As the 2015 MLS All-Star Game was played Wednesday night, Major League Soccer closes the book on the first half of its 20th season. In the first 20 years of existence, MLS has certainly grown from just a domestic 10-team league into a respected league across the world.

However, how does the league rank among the world’s best? Sure, MLS is not a big four league across the world like the EPL, La Liga or Bundesliga. No rational MLS fan or commentator would try to argue otherwise. However, to say that MLS is insignificant or, as some detractors may put, “terrible soccer” is simply neglecting the growth of the beautiful game as well as MLS in the United States. 

But, this article is not to explain how MLS is a top ten league or how it isn’t. This article is about why, in reality, it truly does not matter where MLS ranks outside of Internet forums.

Soccer is one of the few sports that can live up to the moniker bigger than a game. In MLS, this was clearly evident when a founding member of the Sons of Ben, a Philadelphia Union supporters group, passed away suddenly. (Dave Zeitlin wrote a longer piece on the matter, which can be read here)

After the founding member’s death, supporters groups from across the league paid tribute to their fellow fan, with banners across the league as well as donations to help defray the cost of the funeral. The soccer community, not just in the United States, but across the world, is rivaled by none.

Despite of this caring community, there are pockets that continually pit league versus league, specifically MLS, in attempt to discredit the league. “Eurosnobs or Euro snobbery” is detractors from MLS as most of them simply refuse to watch it simply because MLS is not European and thus, the soccer cannot be as good because of this. With Euro snobbery, this pits fan against fan despite the fact that, as fans, we are all watching the same game we love: soccer.

Most rankings of leagues have a model but any model can be modified to give an outcome that the researcher wants. There are models that rank MLS anywhere from the seventh best league in the world to 49th in the world. On the surface, it gives MLS fans comfort/distress to see rankings of the league and belief that the play as well as status of the league is improving/decreasing. But, do fans really need rankings to say that Major League Soccer’s overall play is improving, when most regular viewers could say the same based on eye test alone? The answer is absolutely not. On eye test alone, the league is improving continuously and there is almost no way to refute that from MLS detractors.

It is time for MLS supporters, and American Soccer supporters for that matter, to shed their inferiority complex and acknowledge for themselves that the league is improving. American Supporters shouldn’t care whether a soccer commentator decides to praise the league. Let’s enjoy MLS, not because some ranking says it is a top league, but, more importantly, because we enjoy watching MLS and American soccer in general. As MLS fans, any praise should be welcomed that comes upon the league but the praise should not be seen as the benchmark to measure growth of MLS.

There are legitimate problems with Major League Soccer that do warrant serious discussion, but where commentators rank or say of the league and its play shouldn’t be seen as any benchmark to judge where MLS is on the global scale.

In the end, soccer is soccer. If a person wants to watch MLS and EPL, that person is still becoming involved in the soccer community. Bashing MLS or any league, for that matter, from person who claims to be a soccer fan is a contradiction. Most soccer fans, that love the actual game, would enjoy watching the game wherever it is being played be it at Old Trafford or a local high school. The ability for soccer fans to converse about the sport that we all love adds certain flair to the sport that makes it the beautiful game.  As fellow fans, it is okay to support a certain league but, for the sake of soccer, enjoy the game wherever it is played.