It's Time For A Media Revolution!

The lack of media coverage for soccer in America, more specifically MLS, is astounding. Despite the cries from the loyalists for more coverage, news sources insist there isn't a large enough base to warrant such claims. It seems to me that their lack of effort in the situation is ultimately what has contributed to soccer's "underground" reputation for so long in this country.

Take for example the ongoing transfer saga of MLS and New England Revolution star Taylor Twellman. A third bid from Preston North End was rejected, and multiple news sources including the San Jose Mercury News, Washington Post and North Jersey Herald had beaten out the Boston Globe and Boston Herald to reporting the story. It wasn't a matter of minutes or hours, as in most news stories, but rather three days! I’ve been told that because the NFL franchise, New England Patriots, participation in the Super Bowl, coverage has shifted to almost exclusively football. Bullshit! There are two ways I see this; one being that they’re understaffed if they can’t do their job in releasing timely news articles, and two, the Patriots haven’t been in the Super Bowl for the past few years, what’s the excuse then?

In the last year or so, multiple personalities have emerged onto the American soccer news scene, mostly in the form of blogs and podcasts, and many of the reporters having backgrounds in journalism. There is an untold cause and effect relationship here that is clear as day if you take a second to look. Some of the most highly supported MLS markets (Toronto, Houston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles/Bay Area, and New York/New Jersey) have all had a major player in the blog scene. Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle, Steven Goff of the Washington Post, Ives Galarcep, formerly of the North Jersey Herald, and many others have been huge in giving the league’s fans the news we deserve. Going back to Twellman, Glenn Davis had featured Taylor on his radio show only about an hour after the third bid was rejected!

Now I wouldn't be so peeved if they had been making an solid effort up to this point, but the fact of the matter is that while major MLS market's local papers, as mentioned above, evolve and change, there are still areas (New England, Kansas City, and New York) that aren't accepting the sport as a legitimate outlet for stories and are falling behind.

So I encourage you, the MLS fan, to write to your local papers and suggest for more coverage. Demand that you, the reader, be taken more seriously and at least get an article out in a decent time frame. Hell, why rely on the newspapers and not create your own outlet for major MLS stories? Drastic change in the media's presentation of soccer needs to be made, and if they're not going to make the effort, we die-hards needs to put the same passion we show for our teams into the league. It's time we band together and show the elitists that frown upon us that we're here and demand attention!