Theory of Revolution

Look for New England to take MLS Cup VII

ABOARD UNITED FLIGHT 1734 TO PROVIDENCE -- Los Angeles Galaxy forward Chris Albright is boarding the plane for MLS Cup VII. He's answering passengers' questions with a smile.

Who are you?

"We're the Galaxy. From Los Angeles."

Who are you playing?

"The New England Revolution. It's the championship game."

Is it a series?

"Naw, only one game. Here, let me help you with that."

And then, oblivious that any journalist might be on the plane watching, Albright helps an older woman load her carry-on into the overhead bin.

I've always thought if every American sports fan could share a flight with a soccer team, MLS would be the most popular pro league in the country. When you get down to it, these guys are us -- flying in coach, helping ladies with their bags, actually reading books for entertainment. (Across the aisle from me, Galaxy keeper Kevin Hartman is perusing Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold, while forward Sasha Victorine is devouring Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates.)

If sports fans really are sick and tired of multimillionaire stars who behave badly, refuse to sign autographs and generally make fools of themselves, you'd think those fans would flock to MLS. After all, the guy sitting behind me right now, Cobi Jones, once responded to a young fan's invitation to his birthday party by bringing the entire Galaxy team. Cobi and the kid actually went one-on-one in the youngster's front yard.

Not that this weekend's showdown between MLS's two hottest teams is taking place in a vacuum. At least 40,000 hometown fans are expected to support the Revs in Gillette Stadium as MLS concludes its most compelling season to date. And while the Revolution might be seriously compromised by the possible absence of striker Taylor Twellman (MLS's leading scorer, who has a sprained knee ligament), I'm still going to go with the home team to win.

Why? For starters, the home field will be a huge advantage. Beyond that, though, the Revs have shown a real knack over the last 10 games for getting the results they need, either through timely finishing, hard-nosed defense or just plain luck. It isn't always attractive, but it works. People are calling this a matchup of the Galaxy's offense vs. the Revs' defense, but I don't necessarily buy that. Better to say it's a matchup between a team that takes risks (L.A.) and one that knows how to capitalize on mistakes (New England). Look for L.A. to make one too many -- and for the Revs to take advantage. New England 2, L.A. 1.

Let's answer some questions. (Also, FYI, the Kasey Keller interview I mentioned in my last column appears to have been bogarted by Sports Illustrated magazine. All apologies to you Web folks.)

Chicago has to be right behind L.A. as MLS's perennial underachievers. Every season it's the same old story: Too many injuries, too many call-ups. If you were GM Peter Wilt or coach Bob Bradley, what would you change for next season to make a run at the cup? Is it time to reconstruct this club?
—Brian Choquette, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Whether the Fire brass wants to or not, Chicago will have to make a major overhaul in its roster, which could easily be the biggest offseason story in MLS. If you had asked me three years ago, I would have said that the Fire was poised to take D.C. United's place and become the league's next dynasty. Injuries have devastated Chicago, though, and now that several players are making at or near the maximum salary (including Chris Armas, Peter Nowak, Ante Razov and Josh Wolff) you're going to see some major cap-related moves in the near future. Don't be surprised if the oft-injured Wolff is traded -- he almost went to the MetroStars earlier this season -- and that probably won't be the only change. Hristo Stoitchkov is done, DaMarcus Beasley wants to move to Europe and Nowak may or may not be back. For fans of good soccer, it's a shame: When the Fire have been at full strength (albeit rarely), they have been a joy to watch. As it stands, a team that showed so much promise by winning MLS Cup III in '98 -- and let's be honest, a team that should have won another title or two -- is about to be broken up.

It's obvious MLS's strength is young American goal scorers (Taylor Twellman, Chris Carrieri, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, etc.) and athletic American keepers (pick any). What I don't see is a young American playmaker, ball holder, controller of the game. Am I wrong? Is there another Tab Ramos or Claudio Reyna out there?
—Chuck Masterton, Huntersville, N.C.

