My Revs

As a resident of New England, I have been a New England Revolution fan since 1996, the year the MLS was formed. Since then, I have watched them all the way to their League Cup final just to watch them collapse four times. In 2007 however, I watched my team take home the U.S. Open Cup as their first and only championship trophy in their 13 year existence. The Revolution have been the only team in MLS history to televise every one of their league games which has improved New England's soccer fanbase. The New England Revolution is one of the elite clubs in Major League Soccer that is owned by the current owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft. It seems that once the Patriots started winning, then so did the Revolution. However, the Patriots know how to win championships whereas the Revolution are still searching for the promiseland of becoming MLS Cup Champions. Players like captain Taylor Twellman can lead this team to becoming championship caliber.

"GOALASO" into the US

Over the past quarter century, soccer in the United States has grown among the youth of our country. Soccer is listed as the most popular recreational sport for boys and girls across the nation since the now defunct North American Soccer League thrived from 1967 to 1984. It grew popular due to a sports marketing strategy that is still used today. This league brought in professional players from foreign countries to popularize the sport in the United States. The two major athletes brought in were Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer. Since then, the other sports leagues in our country (Nationall Football League, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball) have received a much stronger fanbase than that of the sport of soccer. In 1996, the MLS (Major League Soccer) formed and tried to surge soccer in the U.S. It did not start to grow popularity until the 2002 World Cup with the men's national team making the quarterfinals by beating powerhouse Portugal. Then in 2004, international soccer fans watched the top prospect in U.S. soccer history with 14 year old Freddy Adu. Prior to 2004, most teams played in NFL stadiums throughout the season. Now, different teams have constructed "Soccer-specific stadiums" that have seating for less than a football stadium but are only used for MLS games or national games during World Cup Qualification. The latest addition to Major League Soccer to aid in making soccer a popular fan sport in the U.S. was signing English soccer player David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Since the signing, there have been sellout crowds in Los Angeles and whereever the Galaxy play. The league has always been looking ahead towards expanding to different markets with new franchises. Seattle, Washington has been awarded a franchise for 2009 to have 15 teams in the league. The commissioner of the league Don Garber is hoping for a 16th team for the 2009 season.