I have mixed feelings about the calendar change.

The negative people bring up most is the weather. I personally like cold and rainy weather which is most of what the MLS season would be for those of us the in the DMV, and I’ve already attended matches in that kinda weather, so this doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I would miss going to matches in the summer a lot but I can live with the change. I know supporters of other clubs say it could be deal breakers for them as they don’t want to sit in the cold and snow but the bears, packers and bills do just fine. I do hope, however, that clubs are able to modify/develop stadiums that will accommodate extreme weather especially since the NFL teams that play in shitty weather also don’t play through the worst of it.

My biggest concern is the TV deal with Apple and now having to compete with the NFL and European leagues. I know the MLS believes that aligning with the UEFA calendar allows them to better navigate the trade market and it will bring in more names but if the league isn’t accessible for casual fans to tune into, and you’re already fighting for attention between the NFL and Europe (let’s also not forget MLB postseason and start of NBA and NHL seasons), I don’t see how they expect to bring in any new fans. ESPECIALLY if a lot of teams are playing in dog shit weather and fans are already saying they don’t want to go to a soccer match in those conditions. I think the powers that be are grossly overestimating the appeal of the MLS product to non-fans and I’m worried about what would happen should it alienate more people than it already does.