The Supporters Sing, MLS Listens

SEATTLE -- It's common knowledge that soccer fans are a bit of a different breed. They care less about comfort and more about spectacle. The sight of a whole section of supporters singing, waiving enormous flags and lighting flares would be shocking at Yankee Stadium or Heinz Field, yet it's expected at soccer venues around the world and is becoming relatively common in MLS. That passion also affects change -- executives know it's not a good idea to upset these people.

More so than any other American sports league, MLS has embraced that relationship. While fans elsewhere struggle with nonsense like the BCS, personal seat licenses and Daniel Snyder, MLS supporters have driven the league's evolution (speaking out against gimmicks like the shootout), have worked directly with clubs on ticketing and marketing and enjoy an annual audience with the commissioner that is unimaginable in any other league.

On Saturday morning at Qwest Field, MLS Commissioner Don Garber met with several hundred fans from around the country at the annual Supporters Summit. Garber and Seattle Sounders minority owner Drew Carey took questions from the floor for nearly an hour in a candid exchange that must be the only event of its kind in American professional sports.

Garber called it "my favorite event of MLS Cup weekend" and confirmed the importance of stadium atmosphere by confirming that the league is considering abandoning the championship game's neutral site format and is looking for ways to reward the higher-seeded team with home-field advantage for the final.

"We're thinking about moving the MLS Cup from a neutral site," Garber said, conceding there are "challenges with that." He said he met with the league's corporate partners earlier Saturday morning and highlighted their importance to the fans assembled at Qwest. "They need to have time to do all the marketing programs that justify all the rights fees that they pay us," he said.

In addition, with just a week to prepare for the final, arranging an event like the Summit would be nearly impossible as well. "How would you be able to get your hotel rooms, your plane flights in advance? How would you market it," Garber asked.

Nevertheless, the appeal of a home-field atmosphere at MLS Cup, combined with the opportunity to offer another reward for regular season excellence in a league that offers far too few, has important people talking. One solution might be to shift the normal MLS Cup week activities to the All-Star break. "I hope we can have an All-Star game that matters more to people, maybe we end up getting the top four clubs in the world and alternating them over a 10-year period," Garber said. "So our celebration and all of our activities can happen over the All-Star game."

The thought of an extended summer event, as opposed to the current wind and cold of Seattle, is appealing, although Garber (pictured, right, with Drew Carey) was careful to stress that there are myriad factors that go into even the smallest decisions and that fans must remain patient. He used the effort to get MLS players on the cover of the 'FIFA 10' video game as an example, citing the extended negotiations with Wal-Mart that were required to stock their shelves with a video game that featured Cuauhtemoc Blanco and his Best Buy-sponsored Chicago Fire jersey on its cover.

Many of the typical topics were discussed at the Summit: Improving the quality of play, expansion, adherence to the FIFA calendar, concessions, discounts and logistical support for organized fan groups, among others.

But it was the moments of improvisation, honesty and unscripted exchange that highlighted the unique nature of the event. Garber, when questioned about MLS officiating, said he felt "glee" when first seeing Thierry Henry's handball against Ireland because it proved refereeing controversy occurs at the highest levels and "not just in MLS." Carey, when responding to a New England fan's complaint that Gillette Stadium has no Revolution signage or branding like Qwest does for the Sounders, stepped forward and said, "I never liked Tom Brady. I never liked him. I hope the TV camera's are running. I never liked you, Tom!" Garber seemed shocked when a fan asked about the league's philanthropic initiatives: "Is this a plant?"

There was booing and grumbling at times, but there was dialogue, and there was the sense that Garber wasn't in spin mode. He was honest and forthcoming about the difficulties facing the league, where he thinks things can improve and why he has no interest in getting rid of the conference setup (he thinks winning a conference title is an important milestone for a team that should be preserved). And he faced the barrage with good humor and genuine appreciation for the role fans play in supporting the league. Fans may be frustrated with certain things about the league, but the fact that they can tell the commissioner to his face, get a reasonable answer and not get bullied by a bodyguard in the process demonstrates how much other American sports organizations can learn from MLS.