1

INTRODUCTION

Football, or soccer, as they call it in the United States, is the most popular game globally.
People have been playing this beautiful game all around the world. It has the power to bring
people together or separate them while everybody has an opinion about this game, and
probably nobody can consider it neutral. This game gives us beautiful moments or sometimes
makes us feel desperate, but the reactions are always very emotional. Millions of us go to
sleep and wake up with soccer day by day as it is the only thing that makes them feel happy
and drives their lives on the right path.

As it is a popular game, soccer always has been a surface to share messages with people
and help them to be encouraged to stand up for their rights. Many great people used sport and
soccer to make a connection between nations and communities or tried to find solutions to
social problems. Communication is essential between people, and soccer has its language to
find the right communication channel for those who need it. Nelson Mandela is one of the
most outstanding examples who realized how powerful soccer was to help despite being in a
bad situation with his friends when they were in prison during the Apartheid era in South
Africa. It was the only thing for them to feel free and victorious.

Another significant example is the deed of Didier Drogba, Chelsea FC legend, who could
stop the civil war in Ivory Coast by using the power of soccer. He convinced the Football
Association of Ivory Coast to play a World Cup qualifier game in the area where the war
occurred and used soccer as a weapon to stop the conflict. As a result, he was able to unite
his nation instead of continuing the war, which was a remarkable moment in the history of
this soccer lover African country.

Soccer is more than 2000 years old, but England transitioned the game into the sport we
know today as football or soccer in some other countries. The British created the first football
rules, established the first clubs, and started playing on an institutional level. The British
were the first that spread the game worldwide during the era of the British Empire, which had
controlled a large part of the world.

Soccer is known as the Beautiful Game because it gives us the feeling of joy and passion
while it teaches us how to trust each other and how to think collectively. This team sport can
 2

bring communities together, and supporters' passion is what makes soccer the most excellent
game on the earth. As a result, soccer conquered the whole world and became the most
crucial sport almost in every country except the United States.

Soccer is a free-flowing and breathtaking game, but these attributives have not
characterized its history in the United States. Soccer had a dreary fate in America during the
20th century, especially beside baseball and football, which both could become national
sports as they represented the American identity. Both sports had European roots before they
went through a transformation to become acceptable to American society. Furthermore, the
American baseball league was the first systematically organized professional league globally.
It had appeared as a major sport, and then later American football and basketball followed
the same pattern.

The soccer situation was not as easy as it always had a hard way to becoming famous.
Probably, the Americans did not have any idea how to approach soccer. The game flew
forward from time to time, then it was pulled back, which typified soccer almost for a
century, but then suddenly everything changed.

Earlier, soccer was not a major sport in the U.S., however, it is becoming one now
because conscious changes were introduced in the interest of making the popularity that this
beautiful game deserves. The whole concept behind the game needed a boost. Bad
innervations had to be forgotten to manufacture financial stability alongside popularity;
otherwise, soccer would be a neglected sport in the U.S. Nevertheless, what happened on the
bumpy road where the journey of soccer took place while it became a major sport in the
United States?
 3

SPORT, SOCCER, AND THE PEOPLE OF THE US

Modern sports absolutely link to the evolution of mass democracies. While most modern
sports were actually ''fabricated'' and organized by the higher classes of society, such as
aristocracy or, more often, people with an aristocratic inclination, they soon became the
authority of the citizenship and the "masses" if they were to gain any significance. Latter in
the 19th century and early in the 20th century, Great Britain and the United States were two
high-class societies that established organized, professional team sports played, watched, and
enjoyed by the masses in their own countries. As one of the most popular British inventions,
soccer was played everywhere due to British colonialism. Britain was still the best ranked
imperial power and cultural leader in many aspects, while the United States was still an
isolated nation admired by the European public. This American isolation was partly self-
driven to identify the nation as clearly non-European and sometimes even hostile to any
European phenomena. The legitimacy of Britain and the U.S. existed in two different ways:
Britain was the centre of a colossal empire, and America was a self-contained society,
independent from the motherland, while their language was common, just like their cultural
roots. Their relationship was unique and ambivalent, marked by admiration and rejection and
appeared in the sport's perception. The British mass sport, soccer, had been successfully
exported worldwide except for the United States. 1

Meanwhile, the American national sport, baseball, was invented by using the rules of
cricket, which was the former British version of this new Yankee sport. The popularization of
baseball in the United States coincided with the spreading of soccer as a mass sport in
Britain. In addition, the elite students at the top universities of America preferred to play
rugby, which was later Americanized and became known as American football or simply
football, rather than importing soccer from the motherland. Soccer referred to the term
''association football'' as its rules were made at Cambridge 15 years after the Football
2
Association was established in Britain in 1863 to promote the game.
1
Soccer in America: A story of Marginalization, Andrei S. Markovits & Steven L. Hellerman, University of Miami
Law School, Institutional Repository, 1996, page: 228-229.

2
The real reason Americans call it ‘Soccer’ is all England’s fault, Tony Manfred, 2014, www.businessinsider.com ,
www.businessinsider.com/why-americans-call-it-soccer-2014-6
 4

In the United States, soccer remained closely associated with immigrants and controlled
mainly by them while it was played on the streets and in open squares using an unorganized
form. The Americans stigmatized and underprivileged the game, which lost its potential to
become popular, even though its various forms were already played in the earlier colonies
during the 17th and 18th centuries proved by documentation. Soccer did not achieve social
respect until a few prominent colleges in the country, such as Yale, Princeton, Harvard, and
Columbia, started playing diverse versions of football within their cities as an entertaining
and healthy activity. The game first achieved an organized form in the second half of the
19th century when Boston secondary school students established Oneida Football Club. The
team acquired prominence by defining the ''Boston Game'' during the 1860s in America's still
tiny and diverse football society. By the end of the decade, football achieved inter-collegial
form, and the first college football game was played on 6 November 1869 between Rutgers
and Princeton.3 This significant event can be classified as the first football and soccer game
in modern American history since the rules covered some aspects of both games. The game
began to be played among universities and colleges using a diverse form of rules and local
varieties. However, unfortunately, the popularity of soccer did not last for long, and by the
early 1900s, rugby triumphed over soccer, and the kicking game vanished from the
campuses. At the same time, football gained unquestionable prominence in American college
life after growing out of rugby and becoming the new national sport besides baseball. Soccer
was defined as a slow, boring, and action-less game and lost the competition against baseball,
football, and basketball. Soccer in American society remained mainly the property of
foreigners and newcomer immigrants, both as players and spectators.

In my opinion, there were many reasons why soccer failed to accomplish more extensive
attention in the United States during the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. First of all,
soccer was considered a link to European roots, and it was not American enough as it had
been invented by the British. During the period mentioned above, there was a solid counter-
cultural aspiration against anything which was not American, as the country was eager to
create its own identity and independence. Baseball, and later football, could gain popularity
3
Soccer in America: A story of Marginalization, Andrei S. Markovits & Steven L. Hellerman, University of Miami
Law School, Institutional Repository, 1996, page: 230
 5

because they were natively born American sports even though they also had European origin.
They had been transformed from cricket and rugby to become national sports in the U.S. In
addition, baseball was the first sport in the world that was systematically organized in a
national competition format in the late 19th century, and spectators could have felt that it was
an original American sport created by their society.

