The Next MLS Team is...

8 Vote

According to philly.com it will be Philadelphia welcomed into the MLS fold as the league's 16th team.  In recent months the run in for determining which city would be selected to become the 16th team really came down to two cities, Philadelphia and St. Louis.  The Philadelphia bid received a huge boost when Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell announced that the state would provide $47 million in funding for a soccer specific stadium to built in the nearby city of Chester, PA.  The new stadium will have a capacity of 18,500 and be situated next to the Delaware River.  It seems Philadelphia now has strong ownership and a stadium deal which seemingly has given them the edge over St. Louis.

One group of supporters who are no doubt thrilled by the news are the Philadelphia supporters group known as "The Sons of Ben."  Recently the SoB have had international coverage of their group in such magazines as FourFourTwo and a recent blog article found in the United Kingdom's Guardian written by Steven Wells.  Mr. Wells does a nice job covering the passion of the SoB even though they never had a team.  In fact the SoB could be seen at RFK Stadium for MLS Cup 2007 with a strong contingent rivaling the two teams on the pitch, Houston and New England, and the group of DC United supporters.

With fan interest of this sort I believe it can only be a very very good thing for the league to place a team in Philadelphia.  The SoB have already traveled to games at DC United and the New York Red Bulls in order to boo those teams.  The addition of Philadelphia will now give these passionate fans something to really get behind.  Games at RFK and the being built Red Bull park should become real barn burners as the stands will not only have fans supporting the home team but also the away side when Philadelphia come to play.

Toronto FC fans took the lead last season in MLS in showing support both at home and on the road.  With a fan base already in place in Philadelphia I would have to think that that fact also played into the awarding of a franchise to Philadelphia.  The first Toronto and Philadelphia match could be an all time classic, in the stands if not on the field.

So with San Jose Earthquakes rejoining the league this season and Seattle confirmed for 2009 it appears that Philadelphia will enter the fold soon.  With 16 teams further expansion may not happen all that quickly.  I say let the 16 teams build and grow a bit before expanding any further.  If the fan support however continues to grow the league may get further interest in investors wanting a franchise.  So who's to say, I for one am happy for Philadelphia and hopefully my Pittsburgh Riverhounds get drawn against them in a US Open Cup match, now that would be fun with a capital F-U Philly!

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