It is really amazing. Like REALLY amazing - that the NASL was able to bring stars like Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia, Johan Cruyff, and Franz Beckenbauer. How? Owners who had lots of money.

Just like the Singapore league, if MLS can find some deep pockets, they could become a force pretty quick. By a force, I don't mean Germany, England, Spain, France, but they could rival all the leagues just below them.

This, of course, would require a systemic rebuild of the structure of MLS and with the rapid expansion, the likelihood of so many high powered folks buying a franchise is low, but if there is a path to MLS greatness, it lies in big time owners who love the sport spending money to fuel their egos. Andy Hauptman need not apply.

There's obviously a big gap to the top European leagues—say, the four you named plus Italy and maybe even the Netherlands—but I don't think there's a huge gap to any other league. I'd tend to think that Mexico is still ahead, but MLS seems to be turning into a favored destination for next tier of Western Hemisphere talent after the top tier that commands big bucks in Europe.

The gap now is gigantic. You have average performing players in the PL pulling over 100k euros a week.

I think the MLS approach has been smart and has resulted in a lot more stability. I think they need to grow revenue before going for deeper pockets. I see any other path as a huge risk and it would be a disaster for professional soccer in the US to hit the reset button again.

... international appetite (or lack thereof) for the MLS. The crowd sizes are bigger than most in Europe for several of the MLS teams, including Seattle and Atlanta. But the TV money is paltry, and the rich investors in MLS teams will be wise to spend to be a very solid second tier league and see where it goes from there.

I'm not sure how the media revenue side of it improves without a decline in other sports, particularly baseball and basketball.

Far more people are watching the Prem on NBCSN than MLS matches. I don't even need to look it up to know that's probably a fact.

about all of those points. MLS almost HAD to exist the way it has existed. If I had a main criticism, it would be the rapid expansion. It creates a watered down league with fewer stars.

Honestly, they need a smart growth pattern that will grow along with the American public. And the American public IS growing in soccer knowledge and popularity. When I look around now at kids who wear obscure german team jerseys to school (as opposed to kids who had a Messi jersey), I know that the knowledge of the game and the players is increasing in this country.

The next step for MLS is to embrace the "almost retirement league concept" and force it on every single team using a 1980s NBA model. Every team needs a face. Jordan in Chicago, Reggie Miller in Indiana, Sir Charles in Philly, Bird in Boston, Hakeem in Houston, and Magic in LA. They could do this with aging stars.

If every team had a single known international "face" and a known USMNT "face", they could then hype matches based on a club's personality. That will bring eyes to TV and butts to seats. The trouble is that there are so many teams with rosters filled with players that no one knows except for the most die hard CONCACAF fan ("oh, that guy is on the Honduran team or that guy is a Tico").

MLS wants to jam USMNT players down our throats. I'm okay with that if they also feed us a steady diet of known Europeans. And, of course, they can't have TOTAL GARBAGE surrounding them (see also: Chicago Fire). I think that's the next stage. To get even there requires owners who are willing to put some money into the clubs.

Because face it, the Red Bulls or the New England Revs may be a playoff team, but I don't really care to watch any of their players and would not stop to put a Red Bulls or Revs game on ESPN if I was clicking through. I will stop to watch Rooney and Ibra.

Consider a thought experiment...would Messi be as dominant in the MLS, or is a good portion of his success based on the quality around him at Barcelona? If you get perfect passes at a high rate, it is easier to score.

So many public faces have, not exactly flopped, but were less than expected. Kaka was fun to watch on Orlando because he never took the easy pass. He understood that when you work so hard to receive the ball in front of the goal outside the 16, you don't immediately pass it wide again like so many MLS players choose to do. And yet, Kaka was underwhelming in MLS. I would say David Beckham was underwhelming in MLS. It was great to see 80 yard cross-field passes dropped right on a guy's foot, but he was hardly carrying games for LA.

On the flip side, did anyone really know who Giovinco was before he came to MLS? What about Josef Martinez? And yet these players had two incredible seasons that left jaws dropping.

If you ask 100 Portland fans who their favorite player is, 80 of them will say Diego Chara, a midfield destroyer.

As for USMNT players, they are all a bit disappointing in the MLS. Howard, Bradley, Altidore, Bedoya are all just above average on their teams. I would say Beasley is the most popular USMNT player in MLS at the moment. What would really generate interest are young MLS players getting capped by the USMNT, but many posters on this board have stated MLS is not adequate preparation for international level. I think guys like Lletget and Zardes and Ebobisse getting caps will help build interest in the long run, much like Quakes fans were very proud of he who shall not be named.

MLS has found a sweet spot right now unearthing South and Central American young players that go on to be a big deal. Players like Miguel Almiron sold to Newcastle for $21 million. Each time a player gets signed from below the border, each fan base is wondering if this will be the next big thing that catapults their team to the top.

Most US soccer fans, actual fans, are quite knowledgeable. They don't need a household name to generate excitement. Casual fans, if they are willing to dip their toe in the water of MLS, can take their lead from the experienced fans.

I remember going to the 1994 World Cup elimination game between Germany and Belgium in Chicago. My ND roomate's dad worked for Verizon who had corporate seats, but nobody wanted them, so we took them (for free). I knew some German players, but the guy sitting next to me tells me to watch for the guy in the red boots on Belgium, Enzo Scifo, who played for Torino and Monaco around that the time. And so my soccer world got a bit larger that day. Great game 3-2. There were three goals in the first 15 minutes.

Expansion is an interesting problem for MLS. There are too many good pockets of fans left in the country to deny expansion, but a league structure, and a player pool, can only support so many teams. We have to import the players from somewhere, and they won't be UEFA/CONMEBOL international quality.