SoccerBlogs

You may not have heard (Note: sarcasm), but EA Sports' latest installment of the FIFA Series, FIFA 13, was released this week to much fanfare. And while many will pick up their XBox and PS3 controllers and start their new seasons as Barcelona, Manchester United, and other European and global giants; there are quite a few American soccer faithful that will dutifully plug in with their Major League Soccer sides.

Tray tables on Volaris' flights... very innovative.Like about half of the Major League Soccer clubs this season Chivas USA launched a new kit. We're not sure of the rhyme or reason to the rotation, but each team is set on some sort of timetable from adidas and this year we've seen new shirts (although nothing mind-blowing given the "house league" look that all adidas shirts seems to have) from Columbus, Los Angeles, New England, Chicago Fire, Real Salt Lake, D.

Major League Soccer's seventeenth season begins in less than two months and as the teams prepare for the on pitch action their fans will prepare to follow them from not only stands, but with social media.

Their two main online allies? Facebook and Twitter.

Since the beginnings of MLS in the mid-1990s the Internet has exploded and in the last five years the advent of social media has changed the face of sports in the United States and the world.

Chicago Fire players pose in their new Quaker Oats sponsored jerseys. (Photo Credit: Chicago Fire)Last week we posted the news and a snazzy video announcing that the Chicago Fire had landed a new jersey sponsor, Quaker Oasts, after an empty-chested 2011. Given that several Major League Soccer clubs do not have shirt sponsors (by choice or otherwise), these news releases are always a sign of forward progress for American soccer.

This marketing strategy is as solid as a house of (lotto) cards.At first we didn't even think twice about Tuesday's news that Major League Soccer reached an agreement with a lotto ticket company to potential produce scratch-off games with MLS logos on them. Chalk it up to another weird marketing synergy that someone on high thinks is going to make the league a bunch of bucks.

Think media coverage of Major League Soccer in your area is poor? Try being a second division team. The Austin Aztex played in the FBM's backyard last season (before chasing the almighty dollar to Orlando) and local media coverage of the team was scant to say the least.

So kudos to North American Soccer League's NSC Minnesota Stars for taking it upon themselves to produce and promote a series that takes a behind-the-scenes look that the team and the players.

On Monday, Budweiser and Major League Soccer announced they had renewed their partnership to sponsor the league, the Men's and Women's United States National Teams, and the Mexican National Team within the U.S.

Interestingly enough, both the league and Budweiser passed on the opportunity to talk about how the Free Beer Movement has been instrumental in growing both of their bottom lines.

Seemingly out of the blue and partway through the 2011 Major League Soccer season, Fox Soccer (Channel?) announced their prime time matches would, from this moment forward, be known as "Soccer Night in America".

The first "SNiA" will be this Friday as Portland Timbers host Philadelphia Union at 9pm (CT).

Editor's Note: This is a shorter version of our "12-Pack Interview Series" where we talk to the people, personalities, and groups that are shaping soccer in the United States.


Selling soccer in America is no easy task. Particularly in cities with many other major sports teams abound makes bursting through all that more difficult.

The Houston Dynamo broke ground for its new stadium this past weekend, another success and step forward for soccer in America. The 22,000-seat downtown stadium will open in 2012. For Dynamo fans, this has been a long tough battle, and now the two-time MLS Cup winners will have a place to call their own.

If you're a subscriber or a regular reader of the Kansas City Star you may have noticed a small, column-sized advertisement in the sports section of Sunday's paper. It was wishing the local National Football League's Chiefs good luck in their afternoon match up against the Baltimore Ravens in the first-round of the playoffs.