ASSESSING THE AMERICAN SOCCER PROBLEM

The United States has become the unlikely final frontier of soccer, the world's most powerful game finally becoming a cultural concern to millions on these shores. A demographic and cultural shift has allowed the game to thrive, for hundreds of clubs -- foreign and domestic -- to become a part of the greater sports community.

The eyes of the soccer world at the American developmental level have laid on Major League Soccer, the burgeoning 21-year-old league which relies on an NFL-style conference format and a retrograde, iron-fisted unitary system which allows the league to compete without inter-competition.

This spirit has taken root from the tokenism of the pitch -- teams are allowed three key contributors, titled Designated Players in league parlance -- and has been a source of controversy due to the extremely low salary budget the league allows for teams to spend on their overall squad, a point of concern for soccer fans who have rejected overtures to bring MLS into their daily sport fandom.

That dedication to limiting quality through stringent salary budgets, advertised by the league as "cost control," has been a pressing concern for everyone who envisions greater visions for American soccer, as it seems that MLS is content with overglossed 20,000-man stadiums and significantly less concerned with players who can finish six passes in a row, let alone coaches who value such a style of play.

One issue MLS has never been bashful about is its plan to take over the American professional soccer landscape, essentially becoming the single-entity Bundesliga with two professional divisions tightly controlled by its cadre of caballeros, with their ironclad dedication to low-cost player acquisition.

While noble, Major League Soccer continues to rut in the American sport ratings department, a stagnation which becomes a further point of consternation as imported foreign football leagues -- the Premier League of England, Mexico's Liga MX, the Spanish La Liga or the German Bundesliga -- not only arrive, but thrive in the minds of soccer fans (and non-fans) nationwide.

As an observer of the game in the U.S. since childhood, I have decided to write out a five-point plan to assist Major League Soccer, seemingly afraid of going under through a severely tight-knit professional setup which limits the individual teams' potential, in ascending its franchises -- and the domestic quality of the sport in general -- to a stable, potentially beneficial and kingly state in American sports, as well as global football.

1. Get rid of the salary cap

MLS' greatest concern has been cost control, so much so that the most minute details its franchises engage in require a heads-up from the league office. The model of the league has been based on what some call collective collusion, but others has seen as close-knit partnership. Whatever it may be, it has done nothing for American soccer other than maintain the existence of the league and first-division soccer in the U.S.

With 20 teams and a potential growth between 24-28 teams, MLS has to let the training wheels off once and for all. The very first step, which should come anywhere between this summer and the 2018 World Cup, is the allowance for teams to be great.

The attraction of playing in an unfettered U.S. professional soccer system attracts any footballer, let alone the best players. The intelligent play, so as to reduce the impact of expensive star-chasing, would to be self-sufficient: to know who and what to target so as to fit the vision of a team.

There are many skillful, soccer-smart players plying their trade in MLS, warts and all, big star or Argentine no-name. The problem is their teammates are likely not even at their level, trained by an American soccer system which, frankly, doesn't know how to craft enough quality players to justify their proliferation. In short, Sebastian Giovinco doesn't look more impressive playing alongside, say, Justin Morrow.

To alleviate this problem, teams should, once and for all, control their own roster destiny. The intelligent organizations will realize the value of mining talent in places such as football-mad South America, where the economic turbulence of those nations makes something like playing in the U.S. both attractive and palatable -- and at a cheap, tasteful price. MLS teams are already weary of paying millions in transfer fees, which is the global norm in a country like France, but for the league to take a major step in beating out the superior Mexican and South American leagues (not to speak of Europe), it's to do business like them -- and then beat them at their own game. 

The value of getting more than three special players is far greater than another 7-0 thrashing from a so-called MLS power against a middling Liga MX team in another CONCACAF competition.

2. Destroy single-entity

Major League Soccer has a desire to become a world league, respected by millions across the globe. Steven Gerrard and David Beckham surely got the word out, but not in a flattering manner: aging, slow-footed Anglo icons plying a last multi-million paycheck in a footballing backwater isn't impressive; it reeks of desperation.