Secondly, the people of the U.S., especially the high school and the university
students, viewed soccer as a recreational sport that they could use to keep themselves active
during the off-season when their main sports were not accessible. The game was played for
amusement or pleasure because it was not considered a serious sport.

Thirdly, soccer in the United States failed to become institutionally organized and
modernized in an American way, probably because the people of the U.S. Soccer did not
understand the complexion of the game, and the rules could not grow out of its European
form to turn into a modern sport in America. Therefore it only remained on the soil of
marginalization.

SOCCER IN THE US IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY

In the 1920s, soccer was tremendous and thriving in the United States that could have
become a potentially significant major sport, such as baseball and football. It was not as big
as the national sport, baseball, but it looked set to challenge the admired NFL in competition.
The top American soccer league had a considerable fan base with many thousands of
supporters behind the competing teams. Some of the world’s best soccer stars played in this
league, and the American National Team produced their all-time best performance in the
history of World Cups when they reached third place in the tournament held in Uruguay in
1930. The strong performance was characterized by many factors, which were the
followings: the lack of England’s participation, only thirteen teams attended the tournament,
the ASL (American Soccer League) was strong enough to offer some of the best American
players for the national team. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the Americans had six
British-born players. However, all of them had gone to the United States as teenagers many
years before that World Cup, except George Moorhouse, who played for Tranmere Rovers in
the English third division. 4 The competitiveness and the strength of the ASL contributed
much to the success of the American National Soccer Team. During that era, the ASL was
one of the most prominent leagues globally. The league itself played an essential role in the
narrative of American soccer history.

The American Soccer League

The American Soccer League was founded at Manhattan's Hotel Astor in 1921 and
operated in the area of the industrial Northeast. It was not the only professional soccer league
in the country. However, it was the most competitive, the largest, and obviously the most
popular because of the powerful teams of the league.

The teams of the ASL were participating from the metropolises (the Boston Wonder
Workers, the Brooklyn Wanderers, New York Field Club) and the industrial towns (the
Bedford Whalers, the Bridgeport Bears). The team owners were wealthy, successful
entrepreneurs with different business backgrounds. For example, the possessor of the New
4
The U.S. National Team at the 1930 World Cup, Clemente Lisi, 2013, www.ussoccerplayers.com
https://ussoccerplayers.com/2013/01/the-us-national-team-at-the-1930-world-cup.html
 7

York Nationals, Charles Stoneham, had also owned the baseball team, New York Giants.
Likewise, he was known as a character tied to organized crime with the purchase of the New
York Giant. Another prominent owner was Charles M. Schwab, the steel magnate, who
possessed the era’s one of the most outstanding teams, the Bethlehem Steel F.C. Schwab was
a supporter of athletics and provided a field for the soccer team on which he had expended
$125,000. 5

Steel and other industries could represent themselves in the ASL due to the fantastic
economic expansion and a welcoming immigration policy determining the United States just
after World War I. Immigration played an essential role in the evolution of soccer in the
1920s as factories employed vast numbers of European workers who had carried the love of
soccer with them while moving to their new country. Corporations financed and ran their
teams just like today in the modern era of the soccer world. During the history of ASL, the
capital of soccer in the United States was probably Fall River, Massachusetts, which was an
industrial headquarters with employees of large numbers of British immigrants. The team of
the area was called The Fall River Marksmen, owned by a local impresario, Sam Mark. The
Marksmen achieved to win seven ASL titles and eventually became the most dominant team
after overshadowing Bethlehem Steel. 6

The league included some of the best players from Europe, such as Harold Brittan, a
British-born U.S. centre striker, former Chelsea player, Mickey Hamilton, an ex-Manchester
City midfielder from Northern Ireland, or the Scottish fellas like Johnny Ballantyne from
Partick Thistle, and full-back from Dunfermline Athletic, Tommy McMillan. Once
Ballantyne was asked about the move to the USA by a reporter before his departure, and he
said the following;7

5
Makes record in soccer, ”Bethlehem sets Mark by winning double championship”, Special to New York Times, 23
July 1916, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/07/23/104237903.pdf

6
The secret history of American soccer, Brian Phillips, 2010, www.slate.com
https://slate.com/culture/2010/06/how-soccer-almost-became-a-major-american-sport-in-the-1920s.html

7
Soccer in a football world, „The story of America’s forgotten game”, David Wangerin, Temple University Press,
Philadelphia, 2006, page: 57-58
 8

'' The offer came suddenly, and I had to make my mind up suddenly. I hope to make £12
(around $20) a week in America. What a chance have I of doing it here? ‘’8

He had no chance to make that much money in Scotland because the clubs related to the
American industry had a remarkable advantage over their rivals at home and abroad. The
economy was booming in the United States. The clubs overseas were able to pay much
higher wages than their European counterparts, which was an outstanding opportunity for the
best players. Clubs like Bethlehem Steel could also offer well-paying factory jobs for their
players at a time when almost nobody could make a living exclusively from playing soccer
professionally. Sometimes the American clubs’ recruitment tactics were unfair as they
violated the international protocols. It was a provocation for the European clubs, and FIFA
had to demand that American clubs stop ignoring international contracts that were finally
fulfilled in 1927.

At the American Soccer League peak, fifty internationals played for the teams, which
was an enormous number compared to the number of teams in the league. The attraction of
the league originated from the economic strength of the United States, which was defining
the 1920s. In addition, the club owners were willing to invest in soccer to increase the
reputation of corporations that were financially supporting the sports associations. Club
owners had different motivations for taking part in soccer, but all of them could see the
potential of this sport. Sam Mark, the owner of The Marksmen, was out to make a fortune
from soccer's rising popularity. Others were a philanthropist or obsessed with this European
game.

The director of Bethlehem Steel, Horace Edgar Lewis, aimed to develop an elite soccer team
that would dominate the league. Because of this, he allured many high-class European
professionals to help build a successful club. His enthusiasm for soccer was exceptional due,
for that reason, he controlled everything concerning the team. In today’s language, we call
him ''football-crazy'' whose life is driven by this beautiful sport. Some people like Horace
Edgar Lewis are obsessed with soccer regardless of their fans, clubs owners, coaches,

8
Soccer in a football world, „The story of America’s forgotten game”, David Wangerin, Temple University Press,
Philadelphia, 2006, page: 58
 9

directors, or anyone from this world community, which is the largest sports commune
globally.

