2011 MLS Expansions announced

The past week has finally seen the announcement of the 2 expansion franchises to begin MLS play in the 2011 season. Vancouver, BC's franchise was announced first, and today Portland, Oregon was also granted a franchise. After last night's debut, I'm willing to bet that the Seattle Sounders expansion will prove itself a brilliant move for the league, but THREE teams in the Pacific Northwest within 2 years? I worry that these teams are going to cut into each other's potential fanbases somewhat, and that it may have been better to grant a franchise to St. Louis, which is the historical hometown of American soccer and would have made for a more balanced map of the league... Also, adding 3 teams to the Western Conference probably means that the conferences will need to be balanced. There are currently 8 teams in the Western Conference (Seattle FC, Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids, and San Jose Earthquakes) and 7 in the Eastern Conference (Red Bull New York, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Kansas City Wizards, Toronto FC, DC United, and New England Revolution). Next year the Philadelphia expansion team will restore balance to the conferences, but in 2011 2 more teams in the Pacific Northwest will probably mean that we will see both Houston and Dallas shift to the Eastern Conference.

On the other hand, maybe this will be one of the best moves MLS has made to date: the United Soccer League teams in Vancouver and Portland both have strong followings already, which may provide a solid fanbase for the new MLS teams (which may or may not be promotions of the current USL teams) despite their proximity. Furthermore, one of the biggest criticisms of the US as a soccer scene is the geographic factor...the distances between cities are so great that it is often difficult and expensive for fans to travel to away games to support their club, meaning the atmosphere at a game can't compete with the European scene, where fans routinely travel to away games in numbers significant enough to make them a real factor in their opponents' home stadiums. As wonderful as it is that many soccer matches are now regularly broadcast on television for viewers nationwide to tune in, it is undeniable that to properly appreciate the beautiful game, you should be there as it's happening. Having teams clustered in cities close enough that it is easy for fans to travel creates potentially thrilling rivalries, and could be good for breeding dedicated new fans. Time will tell...