Personally I think that the MLS will be disappointed by the lack of interest after the World Cup. The World Cup has America excited because of national pride, and right now the country could use something that we all can agree on, something not in the slightest partisan. The World Cup is also a showcase of the greatest players in the world, the MLS is a tremendous downgrade in pure talent. Im sure right after the World Cup a few people will want to go see their local teams, especially in L.A. where Donovan plays, but after that I think people will get bored with it and go back to not really caring. I know I will. 

No....it didn't gain attention after the last world cup and it won't after this one either.

Probably not; I agree with your assessment.

Americans will be butthurt over losing so no.

Not a chance in Hell.
 
[edit] Still not a chance.

Didn't happen in 2002, certainly ain't gonna happen now

No and anyone who played remotely well in the WC and plays in MLS will probably go overseas like last time.

" Americans will be butthurt over losing so no. "

no bc usa alraedy lost.

No.
 
My very small interest in U.S. soccer lasted maybe 2 full games of the World Cup.  After the early goal in the Ghana game I decided my time would be better spent playing Cryostasis or DEFCON.  Just left the TV on so I could look up and check the score occasionally.  That's the extent of my interest in soccer and I'd be surprised if the general public was any greater.

Long term maybe not I guess it depends, the World Cup can really work for the domestic brand of a nation where soccer is not the dominant brand of football. It certainly worked that way with Australian soccer. In Germany 2006 Australia had not qualified in 30 years or so. But when we made it in by beating Argentina when we still were qualifying through the South American region it was a huge deal. Once we made it there we came back to beat Japan 3-1 in the dying stages of the game after being down 1-0. And we conducted ourselves pretty well against bigger world teams in Brazil and Croatia. Making it through to the final 16 to be robbed by eventual winners Italy. 
 
It was the perfect tournament to push that code of Football in our country. The A League really took a boost after that as former Socceroos started coming home to play after International and European league careers were ended and we started to gain marque international players looking for one more season or two in the twilight of their careers. Soccer in this country went from a National Soccer League that was broke and struggling to remain relevant to an aggressively expanding competition that it slowly but surely generating more interest in the local brand of the game which was in no small part because of the World Cup.

I hope so, but I bet not.

I think the US team earned much needed respect for the sport itself.  I'm a huge soccer fan but I have no interest in watching the MLS because it can't hold a candle to any of the high class European leagues.  The more international and better quality the teams get, the better the league will be and more I'll care.  So far new athletes still gravitate towards other sports more but it will even out eventually.

" Long term maybe not I guess it depends, the World Cup can really work for the domestic brand of a nation where soccer is not the dominant brand of football. It certainly worked that way with Australian soccer. In Germany 2006 Australia had not qualified in 30 years or so. But when we made it in by beating Argentina when we still were qualifying through the South American region it was a huge deal. Once we made it there we came back to beat Japan 3-1 in the dying stages of the game after being down 1-0. And we conducted ourselves pretty well against bigger world teams in Brazil and Croatia. Making it through to the final 16 to be robbed by eventual winners Italy.   It was the perfect tournament to push that code of Football in our country. The A League really took a boost after that as former Socceroos started coming home to play after International and European league careers were ended and we started to gain marque international players looking for one more season or two in the twilight of their careers. Soccer in this country went from a National Soccer League that was broke and struggling to remain relevant to an aggressively expanding competition that it slowly but surely generating more interest in the local brand of the game which was in no small part because of the World Cup. "

No, Americans don't liike sports they are not good at such as soccer & hockey.
Baseball, Basketball and NFL will always be the top sports in the US mainly because they can claim "World Champion" status.
 

" No, Americans don't liike sports they are not good at such as soccer & hockey.Baseball, Basketball and NFL will always be the top sports in the US mainly because they can claim "World Champion" status.  "

I think everyone, even though they probably won't, should take an interest in their hometown team if they are a fan of football/soccer. Here in Toronto when we joined the MLS people didn't think it would be that popular, but look at us now, we have the best attendance in the league (and I would say the best fanbase as well, riots and rain and we are still gonna have a packed crowd tonight). It started to raise the popularity of the sport in those who previously had no interest because the only time they could watch football locally is whenever the CMNT was losing to some random Central American team, or America was cheating us out of the NA Cup. Either way, if you love the sport, support it at its most basic levels at home.

