Can rivalries be 'created?'

One of the greatest things about soccer is the rivalries... feuds like Rangers-Celtic and Milan-Inter that surpass anything American sports have to offer. MLS has its share, as well. There's no love lost between New York and D.C. United, and the hatred San Jose fans have toward Los Angeles is nearly unmatched in U.S.A. professional sports.

On the other hand, there's the Rocky Mountain Cup. Put in place a few years ago when Real Salt Lake entered the league, this 'competition' pits them against the Colorado Rapids, their geographic neighbors some 400 miles away. And new for this year is a fabricated rivalry between Columbus and Toronto. (Maybe call it the "Suck Cup?")

Seattle, when we enter the league, will have no natural rivalries, with the closest teams geographically about 12 hours of driving away. The former USL rivals of the Sounders, Vancouver and Portland, don't have a realistic chance of entering MLS for at least 5 to 8 years. So would it be better to create a rivalry shortly after entering the league, which would provide some boost to fan support and interest, or wait and see if something develops naturally?

Australian soccer players are all zombies

Tomorrow we'll have a post with real, actual on-topic content. We promise.

(The zombie in front plays for the Central Coast Mariners, which is like Seattle Mariners, who play across from Qwest Field, where Seattle MLS will play. ON-TOPIC.)

Northwest's team should look south

The Beckham's and Blanco's may attract all the headlines, but it's becoming clear that one of the best ways to build a solid MLS side for cheap (the cheap part is necessary, given the stringent salary cap currently in place) is through South America.

Ahndray Rocha, a young Brazilian signed today by FC Dallas, is the latest young talent to join the league. Dallas already had the Columbian hotshot Juan Carlos Toja. Columbus managed to avoid being a huge suck-fest thanks to the midfield play of Guillermo Barros Schelotto (from Argentina). Real Salt Lake (who WERE actually a huge suck-fest) was given a huge late-season boost by the signings of Javier Morales and Matias Mantilla (also Argentina). And DC United rolled to the best regular season record in MLS largely because they have like 8 talented South Americans on their roster.

While all the talk is around the current Sounders Seattle MLS could call upon, and the potential designated players like Shunsuke Nakamura that get soccer fans drooling, it would be wise for Adrian Hanauer to take note of all the good, cheap talented South Americans that are available.

Whatever our uniforms are like...

...it won't be as bad as the original MLS uniforms in 1996.

The National Team: Coming to a Stadium Near You?

If you liked what you saw in the US Mens National Team's thrilling 2-2 draw with Mexico last night, you could be in luck. There's a good chance that one of the group stage World Cup Qualifiers is played in Qwest Field sometime this fall.

Seattle is one of a number of cities being considered to host a game (the others are Columbus, L.A., Dallas, D.C., Chicago and Denver, out of which 3 will be chosen.) Logic and fairness dictates that one game will be held west of the Rockies... but L.A. is already hosting a qualifier in June! So Seattle would seem to be a front-runner to host a game (at Qwest, obviously). Our guesses for the other 2? D.C. and Denver.

Keep in mind, though, that the USMNT does need to beat either Barbados or Dominica in June just to advance to the group stage. Fortunately, though, the gulf in talent between the U.S. and either of these two teams is wider than the Gulf of Mexico separating the countries geographically. Keep your fingers crossed...

(Original source here)

Call it an 'unfriendly'

ESPN2 and Univision, 9:00 ET (6:00 PT)

Want to watch a big game that people in more than one country care about?

Tune into the somewhat annual USA-Mexico match Wednesday night. Nothing official will be on the line, but that doesn't matter when these two teams face off. For those who don't know, the U.S. and Mexico teams (or at least their fans) absolutely hate each other, making this one of the top rivalries in international soccer.

Mexico, ranked 15th in the world, are probably in slightly better form than the United States (currently 20th). But Mexico haven't won in the last 9 games they've played in the U.S., and this contest will be held just across the border in Houston. It's definitely one worth watching.

(And if you do, make sure to check out the spanish-language broadcast. Even if you can't understand a word they're saying, it's still supremely entertaining.)