That travels further than quality.

The league's main goal was survival. This is why single-entity existed in the first place: the collective Hand of MLS, ensuring that things didn't get out of hand (pun intended), has now gone limp and outdated, the system harder to defend from even the most strident fans of its constituent franchises.

Ask any fan of an MLS team, nominal or diehard, and they will largely express this opinion. The unfortunate pessimism behind their eventual hope that MLS becomes an "open" league -- one that has to answer to global standards of quality considering the size and influence of the country it inhabits -- is a major hindrance to progress. What is there to play for if it feels like we're in a box? they lament.

Don Garber, for his insistence in keeping single-entity alive and sneering at promotion and relegation within the confines of either his league or the U.S. Soccer Federation, has to be given a boatload of credit for keeping MLS alive when no other businessmen believed in the sport. This goodwill, combined with the uptick in soccer interest from core groups such as Anglophone millennials and non-Anglophone immigrants (re: Hispanics), has given Garber an impenetrable shield from mainstream criticism, at least within wide-ranging soccer media.

The ultimate downside of MLS -- its desire to become the NFL of soccer when they don't even have the constituent franchise productivity to justify such a claim -- would be a harm if Garber's recent declaration of a 28-team league was to come to fruition.

The tie between dismantling single-entity and the allowance of teams to control their own destinies would rise the quality of football among every single team, and that would include anything ranging from jersey deals to the mirage of "parity" pro-MLS defenders continue to bandy about while chiding those in opposition. The parity of results on the pitch should not compromise the parity of quality on the pitch, and MLS' format clearly does, to the detriment of fan enjoyment.

3. No drafts and no caps on development.

The MLS SuperDraft, the league's American-pro-sports-like college player mechanism process, has long been winded and unnecessary, boxing an unboxable sport such as soccer into the same tropes the NFL and NBA had long been associated with: strength, speed, height and athletic potential.

The result has been one of the most brutally physical, athletically sound leagues on the planet -- but none of this translates into "watchability" or "quality." The non-soccer-related physicality which stems from the collegiate game, combined with the lack of tactical nous from most of the players at that level and an emphasis on non-soccer-related attributes to just win, baby, creates players who perpetuate America's ultimate soccer problems: technical skills, first-touch issues, interlocking play, etc.

MLS is full of lesser and lesser of these players (thank you, USL II teams) but eventually they will have their say in MLS, warts and all. College is not a negative in terms of player development, but to rely on it as your bedrock will result in the quality we currently see in MLS today -- rough stuff.

Conversely, MLS must leave teams alone (in general, but especially for this) when it comes to player development. I was led to believe there were no caps on signing homegrown players per MLS rules, but apparently there is a cap on how much they can make, which is again overregulation from a soccer league which continues to flounder on TV and grow painfully slowly in terms of on-pitch quality. (Darlington Nagbe has to take a knee from former Dutch legend Nigel de Jong before we get it straight.)

Teams need to dedicate infinite amounts of resources of finding players, identifying their role within the team, producing tons of academy talents (free of charge to them - unlike most development academies) from literally anywhere they can find them, and ultimately debuting them to a first team. Former players have to learn how to keep an eye on elite talent and raise them up to a level commensurate with their own development, regardless of age. Keeping youth coaches young allows for camaraderie between the growing players and keeps the young coach around the game, perhaps at a higher salary than before.

Ultimately, increased scouting among clubs across the entire soccer spectrum in the U.S. -- not just MLS -- will increase quality throughout the system, rooting out the unworthy and promoting the worthy.

Speaking of which...

4. Stop rejecting promotion and relegation.

This is the biggest issue currently running across the world of American soccer: Should the federation adopt promotion and relegation?

In a word, yes.

However, the federation can't merely flip a switch and say "promotion and relegation!"

To effectively undertake promotion and relegation, the U.S. Soccer Federation must establish what the pyramid is. Where is the bottom? From that point, they can begin to build up and ultimately, the American soccer system becomes more intimate, more connected to the clubs you follow and less on the amount of money your team can pony up for expansion.

