Remember when Major League Soccer could barely get out the regular season schedule in time for the regular season? That was so last year.
Most people haven’t even broken their New Year’s resolutions yet, and the 2012 MLS schedule has arrived. I haven’t quite researched the full slate of games outside of D.C. United, but it is interesting that the first year of truly unbalanced schedule won’t send the Los Angeles Galaxy to New England, New York, Philadelphia or Washington.
Nope, the reigning MLS Cup champions won’t visit RFK Stadium – assuming, of course, that is where D.C. United plays this season – along with four other teams that United will face only on the road: Vancouver, Portland, Real Salt Lake and San Jose.
United will be spared four trips as well, to Seattle, Colorado, Dallas and a second trip to Los Angeles to face Chivas USA.
A schedule that was supposed to reduce travel fatigue has also produced this whopper of a road trip for D.C.: at San Jose on May 2, at Toronto on May 5, then at Houston on May 12 for the opening of the Dynamo’s new park: BBVA Compass Stadium. Man, that last game is ironic in a couple ways. First, it’s a nationally televised match with new broadcast partner NBC, yet D.C. United is hardly the marquee franchise it once was – given its four consecutive years without a playoff berth and the passionate, higher-profile clubs that have come into the league during that time. Second, will that game be 90 minutes of boasting about how cool Houston’s park is while pummeling D.C. United for not having a park of its own? This is pure speculation, but that would be a pretty good deadline for United to have something to announce of its own. In fact, the countdown starts now: 128 days.
Other quick glances:
*D.C. United will play expansion Montreal, Columbus, Houston, New England, New York, Philadelphia and Toronto three times each, while facing Chicago and Kansas City only twice.
*They’ll be on national television 12 times.
*They’ll probably spend a week on the West Coast in between their second match at Los Angeles on March 18 and the third at Vancouver on March 24.
*Five of the final eight games are on the road.
*The first-ever trip to Montreal takes p
*The longest homestand runs four games, Aug. 4-22.
*There are no MLS games on FIFA fixture dates.
*MLS Cup is on December 1. Yeah, not November.
The whole thing (excuse the lack of formatting):
Sat. March 10 Sporting Kansas City 7:30pm –
Sun. March 18 at LA Galaxy 7:00pm Galavision
Sat. March 24 at Vancouver Whitecaps 10:00pm –
Fri. March 30 FC Dallas 7:30pm NBC Sports
Sat. April 7 Seattle Sounders FC 7:30pm –
Sat. April 14 at New England Revolution 4:00pm –
Wed. April 18 Montreal Impact 7:30pm –
Sun. April 22 New York Red Bulls 6:00pm ESPN2
Sat. April 28 Houston Dynamo 7:30pm –
Wed. May 2 at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30pm –
Sat. May 5 at Toronto FC 4:30pm –
Sat. May 12 at Houston Dynamo 4:30pm NBC Sports
Wed. May 16 Colorado Rapids 7:30pm –
Sat. May 19 Toronto FC 7:30pm –
Sat. May 26 New England Revolution 7:30pm –
Sat. June 16 at Philadelphia Union 7:00pm Galavision
Sun. June 24 at New York Red Bulls 7:00pm NBC Sports
Sat. June 30 Montreal Impact 7:30pm –
Sun. July 15 at Houston Dynamo 9:00pm Galavision
Sat. July 21 at Columbus Crew 7:30pm –
Sat. Aug. 4 Columbus Crew 7:30pm –
Sat. Aug. 11 at Sporting Kansas City 8:30pm –
Sun. Aug. 19 Philadelphia Union 5:00pm NBC Sports
Wed. Aug. 22 Chicago Fire 7:30pm –
Sat. Aug. 25 at Montreal Impact 4:00pm –
Wed. Aug. 29 New York Red Bulls 8:00pm Galavision
Sat. Sept. 1 at Real Salt Lake 9:00pm –
Sat. Sept. 15 New England Revolution 7:30pm –
Thu. Sept. 20 at Philadelphia Union 8:00pm ESPN2
Sun. Sept. 23 Chivas USA 7:00pm Galavision
Sat. Sept. 29 at Portland Timbers 10:30pm –
Sat. Oct. 6 at Toronto FC 1:00pm –
Sat. Oct. 20 Columbus Crew 7:30pm –
Sat. Oct. 27 at Chicago Fire 4:00pm NBC Sports
