The Times Takes to the Streets, Surveys Soccer Jerseys

News, or I guess really just a blog post, from the New York Times finds our New York Red Bulls sorely underrepresented in the city (or rather two of the five boroughs in the city) they happen to represent.

The unscientific survey went to a few choice New York neighborhoods - Brooklyn Heights, downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street and Zuccotti Park, Soho, the Village, Times Square and Inwood - and found one lonely Red Bulls jersey.

The winners? Barcelona. With Brazil coming in second and Real Madrid rounding out the top 3.

This isn't going to change a thing about the "we need the Cosmos because the Red Bulls have failed the New York market" but if there's one thing this (extremely) informal poll shows is that New York is very possibly the center of eurosnobbery.

Hell, there isn't even a United States jersey in the bunch.

If there's one hurdle MLS has to jump, its the notion that its inferior to the European leagues and therefore isn't worthy of attention. As true as that might be - I don't think anyone who knows anything about the sport would say the Prem or La Liga is on par with MLS - it doesn't mean MLS isn't worthy of your attention. The mentality seems especially pervasive in New York.

If those 10 guys (Barca won 6-4) sporting jerseys out of El Clasico are content supporting a team an ocean away, fine. But aside from multimillion dollar payrolls, full trophy cases, TV contracts that are destroying the league and looming bankruptcy (on the part of RM, anyway), there's no reason to support those teams. There's a perfectly good team right here, one a fan could really build a connection to. Just allow me to apologize on behalf of the MLS punditry for the league not living up to your faux elitist notions of what the sport should look like.