A kid walks home from middle school, and the big bully calls him, “FATSO!!!” The kid runs home crying.
The next day, deja vu.
It keeps happening until the kid finally decides that he doesn’t give a rat’s rump about what the big bully thinks; he is, after all, a big bully.
That’s how MLS needs to treat articles like the one published through Deadspin today. It was probably the most blatant “Don’t Watch MLS” article you will ever see on such a mass appeal website. Its points varied from valid to utterly stereotypical to just plain old dumb. The point of this opinion piece isn’t to pore over it with a fine-toothed comb, or to even direct people to read it.
Though honestly, many MLS writers might be the very types to suggest reading a book you disagree with, such that you would expand your horizons. Just as long as it isn’t any writing that disagrees with your soccer religion of choice, namely MLS.
Deadspin is a progressively hip sports blog, but some of their biggest series base from the point of trying to piss people off. You ever read Drew Magary’s, “Why Your <insert team name> Sucks,” NFL series? He goes through and runs through every stereotype, scandal, and potential irritant that dogs the fans of each NFL team before the new season. It’s the type of thing you should ignore if you don’t have a sense of humor.
The author of yesterday’s article just did the same thing with MLS, except it wasn’t teams, it was the league. It’s an incendiary hit article meant to provoke anywhere from laughter to anger.
Which brings me to the entire point – get over it, MLS writers.
For awhile, soccer has been an awesome sporting opportunity for aspiring writers and/or voice personalities. It has been underrepresented on the mainstream outlets until the last calendar year. Thus the market for writing of a professional quality has been there, and blogs left and right were hatched because of it. Heck, this is one right here.
MLS has enjoyed this bevy of underground journalists. It has basically corralled a stable of loyal writers through access not often granted in the Big 4 sports in America. It is admirable, and gives MLS fans down-to-earth content that other sports rarely attain. However, the attention and access that can be given to we journalists and bloggers can lead us to becoming too comfortable, too friendly, and too defensive about the league at times.
We writers can become quite defensive about MLS. The reaction to the article published today was typical, looking to discredit and/or attack the author.
In fact, it could very well be time to celebrate. Deadspin thought enough of MLS to go all Celebrity Roast on it. Congratulations.