I'm not ready to put the Crew's Kyle Martino in Ramos/Reyna company yet, but I am ready to give mad props to the 21-year-old who won the starting playmaker spot in Columbus from John Wilmar Perez (a former Colombian international) and then proceeded to earn MLS Rookie of the Year honors. Young American creators have a ways to go yet in MLS -- Martino is currently the only one of his kind -- but it's hard not to be optimistic that young American creators are ready to take the next step now that so many Yank goal scorers have developed over the past couple of years. Keep in mind, also, that while Donovan and Clint Mathis are better suited as forwards in my opinion, they could quite capably hold down a spot in the center of the midfield.

Saw in Time magazine that Philip Anschutz (who owns six MLS teams) may be the next corporate bigwig to go before Congress to explain his business dealings. Should Don Garber and all MLS fans be concerned?
—Bill Winterle, Havertown, Pa.

I'm afraid it's serious stuff, particularly since MLS is so completely dependent on the Anschutz Entertainment Group for its survival. "St. Phil" is a billionaire who has been willing to hemorrhage money on soccer for several years, yet his pockets aren't bottomless. That's why any threat of Anschutz taking a major financial hit should be watched very, very closely.

That said, AEG president Tim Leiweke announced last week that the mysterious Anschutz (who hasn't spoken publicly in decades about anything) is committed to MLS, even if it means losing money for many more years. What's more, Leiweke made two additional stunning announcements during his speech in Los Angeles:

1) "Within the next 365 days [MLS] will announce that it will be adding two more teams."

2) "In about 20 years I predict that professional soccer will be the second most popular sport in this country. It's going to happen."

Let's look at both these statements closely -- as we should, since Leiweke is several times more powerful than MLS commissioner Don Garber when it comes to the direction of the league. Statement No. 1 is surprising but certainly attainable. Note that Leiweke used the term announce, which means that those expansion teams would surely not begin play until the 2004 season. MLS officials in New York told me last week that while they weren't notified of Leiweke's comments beforehand, they welcomed the added pressure to pull it off, which would mean reaching terms with at least two prospective ownership groups and all that entails (a suitable stadium, season-ticket commitments, etc.). At the same time, I worry about setting such specific short-term goals. Already the MetroStars' brass has lost all of its credibility because of repeated false promises regarding stadium progress. I'd hate to see MLS and Leiweke in the same position a year from now if no announcement is made.

Statement No. 2 is profoundly troubling, however -- even, dare I say, Logan-esque. (See the numerous outlandish statements that led to the eventual demise of former MLS commish Doug Logan.) For as much as AEG and Leiweke have done to save MLS from the abyss, Leiweke is only hanging himself by claiming that the league will be bigger than the NFL or the NBA (never mind Major League Baseball) in 20 years. Time and again, soccer's biggest problem in the mainstream sports media has been the claims made in the 1970s (usually by NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam) that the sport's popularity would eclipse the Big Three. During this year's World Cup, a number of bigtime columnists brought up the old pronouncements again, and I responded by challenging them to name any MLS executive who had made that claim in the past 10 years.

None had -- until now. For a league that's already ignored by the media, the last thing MLS needed was for Leiweke to re-open the one topic that sparks the most viscerally negative reaction imaginable among sports columnists nationwide. Nor was it fair to the MLS and team staff members who have worked tirelessly to achieve gradual progress in some areas -- progress that will be dismissed out of hand unless the league somehow achieves the impossible task, one unnecessary for its survival, of becoming bigger than the NBA or the NFL. Why would Leiweke raise expectations so unnaturally high? Beats me. You have to wonder how much thought he put into it beforehand.

Is Bob Gansler on thin ice in Kansas City? He did win the MLS Cup in 2000, but since then Kansas City has been mediocre. In addition, the Wizards blew late leads in a lot of games this year after they went into a defensive shell. Just how secure is Gansler now?
—Diane Crawford, Lincoln, Neb.