Sacramento Republic, Detroit City, Nashville FC and San Antonio FC are classic examples of lower-division clubs which have thrived in the minors, waiting on the nebulous system to crystallize and begin to take a definitive shape. At what point is there support for naught, as their club folds due to MLS's disinterest and the lack of breathing room for the lower leagues?

The federation's most dramatic proclamation can prove to be the key that unlocks the pro/rel gate: mandate that the American soccer pyramid is to be used for promotion and relegation -- and no divisions can be a single-entity league. This might be the fastest way for MLS to give up the ghost and become an open league.

The natural benefits of promotion and relegation are numerous: keeps top clubs on their feet, lest they slip up and meet the trapdoor; gives meaning to lower-level support; rewards winning and punishes losing; forces players to play under pressure. These are all net positives and can help alleviate any concerns over quality which may keep fans at arm's length.

MLS thinks it has the answer to the domestic soccer lull through the system of over-expansion. This couldn't be any further from the truth; to embrace the global madness and the near financial surety of promotion and relegation gives more meaning to MLS and its teams, more meaning to American soccer development and creates more fans of teams who dream to become big. The same amount of financial support that Republic or San Antonio or Minnesota United have gotten would continue at a possibly even more lucrative financial level, since teams moving to the top division attract interest from moneyed interests who want to be great.

In conjunction with an unfettered MLS, the league could rise as high as they could dream, and with the power of the American soccer fanbase, this could be nothing but positive for the future of the league and the domestic popularity of the sport. 

BEST FANS IN THE NBA, RANKED

Moreso than any other American professional sports league, the NBA caters to a unique brand of sports fans: the good casuals.

Inside the arena, the makeup and fervor of the fans can change dramatically based on the outcome and the perception of the team. There's a reason why Heat and Lakers fans are consistently derided for being "bandwagoners", mainly for the porous showings of empty seats at home games.

What this claim loses in scope is that NBA tickets are expensive and many NBA teams are located in markets where there are LOTS of activities to do unrelated to sports. Not every fanbase can be Oklahoma City or Portland or even Utah.

Taking that out of the equation, I have undergone the painstaking process of ranking all 30 NBA fan bases based on things such as local buzz, TV ratings, social impact within the city or region, histories of success and the NBA's perception in those markets. Some towns are virulently anti-NBA, mainly for sociocultural or racial reasons. Others can't get enough of the stuff and wrap themselves in their team's colors come playoff time.

This is totally unscientific and entirely subjective; yell at me in the comments section.

THE LIST

30. Atlanta Hawks. The NBA is not popular at all in Atlanta. White Georgians, who make up the most significant portion of sports fans, have ignored the Hawks en masse since their relocation to Atlanta in 1968. A college football and Braves-centric market through and through, nothing -- not winning, not Dominique Wilkins, not a civic renaissance via transience -- can get butts (of any race) in the seats, and new Atlantans are going for their home teams. However, the NBA's digital enterprise is held here, including TNT and NBA TV, so Atlanta is central to the NBA's business success and the Hawks won't be moved.

29. Brooklyn Nets. This is a new team parked in an established borough hoping to get fans from an island with roughly the population of Houston and the presence of an NBA power nearby. Knick-Net games have always had a "Knicks fans get cheap tix" aura, even in Jersey, and it continues in super-glitzy Barclays Center, which also costs a metric ton. Nope.

28. New Orleans Pelicans. It's a Saints town and a football world. The NBA won't move the needle here, but watch this space - I might be wrong and they end up being hot in Louisiana.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota, the U.S. hockey capital, and the cultural makeup of NBA players doesn't mix. They also can't make the playoffs for nada. At least they have Wiggins and Towns!

26. Milwaukee Bucks. Declining region, cold weather, incompatible with the cultural makeup of modern NBA players (unlike Atlanta or Brooklyn)...and Bulls fans invading the place last year? This once-proud Wisconsin institution is now the scourge of the state, and Badger hoops reigns supreme.

