Clint Dempsey homecoming game is finally upon us, and is refocusing attention on some of the more muddled aspects of his route back to MLS. First of all, there is some confusion as to why Seattle was given preference over several other teams that were ahead of them in the acquisition order. Because MLS is a single entity league in which all players are under contract with the league, and not with individual clubs, the league has created an allocation order for players entering the league. So if the allocation process had been followed directly, other teams would have had (and likely taken) the chance to sign him.
Technically, Seattle made some deals in which they provided some compensation to the other clubs in order to move up in the allocation order, but whatever they gave them was in no way fair compensation for the chance to sign the biggest American star to ever return to MLS. The larger point here is that Clint Dempsey wanted to come to Seattle. He didn't want to come back and play for a middling to lower tier club like Toronto that hasn't yet shown the ability to consistently sell out their stadium, or even an up and comer with strong fan support like Portland. He wanted to come to Seattle.
It couldn't have been an easy decision for Clint to come back to America after coming so close in the EPL. He knew there would be some criticism of his decision, as well as those that would write him off as a top flight player. If he was going to give up on his dream of playing Champions League football (well, at least the most well known Champions League), he was going to do it on his terms. Like the rest of us, I'm sure he had seen the crowds in Seattle turn CenturyLink field into a top level atmosphere. Unlike the rest of us, he had his friend (and now teammate) Eddie Johnson in his ear telling him how darned great it was playing in MLS. He knew what he was getting in Seattle, and clearly had no interest in stepping into MLS and saying "alright, where do you want me?"
I think it was the only way for him to come back. If he was going to accept the relative failure of coming back to MLS while still in the prime of his career, he had to do it in a way that was going to give him a chance to be happy. One of the worst things that could happen to the league at this point would be for America's biggest international success to be unhappy with his return to the domestic league. We want Dempsey to be telling all of his former teammates in the EPL how much better MLS is than when he left. We want him to feel as though he came back at just the right moment, and that his move is remembered as a positive both for the league and for him personally.
It helps that he's making a boatload of money to do it. Honestly it's a bit of a contradiction, because Seattle is the top team in the league right now in terms of attendance. I have to assume that Sounders gear is being consumed at a rate that is proportional with their fan support, so how much of a boost can Dempsey's arrival really bring? Beyond the hype and excitement surrounding his first league game (against Portland no less), are attendance numbers really going to manage to jump enough to justify the expenditure? I feel as though Seattle is already helping to drag the league toward relevance with the sort of support they get from their fans, and I have a hard time believing that they can really do much better than they already are. In some ways, it would have been better if a team that had some fancy new digs, but didn't quite get there with the overwhelming fan support, had gotten him. A team like Houston comes to mind. Already in Dempsey's home state, it would have been great if Dempsey's arrival had galvanized the city and region into something more resembling what the pacific northwest has.
But that wouldn't have happened. He would have toiled away for Houston (or some similar team), and wondered why he gave up the rush of playing in front of the intense crowds of the EPL. He needed the assurance that he would be playing for a team (and fanbase) that would reassure him at home games that he had made the right decision in coming home. It might not necessarily have been the fair way to reallocate a player, but it was the only way that the deal was going to get done.
As for the game tonight, I can't wait to watch it. The very idea that one could sit and watch an MLS game with a passionate and involved crowd of almost 70,000 still feels a little foreign. I used to pride myself on being able to enjoy watching a game on tv that only had about a third of the stands filled, but now I almost feel spoiled. It's an exciting time to be an MLS fan. It's pretty fucking exciting.
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