Soccer can find niche in America

SANDY — So at least we can conclude one thing about the Salt Lake area: It dresses up nicely whenever an all-star game comes around.

Sixteen years after the NBA brought its midseason showcase event to Utah — to popular reviews — Major League Soccer followed suit. On Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, the MLS All-Stars tied England's Everton FC 1-1 before losing in a shootout (4-3).

Still, everyone seemed to go home happy.

The house was packed, the noise constant. It definitely had an international atmosphere. At least for a day, people seemed soccer-crazy in Utah. All that's left to do now is add some hooligans, a little pub singing, a couple of "blimeys" and it's as good as merry old England, right?

"Fans," said MLS commissioner Don Garber, "want to see big events."

Clearly, Wednesday's event came off as well as league officials could have hoped. Every seat was sold. The All-Stars showed up nicely against a storied English club. If you didn't know better, you might figure Salt Lake for a soccer town. A soccer nation?

We'll have to get back to you on that.

With MLS now 14 years old, the question still remains: Is it working?

"I never would have expected the sport to grow the way it has," said Garber.

As has always been the case, soccer in America is a trail mix. On one hand, attendance is down 1,000 or so a game league-wide. But that's not surprising. So is almost every other sports league's attendance. It's the economy, stupid.

Regular-season attendance depends on the team and the game.

Then you look at the expansion (two new teams on the way) and certain huge crowds, which make you wonder: Is this thing catching on for good? The recent Seattle-Chelsea pairing drew 66,000. An upcoming Barcelona-Los Angeles match is expected to draw 80,000-90,000.

On one hand, you might say those games draw large crowds because of the big-name opposition. The Salt Lake Bees would sell out if the Yankees came to town. On the other hand, something is happening. It isn't necessarily that MLS is converting nonbelievers. It's that it's gaining among those who were already converted to the game, but not converted to MLS.

Preaching to the choir is always a good plan.