The human mind is drawn to dichotomies. Apples and oranges; night and day; Yankees vs. Red Sox. In MLS, few single local rivalries reach the fever pitch of other, longer standing grudge matches in American sports (with the probable exception of Seattle and Portland; any rivalry that elicits chants of “We eat children!” can’t be dismissed as a merely incipient grudge). But in terms of the overall structure of the league, divided between the Eastern and Western Conferences, which Conference reigns supreme?
The Western Powers
Three weeks into the season, it would appear that the Western Conference in MLS still holds the upper hand. MLS’ only team to take all 9 points on offer from their first three matches, FC Dallas, resides in the West. What’s more, they aren’t the only Western team with a strong record thus far; the team that sits top of the East, NYCFC, would only managed a tie for fourth place were they in the West. Further, the team that occupies the final playoff spot in the East, Toronto, (yes, of course it’s too early to be talking about actual playoff qualification) doesn’t even have a positive goal differential.
Recent history would also suggest that the West is where it’s at. The West—in the form of LA Galaxy—have won three of the last four MLS Cup Titles. The only team out of the East to lift the trophy in the recent past, Sporting Kansas City in 2013, winning on penalties over Real Salt Lake, don’t even reside in the East anymore. SKC switched to the West this season in order to accommodate expansion teams Orlando City and NYCFC. To find another Eastern Champion of MLS besides the now Western Conference Sporting KC, you’d need to go all the way back to 2008, when Columbus Crew defeated the Red Bulls in the MLS Cup Final (And the two years following, 2009 and 2010, both featured two Western teams in the Cup Final).
New Kids on the Block
On the face of it, with SKC—a recent champion, and a team coming off a playoff run last season—now residing in the West, it would seem that the rich are only getting richer, although that of course means stiffer competition in-conference for the Western teams with that wealth of talent. However, the East’s hope likely lies in their two newest teams, Orlando and NYC.
True, NYCFC’s conference-topping point total would be less impressive out West, but that doesn’t mean the new New Yorkers aren’t poised for a cup run. Were David Villa purely a goal-machine (though he can rightly be called that, too), NYC’s top-paid designated player might be less exciting for fans of his club. But he is so much more, as he’s proved with his movement and passing, showcased nicely in his club’s first-ever goal. With Frank Lampard set to return from, err, “loan” to Manchester City, and with Villa’s fellow Spanish World Cup Winner Xavi Hernandez rumored to be in the offing as well, NYCFC only looks to strengthen their squad that is already top of the East.
Although Orlando doesn’t have the financial firepower of NYCFC—whose bank roll, ownership, and even multipurpose stadium all beg the comparison, ’Yankees of the MLS’—don’t count out the new boys down South. With their own talismanic, designated player in midfield Kaka showing he still has one of the most dangerous free kicks in the game, Orlando are not without star power that can be converted to goals. Further, although Brek Shea has not been in the best form of late, he’s only 25, and has plenty of time left to rediscover that stride that took him to the top of FC Dallas’ team sheet, and into the EPL. Finally, Orlando have the cornerstone of many, perhaps every great franchise: a fantastic goalkeeper. Donovan Ricketts may not be in his prime as Shea is, but if you’re filling a list of the league’s top keepers, Ricketts still must be somewhere near the top.
At 37, in the goalie position, some might argue that Ricketts’ experience even outweighs whatever step he may have lost over the past few years; after all, it was in Edwin van der Sar’s final year at Manchester United, when he was 41, that he played arguably his very best season, leading his team to a Champion’s League Final, and an EPL title, earning himself the honor of the league’s best goalie. It was quite the swan song. While Ricketts may not have the bevy of talent in front of him that van der Sar did, look for Orlando, alongside NYCFC, to make a meaningful run at the playoffs this season—and perhaps even dethrone the West in the MLS Cup Final.