The Standard of the MLS
Since 1996, the Los Angeles (LA) Galaxy have established themselves as the standard of Major League Soccer (MLS). They are the team in the MLS who has won the most MLS Cups in the league’s history! However, what makes the Galaxy so successful as a team? Does their success have to do with signing the best players? Are the Galaxy’s recruitment skills more innovative than the rest of the league? Is the Galaxy fanbase the difference maker in the league? Gathering some data from an independent survey my partner and I created, we came up with the following.
Galaxy Support All Over LA
Surveying over 200 people through various social media platforms revealed that the LA Galaxy has one of the most loyal fans bases across the MLS. One of the biggest stats that stood out in the survey was that over 55% of fans believe the Galaxy represent their community. Knowing the Galaxy has a strong impact in the Los Angeles community provides support for Galaxy as the top team in LA. The Galaxy has shown this by opening up and rebuilding local parks to grow the sport of soccer in their community.
Former Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes, an LA homegrown player, and other Galaxy players helped rebuild parks in Los Angeles. Furthermore, Galaxy has impacted youth soccer by having youth teams ranging from 8 to 18 years of age. These development teams add to the expansion of soccer in the community.
The Galaxy also has academies in Orange County that develop youth soccer outside of LA city boundaries. This might be why the Galaxy have such a large following outside of the city and county boundaries. The research from the independent surveys shows that over 29% of LA Galaxy fans live outside of LA county. The second largest community that supports the LA Galaxy is located in East LA. The fanbase in East LA comprises over 18% of the fan base. The LA Galaxy’s strong representation in various Southern California areas illustrates that the fan base is diverse because they are one of the original MLS teams; thus proving why the Galaxy are the standard of the MLS.
You Can’t Beat Us Join Us
Now we can see why the LA Galaxy is successful and is the standard of the MLS. Yes, LA is one of the most beautiful cities in the US and can attract big-name athletes. However, the Galaxy has shown they are more than signing big-name soccer players. The Galaxy has an endless drive of commitment to the city of LA. This is the team’s driving force for excellence, and why they won’t stop contending for more championships.
Galaxy Players Beckham, McGee, Donovan, Lopes. Photo Credit: Aaron Sholl – Under Creative Commons License