DC United defeated the L.A. Galaxy 3-2 in overtime to win
the inaugural MLS Cup '96. Despite heavy rains, 34,643 attended
the game at Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, MA. Of 42,368 tickets
sold, only 7,725 were no-shows, even though ABC's coverage was
not blacked out in the Boston area. The game "should go a long
way toward proving the sport is past the fair-weather friends
stage" (John Jeansonne, NEWSDAY, 10/21). In L.A., Grahame Jones
writes, "Had MLS wanted to script a Hollywood ending to its first
season, it could not have done a better job" (L.A. TIMES, 10/21).
In Boston, John Powers: "Soccer finally has taken hold as a
spectator sport in America" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/21).
EXPANSION ON HOLD: During halftime of ABC's coverage, Roger
Twibell interviewed MLS Commissioner Doug Logan and MLS Chair
Alan Rothenberg. Logan said the league will add a fifth foreign
player to each roster next year and the season will go a bit
longer to "get some more weekend dates, but basically we're not
going to tamper with a winning formula, and this year has just
been a great launch pad for what we think is going to be decades
of good soccer to come." Logan, on expansion: "We're going to
wait to expand. We're going to take a long, careful look at
expansion. It's not going to come for a couple of years" (ABC,
10/20) Logan gave his state of the league address in Boston on
Friday. Logan: "We exemplified inclusion in all races, genders
and economic classes" (Steven Goff, WASHINGTON POST, 10/19).
Logan sees expansion in '99, adding two teams in '99 and two in
2001. Logan: "We wanted Chicago to be announced in the first
group. There's less urgency to expand if we can't go into
Chicago" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/19).
REVIEWS: In Miami, Michelle Kaufman reviews MLS' season and
offers advice toward improvements in year two: "Better games.
Better marketing. Better officiating." In a report card, she
gives the league an A for attendance, B- for quality of play, and
C for marketing, "the league could do a better job with
advertising. ... Where can you buy a jersey of your favorite
team?" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/20). In Washington, header of John
Haydon's soccer column: "Title Game Caps Good First Year for MLS"
(WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/19). In San Diego, Mark Zeigler calls the
first season "an unqualified success" (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE,
10/19). In Philadelphia, Bob Ford notes MLS "was particularly
strong" among suburban soccer families and Hispanics, as
Hispanics accounted for nearly half of the attendance. One-third
of all spectators were female (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/20).
But in Atlanta, Wendy Parker writes, besides expansion, "other
problems linger," including a "lack of marketing efforts and poor
officiating, as well as a scant amount" of TV coverage (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 10/19).
ROTHENBERG'S DAY: MLS announced their championship trophy
will be named the Alan Rothenberg Trophy, after the league
Founder and Chair (MLS)....Rothenberg, who is CEO of the United
States Soccer Federation (USSF), said the USSF has a "handshake
deal" with leaders of the U.S. National Team, who are holding out
in a dispute over bonus money. A agreement could be announced by
this afternoon (ABC, 10/20).