Lamar Hunt-owned teams -- whether they be the Wizards or the NFL Chiefs -- have traditionally given coaches a lot of breathing room over the years. From what I've heard, the hardcore Wiz fans want Gansler out, but I have a hard time thinking it would happen this year, particularly given how proud Hunt was of the title Gansler won in 2000.

Many thanks to Buzz Carrick of Dallas for providing the elusive answer to the question of why Joe-Max Moore used to wear "Joe-Max" on the back of his Revolution jersey:

In 1996 and '97 I worked for New England Sports Network in Boston and interviewed Joe-Max for features on several occasions. During one of our talks I asked about Joe-Max being on the back of his jersey. His answer was, "Because I am tired of people getting my last name wrong. It's just Moore, not Max-Moore. Joe-Max is my first name."

The last weekend of the MLS regular season was exciting on all accounts: A race for the Supporters Shield and No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, great games and fantastic crowds league-wide. However, the playoffs seem somewhat anticlimactic. The level of play remains high, but crowd support and media coverage are lacking. Any suggestions for revitalizing the playoffs?
—Charles Wilson, Boston

One way of looking at it is this: If the level of play does in fact remain high, it's tough for the playoffs to be anticlimactic, no? But I do agree that it's odd how the most exciting part of the season would also see the year's smallest crowds and (the worst offense, in my mind) almost no television coverage. It's a function of the crowded sports schedule, of course, which makes MLS a low priority compared to the MLB playoffs, the NFL and college football. The only solution would be to move the playoffs earlier in the calendar -- to the summer doldrums, which the league has been unwilling to do. Until then, or until MLS gets more soccer-specific stadiums (the better to allow for optimal playoff scheduling and more festive atmospheres), we're stuck with playoffs that don't generate any buzz.

More college hoops/soccer analogies from Brian Schaitkin in New York City:

Ireland=Temple. Both teams play an extraordinarily well-disciplined style and advance much further in the tournament than anyone expects. Unfortunately they always lose in heartbreaking fashion just before the Final Four.

Belgium=Princeton. Two teams that play stupefyingly boring styles yet do so with enough discipline to always make the big dance, and each always plays major powers close.

Portugal=Florida. Have come on strong of late and are outrageously talented. Unfortunately both teams are so undisciplined they crash out against far-less-worthy opponents.

Brian: Sounds like you have discipline on the brain. Good analogies, though you're being a bit unfair to my Princeton Tigers, no? Until I see Marc Wilmots or the Mpenza Bros. run the equivalent of a backdoor, I'll hold Princeton in a bit higher esteem.

And from Sachin Shah in Washington D.C.:

Portugal=Virginia. Somehow both programs have enough to make you think they are storied, but both come up short in the final analysis.

Ralph Sampson equals Luis Figo? When it comes to performing on the biggest stage, it's not a bad comparison. If we extend it even further, does that mean Chaminade equals USA?

I just wanted to say that I saw a clone of you when I was in the Caribbean a few months ago. Pretty funny, because I approached the guy and asked him if he was Grant Wahl. Funny thing is, he said no, but that soccer fans had asked him that a lot.
—Alex Xenopoulos, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

I don't know whether to be flattered or deeply, deeply disturbed by this. It's almost as strange as the time some guy named Grant Wahl (from Michigan City, Ind.) wrote me a letter.

Grant, can you give us a Garth Lagerwey update?
—Kris, North Jersey

Excellent question, Kris. Loyal readers will remember Garth as the lovable former MLS keeper for Kansas City, Dallas and Miami who used to improve this space immeasurably with his musings on the game -- unpaid musings, I might add, which we'll no doubt laugh about when he gets his law degree and charges $250 an hour. In any case, Garth retired two seasons ago and began a new odyssey, which he describes HERE.

See you next time.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl keeps you up to date with the world of U.S. soccer twice monthly at CNNSI.com. To send Wahl a comment, question or story idea, click here.

 

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