5 reasons we’ll be watching MLS in the future

#2 For The Derbies and Rivalries

New York City FC supporters.

Regardless of whether or not they are week-to-week followers of the league in question, there are certain derbies and rivalries that attract any football fan. The likes of Fenerbache vs. Galatasaray, Boca Juniors vs. River Plate or Rangers vs. Celtic. These matches are a spectacle regardless of what happens on the pitch. Their history and folklore make them watchable.

MLS is only just over 30 years old and only Colombus Crew, Colorado Rapids, DC United, Los Angeles Galaxy and New England Revolution remain in the same form in which they entered the inaugural season back in 1996. There hasn’t been an awful lot of time for storied rivalries to develop.

With that said, the return of a second team to Los Angeles for 2018, in the form of Los Angeles FC, means that the league now has local derbies in each of its two primary markets. Putting marketing clout behind Los Angeles FC vs. Los Angeles Galaxy and New York City FC vs. New York Red Bulls could, with a few years of work, create attractive events out of those fixtures.

Football is built on such rivalries. In a neighborhood, a town or city showing itself superior to its neighbor out on the pitch. Feeding into that tribal element and promoting it's few genuine local derbies would be certain to get more eyes on MLS.