Circumstantial evidence doesn’t always make a strong case, but I was impressed by the interest in the European Cup final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich. According to reports, local watering holes were packed with soccer fans at noon hour. Most of the local stations carried clips from the game. Even ESPN’s SportsCenter, which hardly gives MLS the time of day, had highlights of the wild ending. Several factors helped to build up the game, before and afterwards. First of all, there’s the United mystique. The players of yesterday: Duncan Edwards, George Best, Dennis Law, Eric Cantona. And the players of today: David Beckham and Ryan Giggs may not be among the best players in the world, but they are surely among the most famous. Then there was United’s bid for the treble. Interest grew as United moved back and forth among the three competitions. The American media were enlightend when Rupert Murdoch bid $1 billion for United. Finally, there was the ending. Like a lot of people, I missed the second United goal. Some were still celebrating when the winning goal came in. I had rushed off to get some work in before the start of overtime. It is MLS’s challenge to capture these closet soccer fans who’ll skip work to watch a Wednesday afternoon match on TV but who won’t think twice of going out on a Saturday night to attend an MLS match. In the interviews he did on the eve of the Columbus Crew Stadium opener, Lamar Hunt commented that international play was not good for MLS. To deny international competition defies the reality of the situation — the essence of soccer is its international aspect — but Hunt does have a point. As long as there is something bigger out there, MLS will suffer by comparison. FANS, LET’S HEAR YOUR VIEW Will MLS ever capture the hearts of American fans who skipped work to watch the European Cup? Click here to log onto (Soccer) American Graffiti. Then click on the topic titled “YOUR VIEW: Soccer’s closet fans come out” and respond to Paul Kennedy in 200 words or less. Best responses may be reprinted in Soccer America Magazine. If YOUR View is selected, we’ll send you a cool T-shirt and pin… Because You’re FANATIC.