The popularity of soccer was unquestionable at the time, and the league was able to
produce excellent quality football. The best teams such as The Marksmen, Bethlehem Steel,
New York Giants, or New Bedford always played their games in front of 20,000- 30,000
people. The attendance was even higher when the best clubs from Europe went to the New
World to play exhibition games. Hakoah Vienna, Sparta Prague, Celtic, Rangers, Budapest
VAC, or the Preston North End are just a few clubs touring in the United States to popularize
soccer performed in front of 40,000-50,000 people. 9
Despite the ASL still relying mainly on the British imports, after tours like these, many
central- European players signed for ASL clubs in favour of freshening up the domestic
league in the U.S. Furthermore, there were great American players alongside many stars from
Europe, such as Archie Stark. He represented the typical American with his career. He was a
cultural import that was transformed into native culture. He was the legendary striker of
Bethlehem Steel with 232 goals in 205 appearances and played his first professional game for
the Scottish-American team. He was born in Scotland, then emigrated to the United States
when he was 13, and served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Later he became an
American international alongside Bert Patenaude and Billy Goncalves, who had French and
Portuguese ancestry. They were prominent members of the American soccer team, which had
finished third in the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930. It is still the best performance
of the Team USA in World Cup history. 10

The decline of the American Soccer League

9
Soccer in a football world, „The story of America’s forgotten game”, David Wangerin, Temple University Press,
Philadelphia, 2006, page: 65-66
10
The secret history of American soccer, Brian Philips, 2010, www.slate.com,
https://slate.com/culture/2010/06/how-soccer-almost-became-a-major-american-sport-in-the-1920s.html
 10

During the 1920s, just before the first World Cup, the American Soccer League was
flourishing, but needless political fighting confused the league's operation at the end of the
decade. The United States Football Association (USFA) and the American Soccer League
always had an inappropriate relationship because the USFA implemented restrictions on
schedule and rule changes that the team owners did not cherish. Furthermore, the USFA
defined the lucrative and popular ASL as uncontrolled and rebellious. It was evident that they
wanted to impose limitations on the ASL because they could not gather any revenue out of
this organization. Soccer was quite popular but not mainstream, and it was considered too
foreign and too English. With the support of team owners, the new chief of ASL, Bill
Cunningham, was prepared to convert the game to be Americanized. The idea was to get rid
of the point system they used, and instead, the winning percentage system would have been
introduced. They also wanted to implement a playoff tournament after the regular season and
substitutions, which was unfamiliar concerning soccer at the time. Only the player
substitution became real, while the rest of the changes had been objected to by the USFA. In
addition, under Bill Cunningham, the league stagnated because he could not organize any
progression. Some venues were highly problematic due to their capacity and ownership. The
lack of native-born talents and the poorly trained match officials were conspicuous.11

Furthermore, the league did not expand into big cities outside the northeastern territory,
and the fixtures were unorganized, chaotic, and too long. These issues determined the
relationship between the ASL and the USFA, led by Tom Cahill. It had reached its highest
peak during the 1928-29 campaign when Charles Stoneham persuaded the ASL to boycott
the annual Challenge Cup after suggesting some changes that were only partially adopted.
However, it is worth knowing that the Cup assured the highest portion of USFA's revenue.
His frustration was understood without any doubt, as he had lost a massive amount of money
due to unprofessional organization while having a championship-winning team. 12

Despite the boycott, Newark, New York Giants, and Bethlehem Steel, three ASL teams,
entered the Challenge Cup tournament, which implied consequences. The ASL exiled the
11
Soccer in a football world, „The story of America’s forgotten game”, David Wangerin, Temple University Press,
Philadelphia, 2006, page: 67- 75
12
The secret history of American soccer, Brian Phillips, 2010, www.slate.com,
https://slate.com/culture/2010/06/how-soccer-almost-became-a-major-american-sport-in-the-1920s.html
 11

three teams for violating the rules. At the same time, the USFA and FIFA declared that the
measures of ASL were illegal and excommunicated the league from the order of international
soccer. Furthermore, the ASL established the Eastern Soccer League to compete with the
exiled ASL, but it was a disaster because the ''soccer war'' continued, and by the time it was
resolved, the stock market had collapsed, and the fans had lost their faith in soccer. The Great
Depression resulted from the economic crash that started in 1929, finally liquidated the
league in 1932, and professional soccer had disappeared for a very long time.

Despite the prosperous early years, the ASL had to face many inconveniences by the end
of the decade. The league's stability was undermined by destructive battles between club
owners and the soccer federation of the United States and a lack of development.
Americanization of the game and the possible compromise between two opposite
associations failed, while the stock market also collapsed in 1929. Powerful enterprises lost
enormous an amount of money and found themselves in debt. Unemployment was mighty,
and life had become extremely hard all over the United States. Professional soccer had faded
away for almost 40 years and became an amateur, recreational sport, which was more or less
only played by immigrants. Soccer continued its life as a regional sport with mostly ethnic-
based teams, poor attendance, and a capital deficiency. Once widespread, then battered, it
was on the way to becoming America’s forgotten sport.

SOCCER IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY

College Soccer

During the war, only college soccer existed and merely operated on a regional level. It
was challenging for college teams to find a competitive opponent. Therefore, they were
playing primarily against amateur clubs. Non Professional soccer clubs were the other
opportunity for players who wanted to play this beautiful game and, just like college teams,
simply regionally. Only a few colleges, such as The University of San Francisco and UCLA,
constituted their soccer programs, and intersectional play remained a dream. The position of
soccer was cumbersome, but only until the Second World War had ended.
 12

Military units had also adopted soccer during the war as a recreational sport that had a
low cost to play and ensured their good condition. Soldiers of the army had come back from
Europe with interest in soccer that they spread all around the U.S. on college campuses. As
the result of peaceful years after the international war conflict, more and more youth had the
chance to study at colleges where they could play soccer. Some colleges could offer a
scholarship for players who had already played soccer on an amateur level. By the end of the
1940s, many colleges were recognized as soccer powers. Stanford and UCLA from the West
Coast, the Springfield from New England, Oberlin in the Midwest, and the University of
Baltimore from the South were among the acknowledged soccer forces at the college level.
Soccer in colleges constantly grew until the end of the 1950s, when several conferences
existed, and almost 300 teams participated in different competitions all around the United
States. In 1959, the committee of the NCAA devised a plan for launching the first college
soccer tournament that would cover the whole country. The competition was launched in the
same year, and Saint Louis University from Midwest became the first champion of the
NCAA after defeating Bridgeport in the final 5-2. Despite college teams being remarkably
loaded with foreign-born players, soccer had become a recognized sport in the United States.
Furthermore, college soccer was able to gain popularity which predicted that something
bigger and more professional would turn up in the coming years. 13

Sports life in the post-war years

In the post- Second World War years, the most elite U.S. sports were baseball, boxing,
and horseracing, all followed eagerly on the radio and the television. Shortly, boxing and
horseracing had diminished in popularity as football was rising together with basketball and
ice hockey due to unprecedented economic growth and the involvement of different segments
of society. For example, during the 1950s and 1960s, women could represent themselves at
sporting events as cheerleading became very popular. The creation of the National

13
American College Soccer, 1946-1959: The Postwar Era, Mickey Cochrane & Len Oliver, 2000, NSCCA Soccer
Journal, www.soccerhistory.org/asha
 13

