After 25 years, it seems safe to say that Major League Soccer is probably here to stay. The league’s dark days of empty stadiums, shuttered franchises and financial woe seem mostly in the rearview, replaced by skyrocketing expansion fees and growing public interest. While not out of the woods completely — the current global economic shutdown is a good example of something that could derail it — MLS seems far less vulnerable than it did in its earlier days.



But let’s set that all aside. At the moment, the sports landscape is barren and all of us — Sam Stejskal, Jeff Rueter, Matt Pentz and I, in this case — have plenty of time to ponder an alternate reality.



Picture this: The year is 2018, and Major League Soccer as we know it does not exist. The 1994 World Cup, which in our current, actual reality served as the catalyst for MLS’s introduction, was awarded to Morocco, and the United States lacks a truly competitive,...