Soccer “no longer is fighting for a foothold” in the U.S. sports landscape -- it is “firmly entrenched and growing as fast as any other pro sport,” according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. TIMES. Games like Saturday’s MLS Cup between LAFC and the Philadelphia Union, which “was as confounding as it was compelling, will only help that growth.” Saturday’s final also was “the first matching the two No. 1 playoff seeds” since 2003. While some wonder if the MLS Cup Final “could make soccer a mainstream sport” in the U.S., Baxter wrote it “already is a mainstream sport.” It is “no longer is a niche sport” in the U.S. But the sport still “needs more games like Saturday’s.” MLS as a league “isn’t there yet,” but "few leagues are." It is “easy to blame the league’s salary cap.” LAFC has the league’s sixth-highest payroll at $19M while Philadelphia’s payroll of $10.4M was “next to last” in MLS. But Philadelphia “proved you can build a good club on the cheap if you invest in player development and spend judiciously.” LAFC-Philadelphia “probably was the best of what domestic soccer can be” in the U.S. and Canada and “arguably set the bar for the league going forward” (L.A. TIMES, 11/8).