Cheerleading Association in 1961 ensured to spread of the activity and provided cheerleading
education all over the country. Before this period, cheerleading was a male busyness, and the
participation of women was the key element to gaining recognition and popularity. Males did
not choose this activity anymore as they found their place in the athletic program, while
cheerleading became utterly feminine. By the 1960s, nearly every high school and college
had a cheerleading squad with a recognizable uniform. It was proudness for any girl or
woman to belong to a cheerleading group, especially after it had emerged in professional
sports. The Baltimore Colts, an NFL (National Football League) team, had the first-ever
recorded cheerleading squad during the 1960s. Soon after this, the Dallas Cowboys
Cheerleaders gained recognition and popularity as the first professional squad ever, unique
due to their uniform and particular dance movements. Within a few years, the Dallas
Cowboys reached their first Super Bowl alongside their famous cheerleaders, which altered
the point of view forever. The appearance of professionalism changed this activity and
created an ''American sex icon,'' the cheerleader girl. Furthermore, competitions began to be
introduced for cheerleader groups in the late 1970s and were broadcasted on CBS.
Cheerleading had reached the status of becoming a national sport that changed the position of
women forever in American society. 14

Favorable conditions during the 1960s inspired many potential business people who were
willing to invest in professional sport, which had resulted in the emergence of new franchises
all over America, especially within the most populated areas. American football, baseball,
and basketball were already eminently popular and recognized as national sports. Among
these sports, baseball was the most prominent because it represented the national identity of
the United States. At the time, baseball was almost 150 years old and already had gone
through racial integration, which made the game even more popular. A similar
transformation happened to football and basketball, while all three important activities gained
remarkably recognized status as major sports. 15
14
Cheerleading: History & Famous Cheerleaders, Christopher Muscato, www.study.com
https://study.com/academy/lesson/cheerleading-history-famous-cheerleaders.html

15
Rock N’ Roll Soccer, „The short life and fast times of the North American Soccer League”, Ian Plenderleith,
Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin Press, New York, 2014, page: 3
 14

The games were broadcasted on television due to profitable contracts between major
leagues and television corporations. These collaborations were highly organized, and
everybody could make a profit regardless they were owners, television enterprises,
companies, players, or fans. Sports life in the United States was flourishing alongside
economic growth. This combination ensured prominent potential for entrepreneurs to invest
their money into some other sport that would bring new excitement to sports fans. The North
American sports market was an open field with an outstanding share of cash and with the
possibility of a new arrival that was called soccer. The game had already gained popularity
once more with the remarkable resurrection of college soccer but still could not reach a large
part of society. Nevertheless, the conditions were given, and the people were hungry to watch
professional soccer in stadiums again after almost 40 years of absence.

THE HISTORY OF NASL: RISE AND FALL

The situation of soccer in the 1960s

During the late 1950s and the early 1960s, professional soccer's presence in the USA was
occasional. College soccer was played, but it had only reached a small number of spectators,
mostly student-mates, friends, and family members. The American public could only watch
high-class soccer when European or South American teams were touring the country.
Fortunately, the performing teams could pull in large crowds for those friendly games played
between the touring teams and their American opponents. Furthermore, the popularity of the
1966 World Cup in American society was much more immense than expected, which
hastened the imaginations of several wealthy businessmen to put the feasibility of a
nationwide professional soccer league into consideration. FIFA was also enthusiastic about
recognizing that the popularity of soccer had grown in the United States and encouraged the
USSFA (the United States Soccer Football Association) to appoint a three-person committee
 15

to look at the proposals and possibilities. The committee was to make its dedications ready
for the annual soccer convention held in 1966 July in San Francisco. Even with the support
of FIFA, it seemed pretty challenging to create a professional league out of nowhere before it
had any players. In 1967, looking to capitalize upon the freshly discovered popularity of
soccer in America, two rival leagues were founded; The United Soccer Association (USA)
and National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The USA was sanctioned by FIFA but still
could operate as a league, while FIFA altogether outlawed the NPSL. The USA was
functioning with several imported foreign teams to represent different American cities, such
as Wolverhampton Wanderers, which was the Los Angeles Wolves, or Stoke City, which
functioned as Cleveland Stokers. The league lasted for just a single season without any U.S.
representation before the two rival leagues were merged to establish the North American
Soccer League (NASL). 16

The Rise of NASL

After merging the two leagues, the debut season of NASL was in 1968, initially with 17
teams. Serious investment had been made before the league started to operate, but the whole
organization suffered due to significant issues that did not help to gain acceptance in the
American sports community. The league mostly relied on foreign players, and the expenses
were high due to renting the stadiums and grandiose salaries alongside low attendances. It led
many investors to pull out their money from the clubs just after the very first season of
NASL. Furthermore, CBS also pulled out of its television contract at the end of this
disastrous season. As a result, almost all the teams ceased except five of them. After the
initial difficulties, the league managed to hold on over the following six years, primarily
because of the ubiety of Lamar Hunt, the wealthy owner of the league's Dallas franchise and
the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. Due to the vanishing teams, the league needed to fill in the
spots by inviting two American Soccer League clubs, the Rochester Lancers and the
Washington Darts. The two invited teams immediately became successful as Rochester won
the championship after beating Washington in the final, and the league managed to survive.

16
Rock N’ Roll Soccer, „The short life and fast times of the North American Soccer League”, Ian Plenderleith,
Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin Press, New York, 2014, page: 15-21.
 16

However, it was not as simple as that. Because of the little interest from the public, the
American clubs also had to organize friendly matches against overseas opponents to keep the
league alive. However, through the clever use of friendly games against intriguing overseas
clubs, such as the Santos with Pelé, the league continued its operation. It seemed like the
league had gone through the initial difficulties, but everybody knew that the whole
organization needed to be changed, otherwise it would collapse. 17

Further investments and broadcast deals did hardly come, resulting in the league remaining
semi-professional from 1969 to 1975. Some players needed to hold other jobs to make an
acceptable living style.

Despite the difficulties of the first years, some positive signs were seen by 1973 when the
league began to expand, and the Sports Illustrated featured Philadelphia Atoms goalkeeper
Bob Rigby on its cover.18 It had ensured a little spotlight for the NASL, but the forthcoming
years were even more successful. By the way, the Board of NASL initiated some rules
changes because soccer was still considered too European. They implemented a new offside
rule, a penalty shoot-out system similar to ice hockey after a game ended tied, a new point
system, and the clock that counted the game down to zero.19 In 1974, the league was
expanded with six new teams, and the average attendance began to grow steadily to nearly
eight thousand. CBS broadcasted the championship final as well, and it was the first televised
professional soccer game since 1968. Despite these successful attempts to gain popularity,
nothing was as effective as one single signing. The New York Cosmos signed Pelé with a
contract of $4.5 million for three years, and the NASL was resurrected from its near death.
The arrival of one of the greatest players of all time had changed the league's complete
perspective.

