re: MLS is Back Tournament

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This talking point is so played out bc it’s false

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How is it false? Teams with deeper pockets could outspend the others. It was the downfall of NASL and I don’t see how it couldn’t plausibly happen again.

The US never had the luxury of a grassroots development of the game prior to the influx of money into the sport. Early European/South American leagues without paid professionals could easily institute pro rel in a brand new league because there was no money involved. Now that professional sports teams are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, how do you get investors to buy into a franchise in a young league if there’s the chance your investment immediately drops down a tier and completely tanks its value?

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MLS almost went under?

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Absolutely. They were down to 8 teams at one point after several folded. Landon Donovan and Brian McBride mentioned on a recent episode of an Everton podcast that many insiders think the league might have gone under had we not had the showing we did in 2002, which really revitalized interest in the sport.