No one is going to argue that the MLS waiver draft is a sexy part of the off-season. The league, and especially Seattle, is still not recovered from the MLS Cup. Then Tuesday brought the exciting expansion draft as two new franchises grow the league in 2017. So even in an active year for the waiver draft, it isn’t a marquee event of its own week. This edition, though, might have been the saddest of MLS draft events.
MLS is perpetually trying to prove itself by signing star players, battling other American sports for media coverage and comparing itself against leagues around the world that've been around since the turn of the 20th century. This year’s MLS Cup brought together a near perfect matchup on paper, and the television numbers responded accordingly.
The citizens of Seattle are celebrating the Sounders' triumphant victory over Toronto FC in the MLS Cup final Saturday. This is Seattle's first MLS Cup win, and the party is going strong.
For one trolley driver in the Sounders' victory parade, the party was going a little too strong.
The journey of a new MLS franchise is a unique path. Most major American sports leagues very rarely expand, while around the world clubs are typically a century old or start out, domestically, at the lowest level. However, in the world of MLS, the creation of a roster ready for the season-opener is a series of hoops and hurdles. Tuesday marked a quick burst of roster depth for both Minnesota United FC and Atlanta United through the MLS Expansion Draft.
Seattle failed to register a single shot on target throughout the duration of 120 tense minutes in Toronto at the 2016 MLS Cup final. However, with Stefan Frei in goal, getting a shot on frame from open play simply wasn’t necessary.
Rest in peace Carolina RailHawks. Rest in peace NASL (yet again). At a press conference on Tuesday, December 6th, RailHawks owner Steve Malik announced his vision for the club that has been building for nearly a year.
The Carolina RailHawks have been a staple in the North Carolina region for the past decade — they’ve provided the closest thing to top level soccer in the area along with a unique brand. The Raleigh-Durham region is a hotbed for youth development and collegiate soccer, continuously feeding the RailHawks roster and academies.