The 2015 MLS All-Star Game is quickly approaching on July 29, 2015. The superstars of MLS will square off head-to-head against Tottenham Spurs in Denver, Colorado. The idea is brilliant by MLS to bring in top international clubs to play the best players that play in the United States and Canada. It is a great experience for the fans and truly helps bring the “Worlds Game” closer to home.
However, does this game really measure the best-of-the-best that play in MLS or is it just a group of guys playing together against an international powerhouse? Although the game is a blast for players and fans alike, there are no real implications for playing in the game. Sure it is nice to be able to say you played in an All-Star game at the end of a player's career, but it does nothing to help the present case of a player or his club.
The move MLS should take is to play an East-West showdown, instead of playing a powerhouse international club, would not only give the fans an intense type of rivalry game that would actually have some incentive to it. There are possible incentives that could be put in place to positively affect the MLS All-Star game and all clubs.
MLS could do exactly what Major League Baseball does with their All-Star game in the sense of the winning division receives home-field advantage in the playoffs. Now in the case of MLS the implication would be that the winning division would play host of the championship game instead of the team who had the best regular season record. This would make the players play harder for a chance to help their club later down the road. It adds the aspect for the fans of clubs who are postseason eligible to see a meaningful game that could also benefit their club in the grander scheme of the season.
Commerce City, Colorado has been blessed with the opportunity to host the 2015 MLS All-Star game. For a player, such as Drew Moor and Sam Cronin, it is an absolute thrill to be able to play at your home stadium and in front of home fans in an All-Star game. It also brings in revenue to different cities and a bigger soccer draw to communities and teams who may not have the fire of the game yet. A possibility for MLS would be to award the MVP of the All-Star game the opportunity to play the next All-Star game in their home city. For example, if Columbus forward Kei Kamara were to win the MVP award, it would then bring the 2016 All-Star game to Columbus. That would give the players an added incentive to play for their club and for their city to give the fans the experience to see the best players in MLS.
There are many possibilities that MLS could explore. The two listed ideas above could be the best possible if MLS wanted to move to an East-West showdown. This would bring both for the players and spectators a different atmosphere and a more competitive feel to the game.