GOING UP
25 years of MLS is a wonderful
milestone and it’s great to see the
league celebrate its history of the past
quarter of a decade. Better yet is the
focus on MLS before David Beckham
crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Hopefully
MLS continues to celebrate throughout
the season and remembers its roots
accordingly.GOING DOWN
The son of beloved actor Tom Hanks is
an unlikely lightning rod in the LAFC-
LA Galaxy rivalry, but that’s what Colin
Hanks has become. Hanks Jr tweeted
his love for Robbie Keane back in the
Irishman’s days at the Galaxy, but now
he’s wearing the LAFC kit at New York
Fashion Week...GOING UP
GOING DOWN
David BekhamColin Hankscapture the spirit of celebration?
Well...not really. It was all a bit plain and
simple – dull, frankly – with little special to
write home about. Certainly, there are no
2020 shirts to go out of your way to buy
unless you’re a supporter of one of the
clubs. It’s hard to imagine any pop culture
icon donning one of the 2020 shirts and
raising the profile of the sport, the league
and whichever club it was to a new height.
That should be MLS’ goal.
Admittedly, the LA FC and D.C. United
kits are pretty good, and different to how
they looked last season – which is an
improvement in both cases. But the LA
Galaxy home strip is boring, the Real Salt
Lake jersey is an eye sore and the Houston
Dynamo’s offering is no better.
Having DeAndre Hopkins – the Houston
Texans wide receiver – model it was a step
in the right direction, an attempt to make
the kit stand out from the crowd and add
some glamour from another sport, but on
the whole it feels like a missed opportunity
from the league. 25 years is something to
shout about, but these kits will go out with
a whimper – not remembered for anything
special in what is a special year.
THE UGLY
Nashville, Tennessee is a wonderful place.
It’s where Elvis Presley-style rock ‘n roll was
born and there is so much history running
through its streets that it’s a must-visit for
anyone heading to the United States.
With that being said, it’s not somewhere to
go out your way to visit if you’re a football
fan. The city has a team introduced into
MLS for 2020 and they’ve got everything a
club joining the successful league needs –
almost. They’ve got a coach, players, a club
crest, a kit and a strong population base
from which to attract supporters. What’s
missing? A stadium.
It’s not so much missing as up-in-the-air
but that’s far from an ideal situation weeks
before the start of the club’s first season.
A lawsuit was filed against Nashville SC to
prevent work on a new stadium on the site
of the Nashville Fairgrounds, throwing a
huge spanner into the works.
A bespoke, 27.500-
seat stadium was planned – indeed, it was
one of the major reasons Nashville was
granted an MLS franchise – but the Save
our Fairgrounds campaign is fighting hard
against it. Due to open in 2022, the club’s
ownership group have warned the team
could fold if they don’t get permission to
build the planned complex.
The situation threatens to get uglier and
more tied up in legal paperwork, while
football fans in Nashville are left with the
future of their new club hanging in the
balance. On the pitch, it shouldn’t impact
the players too much – their job remains
the same – but it seemed as if MLS had
left these issues behind. Stadiums housing
MLS clubs and MLS clubs alone have
been a major factor in the growth of the
league – and it’s acceptance in the wider
football world – and affairs such as this are
reminders of the bad old days.MLS preview photos courtesy of MLS Soccer, CSA, ICI PhotosOPPOSITE PAGE TOP:
Javier Hernandez
TOP:
Nashville SC
ABOVE:
The new 2020 TFC KitDID YOU (^) KN
OW?
Javier Hernandez, also kno
“Ch wn^ as^
icharito,” was (^) born on June
Gu^1 ,^1988 in^
adalajara, Mexico. He was bo
a fam rn^ into^
ily of football players, (^) as hi
and s^ father^
grandfather both (^) played fo
Mexi r^ the^
can national team. Javier's f
was nic ather^
knamed “Chicharo,” or (^) pea,
for his
green (^) eyes.