During an interview with renowned Sports Illustrated soccer columnist Grant Wahl, MLS commissioner Don Garber stated that St. Louis, Missouri, now stands as an ideal location for an MLS expansion team, a sentiment that has been voiced by city residents since the conception of the league.

At last week's MLS Superdraft in Baltimore, Maryland, Garber sat down with Wahl for an interview that covered a large array of topics, the most interesting of which was that St. Louis could finally be in the running to host an MLS team. As someone who spent most of his life in St. Louis, with deep rooted ties to the soccer community, this news was beyond exciting. Exciting not just because of my personal love for the sport, but also because it's a move seen as long overdue. 

When examining some of the major soccer hotspots in the United States, St. Louis is bound to be mentioned, especially with the departure of the St. Louis Rams football team to Los Angeles, California. Not only does it currently possess an enormous community that craves the sport, but it also has an unbelievably dense history with the world's most popular athletic pastime.

During the 1940's, St. Louis was home to two amateur powerhouses: St. Louis Simpkins-Ford and St. Louis McMahon (now know as St. Louis Kutis S.C.). In 1948 and 1950, Simpkins-Ford won the National Challenge Cup, which is better known today as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Squad members for these Championship seasons included five members of the 1950 FIFA World Cup team that famously beat tournament favorites, England, 1-0. They consisted of Robert "Bob" Annis (DF), Frank Borghi (GK) - who is widely credited as the main reason the U.S. won the game, due to his almost inhuman performance in goal - Charlie Colombo (MF), Gino Pariani (FW), and Frank "Pee Wee" Wallace (FW). Representing McMahon in the same match was Harry Keough (DF), who is probably the most well known of the six. It should also be mentioned that all six are members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. 

The next notable faction of St. Louis to mention after these two amateur powerhouses and group of legendary U.S. National Team members is the St. Louis Stars, who competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968-1977. During this period, the Stars posted excellent league results, and were runner-ups during the 1972 playoffs. This was the first of the new outdoor teams to emerge from the earlier amateur leagues.

After the Stars relocated to the city of Anaheim in 1978, redesigning themselves as the California Surf, St. Louis was without an outdoor team for over 30 years, a period which gave birth to three professional indoor teams: the Steamers, the Ambush, and the Storm. The Steamers were easily the most popular of the three, competing in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979-1988, drawing attendance numbers that rivaled those of the St. Louis Blues hockey team. 

Despite the popularity of indoor soccer in St. Louis, the city desired another outdoor professional team to stand behind; and their wish was granted when St. Louis businessman Jeff Cooper founded the St. Louis Athletica in 2009 and A.C. St. Louis in 2010. The Athletica competed in the now-defunct Women's Professional Soccer, with a squad that included U.S. Women's National Team members Hope Solo and Lori Chalupny, a native of St. Louis. The team competed during the 2009 season, before folding during May 2010 of their second season due to the removal of funds from investors. A.C. St. Louis, who competed in a temporary league of the NASL, suffered the same fate in January 2011. 

The new outdoor teams were short-lived, but soon replaced in 2014 when St. Louis F.C. was formed. The club competes in the United Soccer League (USL), and is affiliated with the Chicago Fire of the MLS. They finished the 2015 season with a record of 8-9-11. during its inaugural season, the team enjoyed fantastic fan support, especially from its official supporters group, the St. Louligans. 

Even with this multitude of professional soccer history, St. Louis is also home to two famous college programs: St. Louis University and SIU Edwardsville. St. Louis University, better known as SLU, rose as a force to be reckoned with under the management of Harry Keough, who started in 1967 and retired in 1982, winning five National Championships (1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973) and posting an overall record of 213-50-23. SIUE enjoyed considerable success under coach Bob Guelker, who led them to a Division II Championship in 1972, and a Division I Championship in 1979. 

The city's soccer traditions also extend to the youth and high school level, where club teams St. Louis Scott Gallagher, Lou Fusz Soccer Club, and JB Marine Soccer Club have been extremely successful on a regional and national level. In regards to high school soccer, St. Louis is home to some of the most competitive leagues in the country, as well as the country's winningest high school boys coach, Terry Michler, of Christian Brother High School, who has run the program for 45 seasons and posted over 900 wins.

The city is also home to the second largest population of Bosnians outside of Bosnia, which is quite evident in the large number of participants in the city's soccer community. Their influence on soccer in the city is strong, in fact, that two international friendlies for the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team were played in St. Louis. The first took place against Argentina in 2013, and the second against Ivory Coast in 2014.

So with all of this in mind, an MLS team in St. Louis is long overdue. The soccer culture in the city is vast and treasured and has always remained strong. The departure of the Rams was no doubt a controversial and heartbreaking ordeal, yet it does present a silver lining. Financially, it is now possible to build a team, and there is zero doubt that such a move will be successful. The city has produced so many great talents, such as Mike Sorber, Pat Noonan, Jack Jewsbury, Matt Pickens, Vedad Ibisevic, Brad Davis, Will Bruin, Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman, and Tim Ream, to name a few. As a part of such a long and storied community, one should hope that Garber, and the rest of the MLS, are finally ready to recognize St. Louis as a prime location for a well-established, well-financed, and well-supported soccer team.