Andrew Lucchese Reading, Pa. Why is Eddie Pope staying in MLS when he has had several offers from top clubs in Europe? Pete Bailey: Eddie certainly has options available to him overseas should he choose to pursue them. MLS deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati said that after the World Cup, two Bundesliga teams (believed to be Bayer Leverkusen — where Frankie Hejduk is headed after the MLS season — and Borussia Dortmund) and one Premier League team had offered $3 million for the U.S. national team star. Pope, however, has been reluctant to uproot himself and go overseas. He expressed a desire to remain in MLS and help D.C. United win a third championship and signed a long-term contract extension with the league. He has also been very involved with a number of community projects for inner-city youth, both in his home state of North Carolina and in the D.C. area. That being said, there is a chance that he might try his luck overseas after the current MLS season is completed. The league would not hesitate to sell him, since he would bring in plenty of cash without hurting attendance the way the sale of Marco Etchverry or Carlos Valderrama might. Todd Lang Phoenix, Ariz. I assume you are aware of the story by the Columbus Dispatch about Tab Ramos’ ALLEGED racist statements toward’s Columbus’ Andrew Williams. Please look into this. We are very interested in SA’s take on the matter. Ramos has done babyish, stupid things in the past (WC ’98 comes to mind…), but I hope he isn’t this weak. Mike Woitalla: Soccer America covers the Ramos incident in its Sept. 28 issue. (See Paul Gardner’s “Soccer Talk” column on page 7 and our MLS Roundup on Page 9.) At this point, MLS is investigating the incident, and Ramos has denied the allegations. We’ll have to see what happens. Derrick Ayers Salisbury Md. Why did Chad Deering move to MLS? Isn’t that a poor decision given the low number of American players that are playing in Europe? Was the move because his Bundesliga club waived him, or did he want to return to the States? I don’t understand why a talented young player would want to play MLS when he could be playing in one of the top four leagues in the world. Mike Woitalla: The U.S. national team and American soccer in general would profit if several American players were getting experience abroad. There’s no doubt about that. Chad Deering went to Germany after his sophomore year of college and played in the Third, Second and First Divisions there over the last seven years. His play since joining MLS makes it obvious how important his experience in Germany was to his development as a player. He is poised, an excellent passer, highly skilled and versatile. While he was a skillful player in his youth — he captained the 1987 U-17 World Cup team — he certainly honed his talent by being a professional for so long in very competitive situations. I think Deering, who just turned 28, is noticeably better than most American players of the same age in MLS who did not play abroad. Deering returned to MLS following the World Cup. While his old club VfL Wolfsburg was prepared to let Deering leave (his contract there, a loan from Werder Bremen, had expired), Deering may have been able to find another First Division club, and certainly a Second Division club, in Germany. I believe that he found MLS attractive because he had been out of the country for so long. Former national team player Brent Goulet is the only American player to have spent as much time playing abroad as Deering. Tom Wheeler Washington, D.C. I am a regular D.C. United supporter, but I recently ventured west and attended a Chicago/Colorado match at Mile High Stadium in Denver. I was chagrined at the way the Mile High atmosphere cheapens the soccer — useless cheerleaders, blaring rock music during the play, and Chicago Bulls-style player introductions. The largest ovation was for a Latin band that walked around the field late in the second half as it prepared for a postgame concert. I can only imagine what an international veteran like Lubos Kubik must be thinking. Shouldn’t MLS be concerned about creating a tawdry “tractor pull” or “pro wrestling” type of image? If MLS wants to be first-class, it should simply showcase the soccer. Take me home to DC United. Ridge Mahoney: For better or worse, MLS has taken on many of the wrappings of other major pro sports leagues, and although D.C. United is a blessed exception, most MLS teams feel it necessary to pump up the atmosphere a la the NBA, NFL, Major League baseball etc. In San Jose, a chunky, balding, tamborine-beating loony named Krazy George berates the crowd as old rock tunes and tiresome British pop songs echo through the stadium. But he’s been around for two decades, so even the season-ticket holders tolerate him. MLS cannot yet depend solely on the solid soccer fans for survival; it must lure the general public, which is lured by arcades, laser light shows, and piped-in music, for better or worse. And those fans are used to being entertained by peripheral elements at sports events. I agree with you; a few years ago, I was appalled to hear rock music blasting from the P.A during a playoff game at Arrowhead! But that’s the trend, and until MLS owners can be convinced otherwise, it will persist. I mention Arrowhead because Lamar Hunt is a) absolutely crucial for the success of MLS; so strongly does he believe in the sport, he’s building a stadium in Columbus and taking a beating on the Wizards, and b) a devotee of music, cheerleaders, etc., at games. If it’s good enough for Lamar, it’s good enough for MLS, although many of its most avid fans would disagree. Alex Seldin Philadelphia Every time I visit New York City, it is clear that the MetroStars have hardly made a dent in the consciousness of sports fans (and media) in the world’s most important city. Do you agree that if the MetroStars were drawing crowds in the 20-30,000 range, as they ought to be, MLS’s problems in Kansas City and Tampa wouldn’t seem so bad? Is MLS doing anything to promote the MetroStars more in the N.Y. area? Duncan Irving: Alex, I think if they hadn’t been so abysmal in their first two seasons — both on the field and off — the current situation might be a little different. Not a lot, though. New York is a crowded market — three hockey, two baseball, two football and two basketball teams — and you need to have a very significant promotional engine to even think about competing. Which they don’t seem to have. There’s also a tendency to overemphasize the importance of the New York market, or particularly the ethnic pockets that would flock to Giants Stadium in numbers. Remember World Cup ’94, when Italy played Ireland? The Irish contingent dwarved the Italians that day. If the event is big enough, and the teams good enough, people will come. Witness the ’96 All-Star Game. Week in, week out, is another matter. If the MetroStars hadn’t alienated so many people with their dog-eared season ticket plans, if the team hadn’t been so awful, if they weren’t talking about moving every five minutes, if they didn’t play on plastic part of the time, if, if, if … They’ve dug a pretty deep hole for themselves and it is easy to see why the local media views them as lacking credibility. Would a successful New York team aid the league? Sure, you might get a little frisson in the press every time they visited KC and Tampa, but I don’t think anywhere near enough to salvage their rotten attendance records on a long-term basis. And no, the league has not gone overboard to promote the MetroStars. If a team was as bad as they were, I think you’d want to leave them in the closet with the other skeletons, wouldn’t you?