Pelé and the Cosmos

17
Soccer in America: A story of Marginalization, Andrei S. Markovits & Steven L. Hellerman, University of Miami
Law School, Institutional Repository, 1996, page: 245-246.
18
Soccer in a football world, „The story of America’s forgotten game”, David Wangerin, Temple University Press,
Philadelphia, 2006, page: 159.
19
Rock N’ Roll Soccer, „The short life and fast times of the North American Soccer League”, Ian Plenderleith,
Thomas Dunne Books, St.Martin Press, New York, 2014, page: 191-195.
 17

The appearance of Pelé brought immediate media attention to the league, and it seemed
like soccer was on the right path in the United States. Since the moment he signed for New
York Cosmos, the whole atmosphere of soccer had been altered positively. Pelé was bringing
attention and credibility to soccer in America. His presence helped the league in many
different aspects. Many people travelled to watch the Cosmos and Pelé playing, and the
television audience for soccer grew significantly. The regular attendance of the Cosmos’
games was 40,000 people. The arrival of Pelé also resulted in a good deal of television
contracts as the league managed to cooperate with CBS and ABC in favor of broadcasting
soccer games. By 1976, soccer was considered mainstream due to the positive media
attention and high attendance at the games.

In the following years, the Cosmos had the opportunity to sign other world-class players,
such as Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia, and Carlos Alberto, but these signings were
not accidental because the Cosmos were backed by Steve Ross, who was the CEO of Warner
Cooperation, one of the biggest media companies on the planet. These players granted rapid
success to the Cosmos as they won 5 league titles in 10 years and many tournament trophies.
As a result, the New York Cosmos dominated the league and the soccer in the U.S. due to
their squad being full of star players, and a serious crowd was behind the team. 20

Nevertheless, the league was not just about Pelé and the Cosmos because different teams
signed many other legendary soccer players. George Best, former Manchester United, moved
over from Europe to play for Los Angeles Aztecs and later for Fort Lauderdale. After Fort
Lauderdale had made his transfer, the Los Angeles Aztecs could gather the signature of the
Dutch star, Johan Cruyff, who was an instant success in the team’s performance and
attendance. He had spent two successive years in Los Angeles before moving to the
Washington Diplomats, where his presence had a massive impact on the team from
America's capital city. The Diplomats' average attendance was above 19,000 during the years
of Cruyff. 21

20
The Glorious life and painful death of the NASL, Ian Curtis, www.gritdaily.com, www.gritdaily.com/life-death-
nasl/

21
Rock N’ Roll Soccer, „The short life and fast times of the North American Soccer League”, Ian Plenderleith,
Thomas Dunne Books, St.Martin Press, New York, 2014, page: 227-234.
 18

As superstars appeared to play in the league, everything seemed fabulous, and the game
attracted more and more fans. It would have been easy to make the world’s best 11 by
picking players just from the NASL. Gordon Banks, Gerd Müller, Bobby Moore, and
Eusebio are just a few more players to be mentioned as NASL stars during the best time of
the league. The concept behind the success was quite evident. Signing world-class soccer
stars to generate revenue by increasing attendance in all stadiums and making great deals
with television companies. But was it as simple as to follow this pattern? The answer is not
really difficult. It was not.

The fall of NASL

Despite the flourishing of Cosmos, not all teams were supported by such wealthy backers
as Steve Ross. The problem was quite usual as always, money. Smaller teams could only sign
ageing and less effective players on overblown salaries, and their debts began to increase
very quickly. Furthermore, they were not capable of drawing big crowds to assure financial
stability somehow. It was also tough to find homegrown players in the squads because they
only focused on foreign players. Probably, it would have been a great idea to concentrate a
little on native-born talents in favor of rescuing the league instead of doing the American
way to import overseas soccer stars for huge salaries.

Concerning the television broadcast, the public viewing figures also remained low,
making television cooperation dissatisfied. Unfortunately, it resulted in ceased T.V. contracts
as ABC was pulled out first in the early 1980s, and then a few years later, other broadcasters
as well. In addition, the NASL launched an expansion policy in the hope of saving the league
as each newcomer had to pay a $3 million expansion fee, but it did not succeed as many
owners had no clue about the soccer industry. Instead of generating profit, every team was
losing money due to bad business strategy. By the early 1980s, 70% of the NASL revenue
was going straight to the player’s hands as salaries. It was completely unacceptable compared
to the far more profitable NFL, where only 40% of the revenue was salaries. The NASL was
unsustainable, and the growth was not notable enough to justify the league's existence. The
 19

league was running with a deficit of $30 million. At the same time, the NASL had a serious
conflict with the players union because players would have rather performed in the soon
becoming popular Major Indoor Soccer League instead of the falling league. Besides all the
above, the most severe recession in the country since World War II. started to emerge, which
generated high unemployment. The economy was going through a serious crisis which made
the conditions non-optimal.

By the middle of the decade, the situation of NASL was far worse than hopeless, and then
finally, it finished its operation in 1986. The league, which had brought professionals back to
the United States, died entirely helpless. However, even though the league is mentioned as a
failure, it has a legacy that cannot be forgotten. It is more than evident that the NASL had a
definite cultural impact as teams formed in big cities, creating fan communities. Soccer
became a popular sport, and great soccer stars left behind their footprints, which could have
helped the young generation fall in love with this beautiful game. The NASL also gave the
world, not just the United States, a great deal of innovation about organizing a league
containing mostly foreign players, which was similar to any significant soccer competition
nowadays. Last but not least, the NASL provided a lesson of what the future American
soccer leagues should avoid if they would like to survive.
 20

THE NEW ERA OF SOCCER

The 1994 World Cup and the promise of a pro league

The story of the new era began in 1988. Specifically, it was 4 July 1988 when the
powers that be at the Fedération Internationale de Football (FIFA) awarded the United States
the 1994 World Cup. After this remarkable decision, the Brazilian contingent told the
following during a press conference, “Taking the World Cup to the United States is like
taking the World Series to Brazil.’’ 22Probably, these words mirror how disappointed they
were, but everybody admitted that it was going to be an excellent opportunity for the United
States to boost the popularity of soccer in the country. The U.S. had great economic potential
and highly regarded infrastructure to host a tournament like this, but one crucial institution
was missing: a professional soccer league. It was the key element of FIFA’s decision as they
wanted the United States to create a top-tier professional league. It has to be mentioned that
the NASL just collapsed a few years earlier before the verdict, which probably left some bad
memories behind. However, the Americans still had almost six years to establish a league
previous to the World Cup. Two years after the World Cup was given to the United States, a
Los Angeles-based attorney named Alan Rothenberg replaced Werner Fricker as the head of
the United States Soccer Association. He immediately realized that creating a pro league
before the World Cup was not going to happen due to a lack of enthusiasm and interest to
invest. He indicated it to FIFA and assured them the best ever World Cup would be hosted.
He thought they should establish the league afterwards, hoping that they would build up
interest with the World Cup, which would be the catalyst for the launch of a new professional

22
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American soccer fandom”,Phil West, The overlook Press, New
York, 2017, page: 3.
 21

league. His idea definitely worked out, as he was the driving force behind one of the most
successful soccer World Cups ever. The 1994 World Cup was a unique tournament,
sensational and financially prosperous event that was able to help draw the attention of the
American public for a short time. Most of the games sold out, the television ratings were
high, and the media was very much interested, even though some weekly sports journals
completely ignored the World Cup. Some American players such as Alexi Lalas, Tony
Meola, and Cobi Jones became recognizable to the public at large. Everything seemed quite
glorious, but it only lasted until the final game of the World Cup and for a few more days,
when newspapers began not to write about soccer anymore. Rothenberg did not care much
about it because he created a great plan together with Mark Abbott, also a lawyer and the first
employee of MLS, to attract investors and operators to establish a strong league. They had a
significant idea about the organization of professional sports.

