What is it that we love about this sport? Why is it that everything else pales in comparison? Or am I the only one that feels that way?

Once you let it into your soul, soccer can do strange things. However, looking at some of the creeping concrete and sparse crowds and the even uglier appearance of the numbers on paper in black and white have we over-estimated the popularity of the sport? Or is MLS just a victim of bad timing?

I grew up as the typical US suburban brat, with the good fortune of enough time on my hands to ‘waste’ on following sports. The NFL was it for pro sports in South Florida back then, and the Hurricanes football team was not fighting for national championships, it was fighting to stay alive. I had to get my kick from the few games that aired on television or radio and from the daily pages of the sports section.

This was the era of the Perfect Season, so the NFL was already the sports king in South Florida. It was also an era when most Major League Baseball teams would hold their spring training down here so it was easy to understand how I began to follow that sport. I remember poring through the box scores on the agate page to see how Reggie Smith and Ron Cey did the day before – and dragging my mom to 7-11 to grab the first copy of Who’s Who in Baseball so I could find out who the next breakout stars would be.

Even though the NBA was having the insult of a tape-delayed championship, I was still a big fan even before Magic and Larry arrived on the scene. Even the NHL had some games broadcast on our local PBS station – the same outlet I first witnessed soccer’s best in action. They used to broadcast Star Soccer with highlights of the English First Division and Soccer Made in Germany, witnessing the dramatic move of Kevin Keegan from Liverpool to Hamburg first hand – even though most of the world I lived in did not seem to care.

I first became aware of soccer a few years earlier. I do not recall exactly when. It was probably around the time the NASL’s Washington Darts packed up, moved to the Orange Bowl, and renamed themselves the Miami Gatos. I can only guess that it was in one of my searches through the tiny print that I noticed – and assuredly almost instantly forgot.

In 1974, the Gatos led by Trinidad striker Steve David actually made it to the final, and followed with a semifinal appearance the next season. However, judging from attendance I was not the only fan following from afar. The team moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1977 and history was made. If you did not live it, it is almost impossible to explain. Some other areas of the country probably felt the earth move a bit earlier – with the epicenter set on Randall’s Island in 1975 when Pele suited up for the Cosmos.

It did not happen right away, but it was a bit tsunami-like with the attention and attendance climbing around the country. The wave hit South Florida head on. There were kids, and expats in the end zones, with yuppies and different looking people with funny accents sitting next to each other near midfield – and every one of them had a smile on their face.

For all of you people who love listening to Ray Hudson as a commentator or a coach, you should have seen him play. With that near-indecipherable accent and long blonde hair and an infectious joy with the ball at his feet. And he was only one of many. First, there was Banks, then Muller and Cubillas, Figueroa. From Best to Bonvallet. And with one of the best promoters the game has ever had in head coach Ron Newman, it was love at first sight.

Watching the game in person locked it into your heart and watching it – when possible – on the television seemed to make it even more real. I remember hopping into my buddy’s mom’s VW bus to Lockhart. After the game started, it did not take long until we were all sprinting down under the stands with other kids, kicking crumpled up newspapers into make believe goals. Biking madly to the park after school to try to duplicate Gerd Zimmerman’s crunching blasts, or George Best’s butt trap. Those were the days.

And then they were gone.

With an emptiness that I did not even realize the dimensions of, it was back to the American standards of baseball, basketball, football and (until John Ziegler banished them to the cable-hinterlands) hockey. With cable and the invaluable world of Spanish television, I was able to get some soccer satisfaction, but the Shot Heard Round the World sent the US to Italia 90 re-ignited the ache and the thrill of hosting the world in 1994 made me believe that soccer’s time had finally come.

The thrill of broadcasting in front of a packed stadium in the MLS opener strengthened my belief. Soccer can survive and will thrive in the future. However, has the economy and the Beckham-fiasco and perhaps a bit of buyers-remorse for some newbies locked the sport onto a plateau of sorts?

For me, it’s the only sport that matters. March Madness came and went. I couldn’t care less. Dwyane Wade led the Heat to the playoffs, and you can forget the old saying of watching the last two minutes. I could not even be bothered to watch the highlights. Super Bowl? Super snore. World Series? Do they still play that?

I have to admit my disillusionment is not just because of soccer’s success, but also because of mistakes made by the other sports. Steroids, Strikes, Sleaze. I pray soccer will be able to avoid those pitfalls.

The relatively unsullied passion of college football still holds a part of my heart but soccer is king. However, the actual numbers from fans who have the opportunity to see these MLS games in person show a disturbing trend. You cannot compare the current attendance with the average for all of last year. MLS crowds tend to rise significantly when school gets out. To get a better comparison you have to look at the same period, year to year.

For the most part, it is ugly. Three clubs (Toronto, New England and Kansas City) are about where they were last year. Two clubs have increased attendance (Chivas USA and Columbus). The remaining nine teams have seen drops in attendance, and some significantly huge. The LA Galaxy, DC United, Chicago and Dallas have all seen crowds plummet by about 5,000 a game. Colorado, New York, Salt Lake, San Jose and Houston have also taken a hit.

Is this a sign of an impending soccer apocalypse? I don’t think so. Ironically, it’s because of the roots set during NASL’s heyday that have survived through the good and bad times. For all of the mistakes that MLS has made over the years, it has survived long enough to cause those roots to send out new shoots.

Successful soccer communities from the old days are now lining up to get on the bandwagon. From Toronto to Seattle, and on to Portland, Vancouver and perhaps Montreal. I have some doubts about Philadelphia, partly due to location and partly to the demise of not one, but two NASL franchises. I still hope the rabid corps of SoB’s can overcome those obstacles to make the Union a roaring success.

Are there kids nowadays that are racing their Razrs to the park to show off their Jewsbury-like cross-field blasts or try to imitate the latest from De Ro? Or are they too insulated away from the pro game in their comfortable cocoons of club soccer?

Whether it is a case of marketing to Yuppies over soccer moms, too much vanilla and not enough flavor, locating in urban centers over suburban campgrounds or just a speed bump on the way to Nirvana – the reasons do not obscure the fact that until MLS can develop enough fans that put soccer first, it will always be in danger.

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