarely features in extra content,” and the primary ESPN channels “don’t offer the league a spotlight.” CBS showcases domestic soccer but does not have MLS rights. The league that “could stand to benefit most” from soccer’s increased U.S. interest is the “already-popular English Premier League, given its accessibility on NBC Sports and prominent media presence.” Steiner: “For there to be a true World Cup bump for MLS, there needs to be a deep run by both the USMNT and Canada” (SI, 6/15).
ADDING TO THE FUN: In San Diego, Tom Krasovic wrote he has San Diego soccer growth to “thank for the World Cup holding more appeal this time around.” Krasovic: “Major League Soccer matches in Mission Valley have deepened my appreciation for both the world’s game and the immensity of international football’s growing pool of talent. … Long ago, the World Cup became one of my preferred sports events. Having an MLS team in town only adds to the five-week soccer feast” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/15).
MISSING OUT? In Denver, Troy Renck posed the question, “Did Denver screw up by not winning its bid to host?” Renck wrote the “right decision feels wrong,” and it was “hard not to feel a tinge of jealousy” when watching World Cup games. When Denver submitted its bid, it “made a final offer.” FIFA “wanted assurances the city would cover all cost overruns, and make everything whole.” Renck: “So, I am not going to crush Denver for drawing a line in the sand. The reality is the timing stunk.” Sean Keeler wrote the Denver chapter “might have had a different ending if Carrie Walton-Penner and Greg Penner were in the picture to soak up cost overruns.” Renck also noted at the time of the bid, the city “did not have its Clark Hunt or Robert Kraft to push it through” (WASHINGTON POST, 6/15).