‘’ The modern business of professional sports is one where team owners are competitors on
the field and business partners off the field’’,23 as Abbott said. So the intention was more
vital than ever to launch a prominent soccer league.

The MLS is born

The MLS was officially formed in 1995 and made its national debut a year later with ten
teams. Cities and investors were key figures of the whole, but the league needed players. Tab
Ramos was the first-ever player signed by the league before any teams were announced, and
he hoped that he would encourage other players to a move. The first two teams were D.C.
United from Washington, and the New York/ New Jersey MetroStars, which Tab Ramos
chose to play for them. The league lured other well-known players, such as the Colombian
Carlos Valderrama, the Mexican Jorge Campos, the American international Brian McBride,
and Eric Wynalda, who became the first goalscorer in MLS. The league started its operation
with ten unusually named teams which were the following:

San Jose Clash- ''Clash'' refers to intense confrontation with close rivals, and the team hoped
to play like a scorpion: quick and lethal.

23
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American fandom, Phil West, The overlook press, New York,
2017, page: 6.
 22

Los Angeles Galaxy- Galaxy of Stars from Hollywood was the concept behind the team,
together with energy.

Colorado Rapids- the team from Denver which intended to be quick as rushing rivers in the
Rockies

Dallas Burn- "Burn" is a reference to oil from Texas and the hot sun.

Kansas City Wizard- The name is a connection with the popular musical The Wizard of Oz

Tampa Bay Mutiny- A weird cyber mutant on its logo without any local connection

Columbus Crew- ‘’Crew’’ refers to the hard-working class of Ohio intending to be a tough
team in the new league.

D.C. United- The only traditional football team name from the federal capital with an eagle
on its logo that symbolizes freedom and strength

New York Metrostars- The name refers to the status of the city as a metropolis

New England Revolution- A tribute to the crucial position in the American Revolutionary
War 24

The league’s main target was to attract young soccer fans and encourage the teams to
invest in youth soccer talents which unfortunately had not been a trend during the first two
occasions of running a professional soccer league in the United States. They did not want to
follow the business pattern of the NASL as they tried to learn the consequences of the failure
of the last professional soccer league. The MLS also adopted two notable changes of rules
which made soccer different from the rest of the world played it. First, the clocks counted
backwards from 45 minutes to 0, opposite the conventional method. Second, if the game was
finished at a draw after 90 minutes, a penalty shoot-out system was used to decide the
winner. The game was ''Americanized'' as usual concerning any sport of European origin. A
promise of a new professional soccer league turned into a reality as the new championship
began when San Jose Clash defeated D.C. United 1-0, in front of 31,000 fans at Spartan

24
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American fandom, Phil West, The overlook press, New York,
2017, page: 20-21.
 23

Stadium. 25 The broadcasting rights were bought by ESPN and ABC sports on a three-year
deal that included 35 games. The domination of D.C. defined the early years of the league.
United as they won three out of the first four seasons, and only the Chicago Fire could
manage to interrupt this series of success in 1998 as the team finished at the top of the league
even though they were a completely new club.

Furthermore, D.C. United was the first club that had a significant base behind the team. Two
supporter groups formed at the time when the capital city’s club was established. Matt
Mathai founded the Screaming Eagles, and the Bolivian-born Oscar Zambrano founded the
Barra Brava. 26These two groups aimed to create a raucous atmosphere in the stadium and
encourage other people in favor of joining one of the groups to be part of a soccer
community. Fans behind D.C. united had made MLS supporter culture born and was unique
at the time. Another significant group of supporters was the one from Ohio, behind the
Columbus Crew, where a strong community formed, which was remarkably devoted to its
local team. A new era of soccer had just begun in the United States as MLS was becoming
part of soccer lovers’ lives.

Initial Difficulties:

Despite success in the early stages and the expansion in 1998, the league faced financial
troubles and a decline in attendance due to several problems. Perhaps it was a good league,
but its survival was still in doubt after three years of operation. The league's low attendance
was more than evident because eight of the teams were playing in non-soccer specific
stadiums owned by American football teams. The capacity of these facilities was more than
60,000. The Columbus Crew was the only team with a soccer-specific stadium, which
opened in 1999, and became a historic stadium. Soccer specific stadiums seemed like one of
the proper patterns to follow in the hope of resolving problems.

25
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American fandom, Phil West, The overlook press, New York,
2017, page: 23-24.
26
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American fandom”, Phil West, The overlook press, New York,
2017, page: 30-31.
 24

Furthermore, the attempt to ‘’Americanize’’ the game was an enormous mistake that
alienated many soccer fans and failed to draw new fans. In the meantime, the U.S. men's
national team was eliminated in the first round of the 1998 World Cup, which also classified
the league in some aspects as the squad was made up of MLS players. After this unexpected
fiasco, many players left the league, which was a facial blow.

The financial loss of $600 million was gigantic. The Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami
Fusion franchises departed the league after both had been folded, even though an expansion
was initiated to gain interest. Soccer was a sorrowful business, and changes had to be
implemented as soon as possible to rescue the league. The MLS was in poor condition just
after the Millennium, and altering the whole organization was the only solution. Fortunately,
the league did not cease as the first two attempts of professional soccer league in the United
States.

The resurgence of the MLS

For survival, the operational board needed to implement several changes; otherwise,
soccer would be a forgotten sport in the U.S. First, the league's financial problems led
decision-makers to replace Commissioner Doug Logan with Don Garber to figure out a new
monetary plan.27 After a lengthy lawsuit between players and the league, a salary cap was
introduced to limit overspending of wages in favor of financial stability. Furthermore, the
MLS could not allow itself to continue playing with the ‘’Americanized’’ rules because the
rest of the world played by the internationally accepted rules. It would have been ridiculous
operating that way, and the league had already lost many fans due to the new laws of the
game. With this decision, they finally realized that soccer is a traditional sport and very
sensitive to any significant changes.