25. Indiana Pacers. Malice in the Palace, dying region, already the basketball hotbed of America.

24. Detroit Pistons. See above, but add "hockey hotbed" to the list.

23. Washington Wizards. Their most famous fan is Wolf Blitzer. Also, Caps fans always outnumber Wizards fans every time ever, despite Abe Pollin - who Caps fans swear cared more about the Wizards - trying to promote the Wizards/Bullets. Oh, and the Nationals are probably more palatable to DMV residents (and that's with John Wall! And the Nats are only 11 years old!!)

22. Philadelphia 76ers. They'll never be bigger than the Flyers - and that's hockey. Racism plays a huge role in their lack of popularity and always will. Go read comment sections about the 76ers on message board. Similarly, they cheered on Iverson, the so-called consummate "NBA thug" for a decade. Never been a huge hit in Philly, even with Moses and Dr. J.

21. Charlotte Hornets. Cam Newton runs that town, sorry. White light of the matter? They brought back those sick colors, appropriated by Newton in his Under Armour cleats. Unsure if he stopped wearing them, because if he did it'd be tragic. Fanbase is also under attack because of a huge diaspora from the North, so watch this space.

20. Orlando Magic. Small fanbase but still very vocal in their support of their team. The team is a complete mess and I can't tell you how they'll fix it. No pull for free agents; they just have to find a way to matter again. Haven't had a big transcendent star that left this time around, after Shaq, T-Mac and Dwight Howard all left.

19. Houston Rockets. As low as I could pull them. Houston is not a sportsy town and most Houstonians I know are very casual about sports. Lots of people who watch sports don't watch the Rockets; cultural (re; racial) dissonance a big reason why. Astros being good is Rockets fans' biggest threat, which is wild considering everybody still calls Houston "Clutch City", a great reminder of the Rockets' fall from civic cultural grace. Only team in city that pulls big-time now: Texans.

18. Los Angeles Clippers. Clippermania is there, but muted: people on LA radio talk Lakers, Dodgers, USC and now will talk lots of Rams. Clips might have to fight for attention in non-sportsy L.A., but loyal fans are enjoying their Man City-like ascent to success. If they win a title, it will solidify a good base of people who don't go for the Lakers, which I think is desperately needed for their sake. Hard to tell if that bandwagon will keep rolling forever.

17. Miami Heat. Good fanbase. Gets dogged often for late-arriving crowd (see: Lakers). Three titles did something to city that people forgot: Miami natives now LOVE the Heat more than they have before. Even if the team lost LeBron, they didn't lose a single iota of care for the team - kind of a pulling together to remind people they still matter. People who dog the Heat for their crowds don't realize the real winner is youth Heat fandom, which is very high and probably beats the Dolphins' at this point. Can still be overrun in-arena by Chicago, Boston, New York etc fans.

16. Denver Nuggets. Worse fanbase than Heat, in my opinion. Broncomania can avalanche (no pun intended) this team if they stink, which they kinda do now. Nuggets fans are classier than Broncos' because they lack the swaggering attitude of a Bronco fan, though most can be both. NBA dynamics from 2000s still affect perception of the team in Colorado, even if unlikeable crew like Carmelo Anthony and post-prime A.I. are gone. Also a huge diaspora from North and West is coming in, leaving traditional Nugget fans under pressure. Often get outdrawn by Colorado Avalanche hockey (like this year), but always a solid No.2 behind the Broncos.

15. Toronto Raptors. Canada underrates this fanbase because they're obsessed with hockey full-time and that includes Toronto. Lot bigger than you think. Diversity is the buzzword used to describe Raptors fanbase, especially considering very white Leafs fandom. Drake's presence only helps, though I am apprehensive of hip-hop stars hijacking a pro team in a non-hip-hop-centric region.

14. Memphis Grizzlies. Great in the playoffs, very average in the regular season. Must improve in that area for them to move up. Memphis is taking Grizzly fandom seriously, which is great for them. Probably more cosmopolitan than the college team (Tigers) they share the arena with; NBA fans are yuppies and the NBA will probably win the battle between city and suburbs as millennials continue to repopulate inner cities. People from Memphis are now really falling for this team, including - from my experience - lots of women.

