Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
In MLS circles, sometimes parts of the league’s history will be denoted as such: MLS 1.0, MLS 2.0 and MLS 3.0. In other words, the league’s history can be separated into three phases: the time from the league’s berth through its troubled early stages, David Beckham, major stabilization and initial expansion and the current era. In the past week, we’ve seen some of the dying vestiges of MLS 1.0 go by the wayside and the true arrival of MLS 3.0; i.e. the newest crop of expansion teams make major statements.
While some of the individual results from this weekend’s slate are interesting, because this league changes so dramatically from week to week, they are almost rendered irrelevant in a matter of days. What isn’t irrelevant however is watching MLS 3.0 truly begin if it hadn’t already, with everyone jumping on the bandwagon.
If MLS 1.0 is defined by the scramble to create a full-time league after the 1994 World Cup, and teams playing in oversized football stadiums, and MLS 2.0 is defined by aging stars as Designated Players plus soccer specific stadiums in far off suburbs (think FC Dallas in Frisco, Chicago Fire in Bridgeview, etc.), MLS 3.0 is defined by a different type of designated player (young, South American, creative), soccer specific stadiums in cities and new teams bringing their own identities to a league that was quite stale for a considerable period of time. This weekend, MLS 3.0, which started in 2015 when Orlando and NYCFC joined the league, truly took over, with the prospects of something even different to this on the horizon.
DC United started the week by breaking ground on Audi Field near Nationals Park in downtown, meaning at long last, they’ll desert the decrepit monument to a long departed era in RFK Stadium next year. DCU was one of the few remaining vestiges of MLS 1.0 left in the league, and their new stadium signals a major day for a club and a league that tried so hard to avoid the extended stay at RFK that DCU had. Minnesota United debuted on Friday, complete with its own unique culture and “promotion” to MLS, with its stadium scheduled to open next year in St. Paul. Orlando City on Sunday opened its new stadium complete with grass, a steep supporter’s section draped in purple and an atmosphere that was unique to them and them alone.
Finally, free-spending and high-reaching Atlanta United began their club’s history at sold out Bobby Dodd Stadium on the campus of Georgia Tech; a stadium that is the oldest football only stadium still standing in the country. And it was filled with 55,297 people draped in red and black (with a requisite gold touch) in an atmosphere that was almost eerie; the crowd was waiting for something to happen in almost near silence and erupted when Yamil Asad scored in the 25th minute. But Atlanta United represents something even a bit different than what happened in DC, Minnesota and Orlando; MLS went into a city for the first time in a long time with a real sense of risk, and it looks like their gamble has paid off big.
MLS has teams in cities where they have to (New York, LA, Chicago, DC, Boston, etc.) or special markets such as Portland, Orlando, Salt Lake City and others where there was a void to be filled just the right size for MLS’ niche. Atlanta has a pretty poor reputation as a pro sports town, though it has some decent soccer history. How this team would fare in a market dominated by college football and one where pro sports see plenty of empty seats was an open question. 55K+ at a stadium that isn’t almost ever that full is an accomplishment in of itself, but getting Atlanta outside of the soccer-loving part of the city to buy in like that was not something even Arthur Blank expected to happen so quickly. The proof of concept worked so well that ATLU became an Atlanta sports team in spirit and on the field in less than one game too (a jaw-droppingly bad collapse), and got Georgia and Georgia Tech fans to agree on something for once.
What these stadiums and new teams say about the league is that it has grown past the point of bedrock teams in major cities, and in cities where the team owns a special niche in the community and towards a place where they can expand into locations with risk. Looking towards cities like St. Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati among others shows the league is past the point of worrying about its health and can feel comfortable moving on into a new era, which DC, Orlando and Atlanta all proved this week.
How these teams perform on the pitch will tell its own tale in the weeks and months ahead, but this week had to feel like a victory lap for Don Garber, who steered the league away from the abyss and towards a point where he can say things such as the league will be the biggest in the world by 2022 and be serious. From breaking ground in Washington on Tuesday, to Portland on Friday, then Orlando and Atlanta on Sunday, this is MLS 3.0 in all of its glory, with more to come.
But 3.0 might be overshadowed and outlived by 4.0 as the league expands even further. Who could have ever guessed that a league that was 15 years ago on the precipice of total collapse would be at this stage, ever?
