With Nashville awarded a Major League Soccer expansion franchise and Cincinnati still in the running for a team, some Louisville soccer fans might be turning from purple to green with envy.

MLS officials announced Wednesday that Nashville earned one of two expansion spots the league plans to fill in the coming weeks.

And while sports fans are understandably eager to bring a major league team to Louisville, the future of soccer in the city remains just as bright — and perhaps better off — without MLS.

It's important to note that Louisville was not passed over by MLS; Louisville did not submit an application for expansion by the January 2017 deadline and thus is ineligible for the next two rounds of expansion. Louisville City FC chairman John Neace said the club's focus is on building a soccer-specific stadium now and reaching for MLS later.

"MLS remains a possibility for Louisville and will be but we are continually focused on retaining our status as the best club in USL – both on and off the field," Neace wrote in an email Tuesday.

That's probably a wise approach given the level of success Louisville City FC has achieved in the second-tier United Soccer League, along with the sense of instability clouding MLS.

Related:Louisville has a USL title, but that doesn't mean the team will be promoted to MLS

Also:USL President says Louisville soccer stadium will be 'showpiece stadium'

In 2015, MLS announced plans to expand to 28 teams, with two clubs beginning play by the 2020 season. Nashville emerged from a field of 12 contenders to become the league's 25th franchise while Cincinnati, Detroit and Sacramento are the front runners being considered for the 26th team.

Nashville's USL franchise has yet to start play for the 2018 season, but the city agreed to fork over $225 million in revenue bonds for a new MLS stadium that includes 10 acres of private mixed-use development.

MLS announced Miami as an expansion team in 2014, but the ownership group led by David Beckham has struggled to find a stadium site and attract investment. Meanwhile, the owner of the Columbus Crew is considering moving the team to Austin, Texas, for the 2019 season to find funding for a new stadium.

So what does Nashville's new franchise mean for Louisville's MLS chances?

Not much for now, as the country's soccer landscape could very well undergo more changes by the time Louisville is ready to apply. But the developments in Nashville help paint a more complete picture of MLS' goals.

"Nashville's selection bodes well for us," Neace said in an email. "They are a regional rival that we look forward to facing in 2018, and we may not have as many recording artists as they do but we do have more soccer championships! Just like aspiring musicians who go where the opportunities are, though, MLS will go where good teams with great facilities are."

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Indeed, great facilities. MLS has made it clear that the league's top priorities are market size and a willingness to throw taxpayer money at facilities and tickets — not an established fan base and dedicated ownership group, both of which Louisville City FC has.

Given the significant pushback Louisville City FC encountered in convincing the city to leverage a $30 million bond for its stadium, and the fact that the club has yet to secure all the project's funding, it seems unlikely MLS would have seen Louisville as a viable candidate at this point even if the city had been eligible.

Meanwhile, the USL continues to grow steadily and is rapidly attracting new investors. The league will add five clubs in the next two seasons and is launching a third-division league in 2019.

Neace said Louisville City FC hopes to be a "serious candidate" for MLS expansion after the club moves into its new stadium by 2020 but said Louisville City FC has not made plans to inform MLS of a decision to apply.

There's a saying my mother used to repeat when I was a child: "When someone gives you a finger, don't try and take the whole hand." It was usually applied when I abused my television privileges or ate too much chocolate, but the sentiment is, I think, a decent one to live by.

Aspiring to join MLS eventually is respectable, but fans and owners should be careful not to get too greedy too quickly.

Louisville City FC's progress in its three USL seasons, a tenure that now includes a league championship, is certainly nothing to sneer at. The club sold out Louisville Slugger Field twice and average home attendance increased 16 percent to 8,613 in 2017. For fans or owners to turn their backs on that in pursuit of a "major league" distinction would be shameful.

Louisville City FC still has a ways to go in its quest to build a stadium and cement its staying power in the city. But so far it appears to be on the right track, with or without MLS.

Danielle Lerner: 502-582-4042; dlerner@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @Danielle_Lerner. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/daniellel