Nope, just like it didn't in 2006 or 2002, or well, ever.

Like Simon Cowell said on that fat dickhead's show on ITV, soccer will never catch on in America because they have too many ad breaks and you can't really put as many adverts as an NFL game has onto a 90 minute game with only one official stoppage. Shame, really, because this tournament has done a lot, at least here in England, to make USA seem like a far more viable contender than they were years ago. I really wouldn't be surprised though if Landon Donovan becomes a much bigger presence in Nike's advertising though.

Every FIFA World Cup there is an interest spike in football (yes, not soccer, football) before begins to fade away after its conclusion. Somehow the event turns the otherwise disinterested individuals into excited little puppies wanting to know what happened to their team. 
 
I find this to be particually true in the US; many people ordinarily find the low scoring nature of soccer too boring for some reason. So while I'd like to think the sport and the MLS would get more attention after the World Cup, somehow I don't see this happening - I think even for the many passionate US football viewers, they would probably find more interest in seeing a good European soccer match than the MLS.
 

no

Yeah, I think the MLS will continue to fail at getting attention, which means it won't be televised, which means ratings and revenue won't go up, which means better players will not come to the states to play, which means the MLS will continue to fail at getting attention. Vicious cycle for the league. I like watching soccer, and if I lived in Seattle I would go to Sounders games since they actually have fan support and play in a nice stadium, but other than that it's hard to be interested in a bad league.
 
I mean honestly, when your league's "All-Star Team" plays their "All-Star Game" against ONE CLUB from the Premier League (usually not even a great one) and you can't even win most of the time? Who wants to see that? I'll stick with catching Chelsea in some late-night Champion's League games on ESPN2.

It's hard to get excited at US soccer.  The quality of players goes down, especially after seeing the best at the spectacle that is the world cup.

Soccer is shown on TV?...When did this happen?
 
And one of the reasons soccer isn't popular in the US is because you can't jam it full of commercials like other sports so the cable companies don't like supporting it.

Considering Donovan and Beckham, the only two players anybody knows in MLS, are on loan and probably won't come back..... no.

" I think everyone, even though they probably won't, should take an interest in their hometown team if they are a fan of football/soccer. Here in Toronto when we joined the MLS people didn't think it would be that popular, but look at us now, we have the best attendance in the league (and I would say the best fanbase as well, riots and rain and we are still gonna have a packed crowd tonight). It started to raise the popularity of the sport in those who previously had no interest because the only time they could watch football locally is whenever the CMNT was losing to some random Central American team, or America was cheating us out of the NA Cup. Either way, if you love the sport, support it at its most basic levels at home. "

" Yeah, I think the MLS will continue to fail at getting attention, which means it won't be televised, which means ratings and revenue won't go up, which means better players will not come to the states to play, which means the MLS will continue to fail at getting attention. Vicious cycle for the league. I like watching soccer, and if I lived in Seattle I would go to Sounders games since they actually have fan support and play in a nice stadium, but other than that it's hard to be interested in a bad league.  I mean honestly, when your league's "All-Star Team" plays their "All-Star Game" against ONE CLUB from the Premier League (usually not even a great one) and you can't even win most of the time? Who wants to see that? I'll stick with catching Chelsea in some late-night Champion's League games on ESPN2. "

Sadly no.  America only cares about soccer when the team is America.

Soccer won't catch on in the USA until they win a World Cup

" No....it didn't gain attention after the last world cup and it won't after this one either. "

No.  It might for a little bit, but generally we will go on continuing to not care about soccer.  We have football, baseball, and basketball.
 
I know a lot of people probably don't want to acknowledge this, but one of, if not the main reason why soccer is so popular is economics.  Soccer is cheap and most of the rest of the world is poor.  They by and large can't afford other sports(especially football) or not athletic enough to make the sport as enjoyable as it can be(like basketball), so they make due with what they have and that usually means soccer.

As an American: MLS fucking sucks. The Premier League should just be broadcasted to the US, which has better teams and players. Then maybe, some more people will care.

No, the sport is not appealing to American people (I like it more than most sports, probably because I played it).