13. Phoenix Suns. So much better when they're good! Arizona natives are dealing with the influx of Northern/Western Sports Fans which will affect Suns' attendance. Phoenix is a hotbed (no pun intended) and the Suns, once an ironclad rod of support from all Arizonans for years, are going to be looking at Northern Fan Invasions if they don't find a way to win - and fast. Cardinals' popularity is fleeting and not really the heart of the state, even if they play football. (Diamondbacks have a World Series and still get outdrawn when the Dodgers or Cubs come to town.)

12. Sacramento Kings. Once the best fans in the NBA, the Kings fell off for a while but are coming back fan-wise. I admire the fight to get their team back even if their mayor, a good guy I thought, is a known sexual predator. Kings fans love Sacramento and love the Kings' role in Sacramento's place in American culture and fame. They care a ton, which is why even as the attendance was low they saved the team from being moved.

11. Utah Jazz. An anomaly, considering how conservative and Mormon they are and how glitzy and liberal the NBA has become. Still manage to follow BYU or Utah in both football and basketball to add to their Jazz fandom. Loyal and rabid, it's almost an expectation you love and follow them if you're from Utah. They don't let up, even if I think their team will never be relevant outside of the Draft again.

10. Cleveland Cavaliers. If LeBron James wins a ring here, he might leave a huge fanbase in Ohio similar to what we saw with the Bulls when Jordan left (highly unlikely considering the NBA's position in American culture then and now, but could happen still). More behaved than Browns fans, Cavs fans are everywhere in Ohio, even after LeBron left for Miami the first time. Almost can usurp the Browns in popularity, which is almost blasphemy considering Ohio is a big-time football state.

9. Boston Celtics. Described in 1990 as basically yuppies in direct contrast to Patriots and Bruins fans, Celtics fans are smart and well-behaved yet classically Boston. Young people like the Celtics. Racism has always been part of Boston's Celtic support, rather it be the backlash and rabid hockey-centricity of the 1960s (when the Bruins stunk and the C's were champions), or the Bird/Magic dynamic of the '80s (the Celtics were very white and blue-collar, the Lakers very black and flashy). Seemingly a wash now with cultural shift of NBA, which I'm sure lost them fans but they're still relevant in Boston.

8. Dallas Mavericks. I love Mark Cuban even as a Laker fan; he took a team with a splintered image and was perceived as the joke of the league in 2000 and made them hip and modern. The fanbase takes his lead: Mavs fans are yuppies, basically. They're businessmen, bankers, tech people, models, well-mannered and well-heeled. The Mavs engender lots of loyalty among millennials and urbanites regardless of political affiliation; lots of Republicans and Christians too. Extremely female-friendly, in direct contrast to Cowboys fans. Ironically more classically Dallas than either Cowboys or Rangers because both of those teams market to more than just DFW (Cowboys fans are too mainstream and Rangers fans are pan-Texan).

7. Golden State Warriors. They were already a great, ironically underrated fanbase before Stephen Curry became "Steph Curry" to the world. They're now gonna be the new Chicago Bulls and the key to the NBA's cultural renaissance. They've managed to shine atop the Bay Area sports world, one of the toughest cookies to crack (ask the San Jose teams). A traditionally baseball/football area has gone gaga for this clean yet flashy squad, everyone's second-favorite NBA team. Warriors fans are also highly Asian-friendly and come across as incredibly smart, given Silicon Valley's reputation.

6. Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma as an entire state has embraced Thundering Up. Their playoff crowds are world-class. The atmosphere is collegiate. If the Thunder win a title, I swear they will become as rabid and irrationally passionate as Spurs fans, and they're already starting down that road...everyone from Oklahoma is telling me about how much they love the Thunder. This development means too much to these people and they don't want to screw it up.

