48
JANUARY2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
OCTOBER 4
We are famous for our quantity, variety, prices, quality and service. Be sure to purchase onlyfrom the genuineTeakWarehouse.
Everything comes fully assembled and is in stock ready for nationwide white glove delivery.
Open 7 days aweek from 10 to 6 PM PST 800.343.7707
A-GRADE TEAK COAST COLLECTION
andmore intense. “You see it a
lot on socialmedia:English followers
talkingaboutMLS,getting involved in
heateddebates—proper football talk.”
Visitors tohis siteareabout70percent
American, East says, “but month by
month theBrits are catchingup.”
Remarkably,MLSGB isn’t the only
site of its kind in theU.K.Founded in
2009,MLSUK has amassed a stable
of British correspondents,whowrite
in-depth articles about individual
MLSgames,the leagueand its various
subplots.“We’re all very big fans,”says
co-editorDanielBidmead,whoworks
for a creative video agency inLondon.
“All of us areverypassionateabout it.”
That may be so, but the question
remains:why?
For East, the appeal ofMLS is the
very thing that is often used to deride
it—its immaturity, the absence of the
historical precedents that fuel loyalty
andrivalry.The flipsideof this,hesays,
is a free-for-all thrill that ismissing in
more established leagues. “I like that
youget towatch the league evolve,”he
says, pointing to the ongoing expan-
sion that has seenMLS go from 10
teams in its inaugural 1996 season to
20 today—including this year’smost
anticipatednewcomer,NewYorkCity
FC.“Imagine,”hecontinues,“anewside
being formed in the Premier League.
Wedon’tget thathere.Noonehas any
ideawhat to expect.They could score
sixgoals agameor concede six.That is
soexciting.”
Certainly,eventhemostavidEPLfan
wouldallowthatthe leaguehasbecome
predictable, insofar as it is dominated
byahandfulof richandpowerful clubs
(in the last decade only three teams
havemanaged to bringhome anEPL
championship).“There’s a lot of disil-
lusionment in the Premier League,
theway thatmoney rules everything,”
Bidmeadsays.“MLS isnot likethat.It’s
averygrassrootsykindof thing.There’s
aparitythatyoudon’tgetanywhereelse.
thefan
GEORGE TIEDEMANN/CORBIS
BRITISH INVASION
English superstarDavid
BeckhamplayedpartsoffiveMLS seasons
with theLAGalaxyand isnowworking to
start anexpansion team inMiami
Youreallydofeelatthebeginningofthe
season that your teamhas a chance of
winning something.”
Much has been made of the
relative dearth of money inMLS, a
circumstance that limits thenumberof
big-nameplayers involved in thegame
andhamperseffortstobuildworld-class
