Nearly a quarter-century into its existence, MLS has fairly well established itself as a “league” for “soccer,” but it is fair to say that it is still making strides toward becoming “major.” Owners, executives, players and fans would surely like nothing more than for MLS to join the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL as an unquestioned giant astride the American and (in some cases) Canadian sporting scenes, and no doubt there has been significant progress toward that goal since launch in 1996.



Yet cracking the public consciousness remains a work in progress for MLS. No amount of advertising, marketing or word-of-mouth seems to move the needle significantly when it comes to making MLS a household name. The league’s appearances in pop culture continue to be limited these days, though an Atlanta United jersey did appear in a video of a high-speed police chase, the team’s logo pops up now and then in the FX series Atlanta and a pair of Portland...