In the meantime, the 2002 World Cup was being held in South Korea and Japan, and the
United States managed to have an unexpected result as they finished among the last eight
after beating Portugal and Mexico. It helped boost the popularity of soccer again, which
27
Major League Soccer History: How MLS became a big business, Jael Rucker, 2021, www.one37pm.com
www.one37pm.com/sports/major-league-soccer-history
 25

resulted in higher attendances at games, such as in the MLS final a few months after the
World Cup, when the Los Angeles Galaxy won their first title in front of 61,000 spectators.
Soccer was back on the correct way in the United States after the successful performance of
the national team, and the implemented changes also positively supported transformation.
The first steps had been made to resurrect the league, but it was not everything as much
bigger novelties appeared soon.

The Flourishing of MLS

Positive changes impacted the league and soccer society in an appropriate fashion as the
MLS underwent an important transition to become an acknowledged competition. A
completely new concept defined soccer in the United States as they committed themselves to
creating a league based on homegrown talents. A few years later, the MLS started losing its
homegrown talents because prominent European clubs noticed the potential of young
American soccer players. For example, Manchester United signed Tim Howard for $4
million, De Marcus Beasley left Chicago Fire for a fee of $2.5 million to play in the Dutch
club, PSV Eindhoven, and the London-based Fulham transferred Clint Dempsey from the
New England Revolution. Fortunately, this trend is still defining the league as it started in the
middle of the 2000s, and American soccer players are preferred choices for clubs all over the
world, but especially in Europe. Recognizing the importance of native players was one of the
key elements to making MLS a successful brand and the American national team a powerful
opponent. 28

Selling of homegrown talents granted financial stability to the clubs, and they started to
look for other possible investments. Another aspect of renewing the league was the relevance
of soccer-specific stadiums. The Columbus Crew was the only team that disposed of a
suitable stadium, but between 2003 and 2008, another six clubs could manage to build
stadiums adequate for soccer. Significant funds ensured the base for soccer-specific
stadiums, and finally, most teams played in acceptable soccer venues. Construction of new
stadiums assured a completely new face of MLS as it was becoming an excellent looking

28
Long Range Goals, Major League Soccer, Beau Dure, Potomac Books, 2010, page 187-194.
 26

soccer league. Baseball and American football arenas could not provide soccer's deserved
atmosphere. Soccer had a new nature in the United States, and fans began to fall in love with
the game.

The new era of soccer was also defined by expansion as Real Salt Lake, Houston
Dynamo, and Toronto F.C., the first Canadian club, also joined the league in the middle of
the 2000s. During the same time, the MLS Reserve League was created in favor of providing
valuable playing times for non-starters. In addition, the soccer network was on the way to
building itself more extensive and more prominent in the interest of covering the whole
country. Late in the decade, the Portland Timbers, the Seattle Sounders, and the Vancouver
Whitecaps became members of the MLS, which emerged into a huge rivalry. These cities
were not far from each other, and they had a shared history dating back to NASL's era when
they started to hate each other. The most muscular tension occurred between Portland and
Seattle due to the pompous behavior of the Sounders fans. In addition, the Seattle fans had an
idea that they had invented fan support in the MLS, which was opposed by Portland fans, the
Timbers Army, and Vancouver fans. 29

The Pacific Northwest was always passionate about soccer. The three teams of this
region, which had a strong tradition, joined the league at almost the same time with the
identical names they had already used during the era of NASL. They did not have any doubt
concerning their names as they were proud of their roots. Enthusiasm and passion defined
fans of the teams from the region, which was a catalyst in part of the league's success.

The expansion of the MLS has not stopped since many new clubs joined the competition
during the 2000s. Nowadays, the league has 28 teams, and all of them are operating correctly
without any financial issues. Nashville, Austin, and Charlotte all own recently joined
franchises with significant fan bases, and St. Louis will be the next arrival in 2023. The
operational concept and financial stability have transformed the league into an attractive
business. More and more investors see the MLS as one of the most developing leagues
worldwide due to the remarkable changes that have created an identity for soccer in the

29
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American fandom”, Phil West, The overlook press, New York,
2017, page: 162-169.
 27

United States. All changes were notable, but probably the most significant one was the
Designated Player Rule in terms of quality.

The Designated Player Rule was created to raise the quality of play and helped bring
internationally acknowledged stars into the league. Furthermore, the rule generators believed
that the presence of designated players would bring more fans into the stadiums. They were
quite right about their beliefs. The rule made many possible transfers a reality despite the
strict salary cap. The first big name of the league was David Beckham, and his impact was
phenomenal in commercial and social aspects. His presence was the key to attracting more
people alongside his marketability as he brought a brand new audience to the MLS. In 2008,
just a year after Los Angeles Galaxy signed Beckham, the New York-based Red Bulls agreed
to a deal with the French superstar Thierry Henry. These two world-class players completely
changed the league's judgment, and the whole soccer world started to follow the MLS. They
helped develop the MLS to become a significant and recognized brand. In particular, the
average attendance was growing game by game all over the league's fields as everybody
wanted to see how soccer gods were playing. 30

The process of signing star players has not disappeared since, and it has become a trend.
David Villa, Didier Drogba, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Kaká, and
Gonzalo Higuain are just a few other stars worth mentioning who were part of this trend,
which has encouraged many young children to choose this beautiful sport.

The impact of designated players was inevitable concerning the league's development as
they had the most significant impact on the quality of play. Financial stability assured the
MLS to dream big and wilder, and at a certain point, the league started to grow. Soccer-
specific stadiums were essential in the operational process. However, the importance of
homegrown players was probably the supreme idea out of all in the interest of building a
fundamentally strong base. All changes after the initial difficulties were implemented in
favor of resurrecting soccer in the United States and building fandom that would keep the
league alive because fans are an essential element of this game. ''Without fans who pay at the
turnstile, football is nothing. Sometimes we are inclined to forget that.''31-as the legendary
30
The United States of Soccer, „MLS and the rise of American fandom”, Phil West, The overlook press, New York,
2017, page: 136-137. & 146-148.
31
Football without fans is nothing, https://www.supporters-direct.scot/football-without-fans-is-nothing/
 28

Celtic coach, Jock Stein, once said. The following story tells us why fans are everything
concerning soccer.

Save the Crew- the strength of fans.

In 2018, just a month before the end of the season, none of the Columbus Crew fans
knew if the team would continue to exist beyond 2018. The owner, Anthony Precourt,
intended to relocate the club from Columbus, Ohio, to Austin, Texas.

Precourt bought the club in 2013, and upon the takeover, he convinced the fans he would
not like to relocate the team, but he was lying. Even though he was a businessman from San
Francisco and rarely paid any attention to his own team playing, the fans believed him.

When the relocation announcement was published, the Crew fans were surprised and then
shocked. Nobody knew the reason behind Precourt’s intention, but soon it turned out that the
club was financially unstable, and their losses were enormous. None of them was accurate,
and the whole concept behind the relocation was based on lies from Precourt, but the fans
absolutely had no idea about it. Precourt did not have the intention to keep the Columbus-
based team in Ohio because he had the will to initiate an entirely new franchise in Austin. He
made a fatal mistake in that he did not count on the strength of the Crew fans. He had no clue
about his own team's supporters as he almost had never visited the city. Immediately after the
relocation announcement, a movement appeared by the fans called '' Save the Crew’’.

