MLS Begins Tonight - My Pledge

The 16th MLS season kicks off tonight with the Seattle Sounders hosting the LA Galaxy. Surprisingly, Landon Donovan still had time to send me an email urging me to watch the game. That guy is amazing!

A new MLS season is upon us, Americanisti. My friend Landon Donovan and I would like you to pledge to watch tonight's game with a buddy. Pledge your time tonight and win an MLS t-shirt! That said, I would personally like to pledge more MLS viewing and blog posting. Usually I am intrigued by our league for a fleeting moment, then hone back in on European football. But this year, since I have faithful readers to keep me in check, I pledge to watch more MLS and post about the league regularly. Call me out if I'm not doing this, friends.

Now, here are a few reasons you should be excited about the new MLS Season:

Rival expansion teams have joined the league, creating derbies unknown to the MLS. The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps, regional rivals amongst one another and the Seattle Sounders, will play their inaugural MLS seasons this year! I, for one, am pumped to see these Cascadia Cup participants do battle. For more rivalries, check out this link.

JP Dellacamera has left his post at ESPN. This double-edged sword announcement was welcome news for MLS viewers. The positive: Adrian Healy will take over for the blathering Dellacamera at ESPN. The negative: Dellacamera has moved to FSC. Burn!

Thierry Henry is "so New York" this season. He takes the train to the stadium, he trounces around the Village buying new threads, he eats at the trendiest spots...

Oh no, he's too New York!

USMNT legend Kasey Keller will hang up his gloves and boots at the end of the season. It will be emotional for all, especially me. "I love you Kasey," is what I repeatedly screamed in 2006 when I got to see Keller's Borussia Mönchengladbach square off against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Even though he turned around a few times in fright, he knew my feelings were true. Lets all cheer for this hero and hope he goes out on top!

The MLS playoffs have been expanded, giving teams like the Kansas City Wizards (I mean Sporting Kansas City) a chance to vie for the cup. This hotly contested move by the league will allow for 10 out of the 18 MLS teams to be in the playoffs...simple mathematics tell us that's over half the league. Why can't the league winner be the team who tops the table? There could be cup playoffs on top of that, right? Get a clue MLS.

We could be in for some serious summer signings after the European season ends. Tremendous rumors including players like Nicolas Anelka and Miroslav Klose have emerged and could come to a head in places like New York and LA.

Enjoy the beginning of the season MLS fans! I'll be watching!