Finally, Someone Else Blinks

After threatening to sell his team to another market, Dave Checketts and Real Salt Lake got their stadium plan approved and will be staying in Utah. Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but it's good to see MLS take a hard line on something and actually win for a change. When San Jose relocated to Houston before the 2006 season, it seemed like either San Jose officials didn't take the Earthquakes' threats seriously (which is different than not taking the threat of earthquakes seriously), or they just didn't care.

As near as I can tell, three things are different this time around. First of all, you have the San Jose situation, which sent the message that MLS and its owners are serious when they say they're not afraid to take action if they can't get the circumstances they need to be successful. Second, you've got a single owner in Checketts instead of the fifth of five teams operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, with all the force of personality that comes with it. And finally, you've got David Beckham.

Wait, did I just say Beckham kept it Real in Salt Lake? In part, sure. Part of the Beckham effect is that more and more people outside the traditional soccer community are taking the game at least a little more seriously. Someone who couldn't pick Mehdi Ballouchy out of a police lineup can look at this and ask their local government official why they don't want Beckham to come to their town. I'm not saying it's the prime factor, but it certainly is part of the equation.

Add this to the litany of reasons why this might finally be the year soccer reaches some kind of tipping point, with the biggest two pieces being the Adidas deal from last year and the TV deals this season.