The people associated with Save the Crew were huge soccer fans, and the keyword
behind the organization was ‘’community’’. The centerpiece of their community was the
soccer team, which, in their opinion, never be understood by any businessman. As they
revealed, a community with strong roots cannot be sold, even though it is someone’s
intention.

The Crew fans and a local business organization, the Columbus Partnership, tried to
convince Precourt as they were offering millions in additional community sponsorship and an
offer to purchase the club. However, Precourt did not have any interest in this option. The
 29

fans did not understand why, but soon they figured out that it had been Precourt’s secret plan
and leaders had been misleading the supporters. Soon they also realized that Precourt’s
statement about the losses was an exaggeration, but they never became pessimistic as they
had a decisive aim, to rescue their team, to rescue their community. Failure was never an
option.

After establishing the Save the Crew movement, the organization stepped further because
it still needed the help of people in powerful positions. A local attorney, Mike DeWine,
helped delay Precourt’s plan as he invoked the ''Art Model Law'', which was passed into law
after the relocation of Cleveland Browns to Ohio. The law stated that teams that use public
resources in Ohio have to bestow a notice of six months if they intend to relocate and give
the possibility to local investors a chance to purchase the team. The state of Ohio sued MLS
and Precourt Sports Ventures due to the absence of a sale agreement. The lawsuit somehow
was dismissed, but Save the Crew did not give up their plan while they became more
determined to prove the strength of the community in Columbus. Their effort caught the eye
of Ohio AG.

The next step was the collection of a wide range of local businesses, from small shops to
large enterprises, in favor of creating a group of allies that stands behind the soccer team. It
was a significant step that the MLS could not ignore any longer, but besides it, there was
something else, the ticket pledge. They persuaded the people to commit to purchasing tickets
in the future in the interest of supporting an ownership group that did not exist before. The
initial target was to achieve having 10,000 season tickets holder, but they could manage to
get more than 12,000 multi-game ticket packages which established a robust base, and the
people behind the team became more passionate and more engaged.

On 12 October, Alex Fisher, the CEO of Columbus Partnership, published an

the Crew stayed in Ohio. Local businesses saved the Columbus Crew, but without the fans
and the Save the Crew organization, it would not have happened at all.

Save the Crew matters, after all. Their determined effort demonstrated that the power of a
community is mightier than the will of a tyrant man. The aspiration of local people proved
that there is nothing better than local ownership, which is a strong bridge between a club and
the community it is surrounded by. A reliable connection like this is a base of a
fundamentally powerful social organization. The Save the Crew movement is an example for
other fans worldwide, not just in the United States, that a professional team is the core of a
greater ecosystem that involves many parties. If a community is entirely passionate and
motivated about its target, anything is possible. 32

32
The remarkable story of the Columbus Crew and a group of fans who never believed they couldn’t save their
favorite team, Kim McCauley, 2018, www.sbnation.com
https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2018/11/13/18085660/save-the-crew-columbus-anthony-precourt
 31

CONCLUSION

Soccer in the United States had a long journey to become a major sport and had to face
many significant difficulties before it achieved its well-deserved status. The situation of this
game has always been determined by historical events that remarkably impacted its
popularity. Economic depressions, wars, and the lack of interest produced many obstacles
that soccer could not fight against due to the instability of the game in the U.S.

The first two attempts to create a professional league failed for several reasons. The
wrong business models behind these leagues could not ensure financial stability. The lack of
homegrown talents could not establish a fundamentally strong base as they entirely relied on
foreign players. They could not build powerful fan bases behind the teams except few
occasions, which were not enough to keep soccer alive. Salaries were too high while
revenues were too low compared to other professional leagues. Furthermore, they
headstrongly insisted on the concept of Americanization.

Americans desperately were looking for a solution to make soccer a popular sport, but
from time to time, they made the same mistakes until a certain point when significant
changes were implemented to set up a new concept. Finally, they realized the importance of
homegrown talents, which was crucial in gathering revenue and creating immerse options to
build up a successful national team. The introduction of the salary cap was another element
to institute financial stability. They wanted to avoid teams' departure and create the
possibility of further expansion. In addition, the concept of Americanization was eliminated
after they had realized that the most traditional game on the globe could not be changed as
 32

they wished; otherwise, they were losing more fans. But besides all the above, the
Designated Player Rule was the one that changed the quality of the game forever in the
United States and brought the fans back to the stadiums. Furthermore, the emergence of
world-class players created a completely new and positive atmosphere that started to
surround soccer as it became a recognized sport.

All in all, innovations were the critical factors to resurrecting soccer in the United States
and leading it on the appropriate way to become popular as a major sport. In this aspect,
innovations helped boost the spread of soccer in America, but recognizing that changes were
needed was the most crucial fact.
 33

REFERENCES

1. The United States of Soccer, ‘’MLS and the rise of American fandom’’, Phil West , The
Overlook Press, New York, NY, 2017
2. Long-Range Goals, Major League Soccer, Beau Dure, Potomac Books, 2010
3. Rock N’ Roll Soccer, “The short life and fast times of the North American Soccer
League’’, Ian Plenderleith, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin Press, New York, 2014
4. Soccer in a football world, ‘’The story of America’s forgotten game’’, David Wangerin,
Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2006
5. Soccer in America: A Story of Marginalization, Andrei S. Markovits & Steven L.
Hellerman, University of Miami Entertainment & Sport Law Review, University of Miami
Law School, 1996
6. The secret history of American soccer, Brian Phillips, 2010,
www.state.comhttps://slate.com/culture/2010/06/how-soccer-almost-became-a-major-
american-sport-in-the-1920s.html
7. Major League Soccer History: How MLS became a big business, Jael Rucker, 2021,
https://www.one37pm.com/sports/major-league-soccer-history
8. Save the Crew stopped a bad sports owner from relocating their team, and so you can
''The remarkable story of the Columbus Crew and a group of fans who never believed they
couldn't save their favorite team'', Kim McCauley, 2018, www.sbnation.com
https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2018/11/13/18085660/save-the-crew-columbus-
anthony-precourt
9. The U.S. National Team at the 1930 World Cup, Clemente Lisi, 2013,
www.ussoccerplayers.com
https://ussoccerplayers.com/2013/01/the-us-national-team-at-the-1930-world-cup.html
10. Makes record in soccer, ''Bethlehem sets Mark by winning double championship'', Special
to New York Times, 23 July 1916,
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/07/23/104237903.pdf
11. The origin of the NASL and America’s first soccer boom, Ian Curtis, www.gritdaily.com
www.gritdaily.com/nasl-soccer-origin/
12. Cheerleading: History & famous cheerleaders, Christopher Muscato, www.study.com
https://study.com/academy/lesson/cheerleading-history-famous-cheerleaders.html
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13. Football without fans is nothing, https://www.supporters-direct.scot/football-without-fans-