Where Were We?

Last week, after Matt Doyle's mlssoccer.com exit and the agonizing examination of the American soccer media scene that transpired for fans and journos alike, I half-joked that I should just turn Soccer Eagle into a soccer media newsletter^[1].

I say "half-joked" because a) it would be such a psychically exhausting exercise that I might end up drinking motor oil and living in a shopping cart and b) soccer is small enough that I assumed I'd go weeks without anything to write about.

Well, as they say, welp.

A writer I name-checked in last week's newsletter as one of the handful on an MLS beat for a major newspaper is no longer on the job. The Atlanta Journal Constitution laid off Doug Roberson^[2], a beat reporter who gave Atlanta United a big time feel in a very crowded local pro sports landscape from the very beginning of the club's existence. As for the AJC, the paper is now not really a paper anymore, since flipped to a digital-only operation at the beginning of 2026. Doug and others were shown the door as part of consolidating the newsroom.

So strike Doug's name off the ever-shrinking list. Who's left? I'm too depressed to list them.

flails about impotently in a fit of incandescent rage

Luckily for Atlanta United fans there are still several indy outlets covering United. Support them so they can keep doing what they're doing.

Five Stripe Final
Scarves and Spikes

I know these guys are doing yeoman's work and are getting out to training and covering player/coach news conferences whenever possible, but it's hard to imagine most indy outlets have the time and energy to do the same work team beat writers in American sports have done for generations.

I spent a lot of last week's edition focused on things that didn't happen and the few people we have left working in soccer for legacy media outlets. What I didn't do that I should have was mention the quality writers delivering good work in places like The Athletic, The Guardian, and other big shops. It should go without saying how important that coverage is and how glad I am we have the likes of Tenorio, Bogert, Cardenas, Maurer, Rueter et al digging into American soccer topics.

There's also the world of women's soccer to consider. That side of the business is subject to the same problems and pressures that exist on the men's side, exacerbated by the fact that the world treated women's soccer as an afterthought for entirely too long. It's only by comparison that coverage of WoSo seems to be exploding, but as someone said to me on Bluesky last week, the bulk of writing and analysis on women's soccer is still being done by amateurs, part-timers, and freelancers barely scraping by^[3].

MLS kicks off on Saturday^[4]. The league's 31st season arrives just months ahead of the North American World Cup, an event that has long been touted as the next big step forward for the game in our country. A facile reading of the moment might point to an impending explosion of interest, coverage, investment, etc. because why wouldn't a World Cup cause that sort of thing?

And while there might be an ephemeral boost in attention on some American soccer things and some typically disinterested/agnostic media operations will give the World Cup some shine, I'm sorry to say that I'm here to lower your expectations. I don't think a boom is coming that will do much to improve the fortunes of the domestic game in the United States over the long term.

Over the last 20 years of doing this American soccer thing, I've developed a theory.

Boiled down, I'm convinced American men's soccer exists on a different plane from anything we might want to compare it to: other American sports and other soccer cultures.

Let's focus on Major League Soccer, which has grown dramatically over the last 15 years or so and can point to stadiums, attendance numbers, and franchise values as evidence of that fact. Only the harshest view of MLS would argue that the league hasn't achieved something significant in a difficult sports market, and yet it can't seem to breakthrough in the area where the big, transformative money lies: television.

When billionaires are willing to throw down big money to buy into the league things can't be all bad. MLS doesn't look like it's going anywhere and as the years tick by and clubs further embed themselves into communities, fanbases should grow organically. Let's call that a win for a sport that 40 years ago had almost zero national presence.

But if MLS wants to climb into the upper echelon of world football leagues, it needs the big revenue that only broadcast rights can offer. So far, that nut has proven impossible to crack. Linear television deals didn't work and so far (with 2026 pending after the end of Season Pass as a standalone product) the Apple deal hasn't born much fruit^[5]. No matter what MLS tries, its product just doesn't attract the kind of eyeballs that will help it demand truly transformative fees in its next broadcast rights contract.

