No word generates more confusion in the American English language than “strike.” When referring to the long revered sport of bowling, a strike is when the player knocks down all the pins on his first attempt. A strike is desired. When referring to America’s national past time, baseball, a strikeout is when the pitcher manages to throw three strikes past a waiting batter. The batter is then “out.” Thus, a strike is undesirable.

And, of course, my preferred terminology is strike the verb – “to strike a match.” TV deals, expansion and the MLS Expansion Draft, Seattle sellouts: MLS is a league on the rise. Yet Grant Wahl’s recent Becks book showed the pauper class primarily responsible, the overeducated and underpaid college graduates who toil from coast to coast in packed coach flights.

Well, they’re pissed. And the simmering tensions threaten to engulf a virgin forest of a league in the ensuing flames. 

I remember the NHL heyday in the last 90’s and early twenty first century, when the league expanded into the southern United States and the sky was the limit. However, when the CBA expired, disagreements arose because the commissioner insisted on “cost certainty.” Basically, the owners wanted a link between player’s salaries and team revenues. Players, of course, wanted free-for-all competition so that team owners would outbid one another for their services. The dispute led to the cancellation of the season, and the NHL is still recovering.

The current MLS dispute has the makings for a major problem. The MLS players union believes in a philosophical shift from the single entity structure to individual ownership. The MLS owners enjoy the current structure and want to talk dollars & cents – less onerous contracts and a decent pay bump. In sum, the two sides can’t even agree to disagree because one talks apples and the other oranges.

Despite the modest TV contract, very few MLS teams turn a profit. In fact, for the last decade, several owners have been eating losses on the sport for either love of the game or anticipation of long-term gains. Or perhaps they like to pretend they are mini-Sheiks.

Regardless, both sides feel underpaid and overextended. Owning the Columbus Crew does not carry the same prestige as Newcastle United (well, well). And puritanical restrictions on sports gambling prevent lucrative sponsorships like in the UK. So even though you could go to the BetUS site to place football bets, creative MLS owners could not place their moniker on a jersey.

So let’s assume the CBA expires and we enter into a lock-out/strike scenario. The MLS could alter its organizational rules to bring in South American talent all too happy for a paycheck in dollars. Conversely, US players could exodus to Scandinavia for a chilly paycheck. Think I’m crazy? Several NHL players plied their trade in Russia for the NHL lockout. Brush up on your Swedish, Conor Casey.

But where does that leave US fans? And how would that affect TV contracts with ESPN? And attracting new ownership? Olvidatelo!

My sincere hope is that the MLS players union has really good attorneys who have started off by asking for the world, but will gravitate towards the reality of a nascent league starting to grow some legs. In reality, a decent pay bump and the elimination of “option years” on rookie contracts would allow young MLS players to test European competition against stingy American owners. If I were a gambling man looking to beat the sports book spread, I’d lay down a fiver on this possibility. But I’m also a broke optimistic fool.

Regardless of motives and negotiation tactics and my not so subtle sponsor plugs, both the players and owners  should heed a warning from Prometheus. Fire consumes everything it touches, even it’s creator. Be careful before striking a match.

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