Which rule was he having trouble with, don't touch the ball with your hand or don't kick the shit outta that guy?
A generation ago, where were they going to watch the sport to develop and keep that interest going through adulthood? There was nothing even close to the level of coverage of the EPL, Champion's League, Euro, World Cup, etc. Of course they only did it in youth soccer as they had no other outlets available. That isn't true these days. Now, I see the kids in my son's youth clubs and tournaments wearing jerseys of players, which didn't happen 5 years ago.
It doesn't have to be "the sport" to be a solidly followed league. It's undeniably getting better quality play and more money infused into the league. 15 years ago, they nearly folded. Now, they can pay for a guy who's plays for the Spanish national team right now. I don't see why it's outside the realm of possibility that it continues to improve. It does need a good TV deal, though.
Soccer is here to stay and with the growing Hispanic population, it's only going to grow. That said, MLS is never going to be higher than a AAA soccer league, if that. Just from my 10 week coaching experiment with it, your traditional, suburban parents want their kids to play it because it they view it as safe and AYSO has advertised it as stress-free, fun, non cut-throat.
Kansas City? Salt Lake City? St. Louis would sell out every game, too, if MLS figures out that it's a hotbed of soccer there.
I will say, with the rate of growth MLS is trying to sustain I cannot understand how St. Louis doesn't have a team. Makes zero sense to me. Zero.
That's good for you. The Melungeon Mafia was about to get a call... You ever heard of the Mullins Boys Maulers? Yeah. You don't want to either. I know you were joking.