" @AgentJ:  My bad, your`re right, I forgot that the Sounders play out of the Seahawks stadium. Toronto plays out of a stadium that is I believe slightly under 21,000 so don`t be talking smack just because their stadium is bigger, same with LA.   Secondly, all FO`s do that trick with the tickets over attendance, don`t think Seattle is exempt, scalpers and other douches buy lots and then don`t sell enough so seats go empty.   Thirdly, I do agree with you about the the ratings and overall feeling towards football in America, and that the MLS, while the overall level of play is lower, is still on the rise and teams like Toronto and Seattle are leading the way being only a couple years into existence (although some have done better in less time than others, as hard as it is for me to except).   And lastly, dont be talking shit about us having 2000 below average with multiple problems that night including; scalpers having a large amount of seats, the riots going on downtown, transit lines south of a certain point being canceled, and it being absolute shit weather. I`d say all that considered, 18,000 was a good turnout. Oh and for the clarification YES WE HAVE BETTER FANS THAN YOU (that had no basis, and I`m bias, but I still believe that fact :P) "

" No, the sport is not appealing to American people (I like it more than most sports, probably because I played it). "

No, namely because America has a mad case of ADD.  People in America would cheer on a fucking asteroid hitting the Earth if they could hype it up, overcommercialize it, and then find a way to sit in front of a TV with beers and chips for it.

" Nope, just like it didn't in 2006 or 2002, or well, ever. "

no, because its one thing to watch great players, from all over the world playing for their country's pride, and it's another thing, watching players who are okay at playing pro soccer.
also in order for the US to earn interest in soccer, they need to change their attitude from,  its a fun social activity for little kids to play until they're old enough to play a contact sport, to an actual sport that kids have a strong passion for playing.

One thing that keeps popping up in this thread is "we have none of the best teams/players so why bother?" 
 
I have european friends who cheer for 2nd/ 3rd tier league clubs, and it's usually because that's where they are from, not skill level, and they have enough devotion to stick with them through thick or thin. North Americans are like this with other sports but not usually soccer. I'm excited to live near Vancouver, where the Whitecaps are becoming an MLS team next year and will watch their games and support them for sure. It's about pride in your team, whether they're good or not. Whether soccer will get big (which I believe it is, slowly is gaining attraction in Canada/America) is questionable but just by supporting a soccer team anywhere in the world may mean a teen joins a league or a parent signs their kid up for a soccer club. This will lead to it gaining popularity, and lead to MLS becoming a better league. The  Europeans would hate that :)

Football is gradually growing in popularity over in the states, and the world cup will probably help it a little bit but it isn't going to be a huge spike or anything like that. It'll be a slightly higher than usual increase to the uptake.

Probably not. All of the players that have name recognition on the US national team predominantly play overseas.

Nope. We just don't really care about soccer. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

No.

" One thing that keeps popping up in this thread is "we have none of the best teams/players so why bother?"  I have european friends who cheer for 2nd/ 3rd tier league clubs, and it's usually because that's where they are from, not skill level, and they have enough devotion to stick with them through thick or thin. North Americans are like this with other sports but not usually soccer. I'm excited to live near Vancouver, where the Whitecaps are becoming an MLS team next year and will watch their games and support them for sure. It's about pride in your team, whether they're good or not. Whether soccer will get big (which I believe it is, slowly is gaining attraction in Canada/America) is questionable but just by supporting a soccer team anywhere in the world may mean a teen joins a league or a parent signs their kid up for a soccer club. This will lead to it gaining popularity, and lead to MLS becoming a better league. The  Europeans would hate that :) "

" @AgentJ:  FIrst of all, I don't know what game you were watching but I remember that one and that was a packed house (cept that side you saw is notorious for lame fans, see below). Also, I don't know what idiots you've been talking or listening to, but all the supporters I know, myself included, have great respect for Seattle, and talk about how great their organization, fans, and team is and how much of an impact they've made in such a small amount of time in the standings compared to us.    

 Secondly no, its not that easy to expand a stadium that is owned by the city and not the team. It's up to city counselors should they want to expand the stadium, and with all the debt and craziness going on I don't see that happening soon. Also we HAVE been selling out our stadium consistently, I our average is within 400 seats of the capacity, then yes I think we are doing pretty well. Not to mention we have a terrible scalper problem, worse than a lot of places but everyone has some form of scalpers so that point is slightly moot.   