I think the "why" of that has less to do with the soccer on the field (though that's a factor) than it does with how entrenched attitudes about sports are amidst the fracture media environment of our modern age.

Big time, nationally (and more importantly culturally) relevant sports entered the world decades before access to the product on television came to dominate the business. The only possible parallel for the jump MLS attempted (is attempting?) is the NBA when it went from tape delayed finals in the 70s to a core member of the American sports scene thanks to largely to the arrival of Magic, Bird, and Jordan in the 80s.

I don't think I have to explain how much less competitive the battle for attention was back when cable tv was a revolutionary idea. It's like comparing apples to genetically engineered orange-flavored food-like substance. It ain't the same.

Soccer might be old, even in the US, but a consistent league with teams fans could slide into their civic sports identities isn't. To me, this is why Americans gravitate so easily to the English Premier League. It doesn't matter that its foreign and happens on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. They speak English, the teams are old, and getting up in the wee hours of the morning to watch makes you feel like you are part of a special club.

That the soccer is the consensus best in the world is not really the key factor. It's a bonus.

The World Cup isn't going to change any of the underlying conditions that make MLS a very fun local product that plenty of people love and engage with that has almost zero relevance in the current sports zeitgeist.

Pushing into that rolling cultural sports conversation isn't achievable anymore. There are no more central arbiters, so the rolling cultural sports conversation we experience now operates under the inertia created when they did.

It's a closed shop.

Enough of whatever that was. Here are the MLS storylines I'm most intrigued by as the new season gets underway.

1. Is this the Whitecaps' Vancouver swansong?

Considering how close to disaster the 'Caps came this winter with a home venue unsecured just weeks ahead of the season, I'm curious how much of a shadow the uncertain future in British Columbia will have on what should be a very good team.

2. How fun will a full season of Bouanga and Son be in LA?

Marc Dos Santos is no one's idea of a sexy coaching hire, but the Black & Gold have two of the league's top attacking players and just dropped 6 goals in the away leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup tie. We might be talking 25-25 for Bouanga and Son. The only teammates to both hit the 20 goal mark in league history was Messi and Suarez back in 2024.

3. Do the Galaxy bounce back?

Last year was so abysmal for the Galaxy that it made a lot of people uncomfortable when the club gave Greg Vanney a contract extension. In order to reward the faith shown to him, Vanney has to move the Galaxy back up the table this season—and Riqui Puig's absence won't be so easy an excuse for failure.

4. Is Bradley ready for this?

Watching a couple of young coaches make big leaps and fail in Europe this season has been a fascinating study in fit and competence. There's not an American soccer observer who didn't think Michael Bradley would end up a head coach in short order after his playing days, but his quick ascension to the top spot with the Red Bulls surprised me a bit. My bet is he kills it in Harrison.

5. Will Miami run it up?

The champs got younger and more athletic while retaining the services of the best player in the history of the sport. There might be a few things that need adjustment and maybe it won't be "easy", but I expect the Herons will be adding a new Supporters Shield to add to the one going into the cabinet at Miami Freedom Park—opening less than two months.

I'm moving heavy back into MLS this year. This handy daily update the John Muller created is going to be a huge help. I encourage you to sign up.

MLS Daily

Here's this week's episode of The Best Soccer Show. There's some good soccer talk in there, but this ep always contains a big announcement. Looks like my original soccer podcast (sorta) is moving into a new era.

Morning Kickaround did a 3-hour marathon show on Wednseday. It was a blast. We talked history with the guys from An American Game, hit on a couple of things with Matt Doyle, got into the lower division picture with Dan Vaughn, and unpacked some distressing World Cup ticket and travel news with Travel Futbol Fan. Have a watch or listen.

MK is also available as a podcast.

OH! And we announced we going to Rhode Island in May to do a live show from the stadium for Rhode Island FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. I'm psyched.