The standard of play has been poor since the inception of the league. But as an American, I've always viewed it philosophically. It was important to use the momentum of World Cup 1994 and establish a viable league. Almost 20 years on, it's more than viable. It's been a massive success, really. Each club averages around 18K fans per match....I pulled that number out of my ass, but it's about right....many if not most of the clubs have their own stadiums, sponsorship, youth programs, scouting, etc., all the things that seemed impossible when I was growing up.
I did my part and went to see New England Revolution a few times over the first few seasons. But I was already hooked on Villa, and the quality of MLS was so poor in comparison, I just ended up staying away. It doesn't help that they play 40 minutes away from Boston. And trying to create atmosphere with 15,000 people in a 65,000 seat stadium is kind of a depressing pursuit.
If they built a small stadium in Boston or nearby, I'd be there every week.
Even so, the concentration of talent will always be in Europe, and MLS will always be either just a producer of the occasional player who can make it in Europe, or the playground of washed up superstars.
How excited can you get about a league where that is the reality?