 Thirdly, American Football isn't the biggest here and we don't have that luxury of a big stadium with grass and some form of a roof that shields some amount of the fans from the elements already built. We have a purely open stadium, so don't bitch about weather being a non-factor.    

 Fourth, while a large amount do stand and march to the stadium, and I would say the percentages rather than the numbers would be comparable, there are a bunch of "prawn seats" who just like to sit, drink their beer, and say they like the 'atmosphere' when they do shit all to contribute to it. In fact, I remember a couple of games where beer was not sold because of incidents by part-time fans causing shit. We did just fine for attendance, thank you.    

 In conclusion, I don't know why you seem to hate on Toronto FC and the fans so much, maybe a couple of douchebags spoiled it for you but other than just regular loyalties I've never seen anyone say anything bad about Seattle. And if you are ever in Toronto on an away game, feel free to call me up and continue this argument over a cold one. In my opinion, these two teams are the ones (along with Philly) that are gonna perhaps show the rest of America how they can have a great atmosphere and love of Football year round, rather than every 4 years. It might take awhile, but seeing as the league itself is barely 15 years or so old, I think we should give it time to grow. Its been doing a lot better than in the 90s, and it will continue to do so. "

1. Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. Wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to give this post a quality reply.
   If you've got a whole group of fans that leaves after half time, then thats a problem. There are... ways to watch that game again. I suggest you think about doing so. I appreciate your sentiments about Seattle and the team, but they don't reflect what went on in both Seattle and Toronto-specific threads in the week before that game last year. Having things thrown at our players both times sealed it as far as I'm concerned. I know Toronto throws things at lots of players on lots of teams, but both times we've been there Ljungberg has been targeted. Oh, and lets not forget fans throwing beer at one of our owners at that first game.There is certainly no love lost in this relationship. 
2. I don't know how things work in Toronto, Canada, or even in this specific instance, but when there was a demand for new stadiums in Seattle, new stadiums arrived.
   Here's the thing about sell-outs: they imply that the stadium is sold out. If the average is 400 below capacity, then that means that if half of the games were sold out, then in half the games they were 800 people short. Don't get me wrong; Toronto has supported their team far better than nearly every other team in the league, but logistically they aren't "consistently" selling out every game. 
3. When Qwest Field was built, it was built with Soccer in mind. The plaque built into the stadium when it was finished says "Soccer/Football Stadium". Thats why the seats are so close to the field. It wasn't built to be a second fiddle to American Football. It was built to be for both. While no one expected that even after opening the lower bowl there would still be huge demand for tickets (capping season tickets at more than the capacity of any other stadium in the league holds) the hope always was that someday a normal match could fill up the whole building. Lets face it; with an owner like Paul Allen, the building would have been built with or without the Seahawks. And it's been filled to capacity for soccer matches at least three times (Mexico vs Canada, Sounders vs Chelsea, Sounders vs Barcelona). Thats 67000 seats. The building isn't just there to host American Football.
4. The March to the Match was a tradition started by the Sounders, where fans gather at a park a few blocks from the stadium and march together, scarves above their head for every game. That's unique to Seattle (though I hear Chivas started doing something similar this year. Hooray for originality). I've seen the chants and cheers from Toronto, and they're fine and well, but I've also seen the violence that Toronto fans have caused both at home and away. Look up toronto FC fans on youtube and you'll find straight up hooliganism, especially in Columbus. It's ridiculous. And its not just the "part time fans" as you like to put it, unless thats what you call your supporters section. I've seen the threats to put netting in front of them. Thats bad. 
5. If I ever get the oppourtunity to go to an away game in Toronto (heading down to LA this weekend for the game) I will be sure to message you, if both of us are still around at that point. I agree that Toronto will continue to play an important role in the growth of the sport on the continent, but Vancouver and (ugh) Portland in 2011 are going to be huge (first real MLS derby). Again, Seattle's goal is to someday fill up to the rafters for an MLS game. at the rate the fanbase is growing (increased capacity nearly 25 percent from 2009 to 2010) maybe that isn't too far away. 

as a self proclaimed soccer fan living in the US, i still dont care about MLS.... but im more interested in international tournaments than any league... i'll even watch a pointless "friendly" match if its international soccer