5. Portland Trail Blazers. If Austin had a basketball team, it'd have to be on the level of the Trail Blazers. The Blazers are quintessential emblems of Oregonian pride especially amidst the big Hipster Boom blooming in the Rose City (or Rip City to locals). Their fans are passionate and know everything about every player before you can even ask. I recall one woman who moved from Portland to Austin and how, growing up, she cried over the 2000 NBA playoffs as a young girl. I asked her how big a deal it was ... she said "I lose friends over this." She also loves Lillard, as they all do. Blazers fans are all across Oregon and they care too much.

4. San Antonio Spurs. They could be No.1 if I wanted to. Living in Texas since 2010 and attending a major university within the state, I'm sure most people in my shoes have seen the same stuff I have in regards to the overarching love San Antonians and Spurs fans have for their professional basketball team. You can tell someone's from San Antonio or South Texas by how they react if you have anything that remotely reminds them of the Spurs. They are loyal. They are overbearing. They watch every play, argue every move, love every player and hate every player that's not theirs. Go Spurs Go is part of their identity. There's no chill in their thrill. They are admirable; their team is emblematic of their city, region and themselves.

3. Chicago Bulls. Bulls fans are OK in Chicago. They're a solid, above-average group that watches the game and chills out. Then we play in Indianapolis or Milwaukee and the crowds start picking up...the roars of LET'S GO BULLS infiltrate the road venue. This is a residual of the post-Michael Jordan era, in which Bulls fans were made in more than just Chicago. It stuck, to say the least; the Bulls have been a top-10 team at the gate every year since Jordan nested up in '98. Bulls fans are loyal, powerful, caring and cheer literally any player who can remotely score in bunches: Elton Brand; Ben Gordon (or "Ben Jordan" to some); Derrick Rose; Jimmy Butler. Their fandom is all over the place and the Chicago diaspora means you'll see more Bulls fans in your hometown sometime in the near future -- they'll be cheering hard too.

2. New York Knicks. Porzingod? A rising rookie (Kristaps Porzingis) has become the No.4 bestselling jersey in the NBA, speaking to the power of the Knick brand. To become famous as a player on the most overly scrutinized team in the NBA -- a roundball Dallas Cowboys, if you will, sans the history of success -- is a golden ticket to success. Allan Houston isn't an all-time great, but being a Knick rose his career profile. John Starks is an OK guard, but Knicks fans rose him to prominence. New Yorkers know that the Yankees may be the legs that drive the city and the Giants may be the torso that moves the city, but the Knicks are truly in the heart and soul of New York City. A basketball town in the purest sense of the word, fans are wide and diverse and extremely nagging, but they'll jump on the first guy to remotely show any promise on their beloved Knicks.

1. Los Angeles Lakers. You're rolling your eyes right now. "They arrive late...they don't actually care...bandwagons...celebrities...yada." Have you looked inside of L.A.? Visited someplace not a tourist attraction? Gotten out of Hollywood?

Los Angeles is the entertainment hub of the world and Hollywood is seen as the center of global cinema. The Lakers knew to sell themselves to a wishy-washy, non-sportsy town they had to align with the stars.

The Lakers make stars: Magic. Kareem. Worthy. Kobe. Shaq. Maybe DeAngelo Russell or Julius Randle. The team is immensely popular in L.A., much so that people canceled cable packages just to get the Time Warner channel the Lakers were on.

Locals hold the Lakers near and dear to their heart, wearing it like an international badge of honor. Poor Latino kids who speak no English align with the Purple and Gold. Gang members, literally divided by colors, unite thanks to the Lakers. It connects the continuously divisive riches split between those in, say, Laguna Beach and the impoverished communities in Inglewood and South Central.

And don't get me started on the Lakers' national and international following. A fan map created by the New York Times proved that when there was no NBA team to support in certain markets, most fans went for the Lakers. The brand is strong, baby, and with the continued diaspora of Californians to places like Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Georgia, NBA teams in these areas will be looking over their shoulder for a potential Laker Invasion -- Kobe or no Kobe.

The Lakers are the biggest team in the league and definitely are the best fans in the league.

You think I'm crazy? Biased? Out of control? Let us know on Twitter: @PhillyBeach93