On the 9th of November, the MLS experienced arguably the biggest upset in its history. Inter Miami got shocked at home by Atlanta United, losing in Game 3 by a score of 3-2. This, on the surface seems like a very negative result for MLS. The rest of the play-offs will be without superstars like Messi, Súarez, Busquets, Alba, among others. However, this is actually more beneficial to MLS for a couple of reasons.
Reason 1: This proves that MLS is an “Any given day” type of league. A league where upsets are more than possible. In Leagues like the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, La Liga, and even the Premier League in recent years have been dominated by 1 or 2 specific teams. However, MLS hasn’t had a repeat cup winner since 2014. This upset shows that any team can walk into stadium and win if they show enough heart.
Reason 2: This upset gives even more attention to MLS. Whether you are a Messi lover, or you just can’t stand him, his record breaking team losing in the first round has drawn more attention from foreign fans due to how improbable and impossible this task seemed. Almost everyone expected Miami to cruise past Atlanta, but it was far from that. Atlanta came into all 3 games with a “We don’t care who you are, we can beat you” attitude.
Reason 3: The final reason, this shows that the Americans are far better at the sport than people around the world will give them credit for. The likes of veteran UMSNT goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, shut down Messi, Súarez, etc. throughout the entire tie. This ex-American goalkeeper displayed how the Americans are not too far behind talent wise with some other European and South American talents. Now I’m not saying that Guzan or any other USMNT player is on the level of the aforementioned players, but he showed that the Americans can at least compete.