David Who?

When David Beckham secured his extended stay with AC Milan earlier this month many people questioned whether Major League Soccer could survive without him. The answer is a simple and resounding yes. Those who question the future of MLS and regularly scoff at its standard are usually those who have more often than not never watched a game of the USA's premier soccer league. At a grassroot level the sport has been huge in the States for years, at a professional level it continues to grow and the departure of it's headline player is not going to change that.

The fourteenth MLS season began last night as the league's newest team (but one of US Soccer's most known names) Seattle Sounders hosted the New York Red Bulls. Over 32,500 fans headed to the Q-West Field in downtown Seattle and were rewarded with an impressive 3-0 victory to the Sounders. With over 22,000 season tickets Seattle have already proved a major addition to the MLS despite only playing one match so far, and they follow in a line of sensible expansions by the league.

Aside from Seattle, four other clubs have joined the league since 2005 and all four are amongst the most supported in the MLS. Admittedly an element of novelty of having a new soccer team in the city can help swell the attendances, but credit also has to go to those at the top for recognising potential markets for their sport in Salt Lake, Houston, and Toronto, not to mention the need for a team that gathers the support of the Mexican and Hispanic communities of California, in the form of Chivas USA. Projections for the season ahead suggest that average MLS attendances could move above those enjoyed by the NHL and NBA over the course of 2009, David Beckham's involvement or non-involvement won't skew those figures.