Jun 28, 2021
FrontRowSoccer.com's Michael Lewis returns after a
two-year absence to help us dig into the news of the Major Arena
Soccer League's hiring of three marquee names from pro indoor
soccer's 1980s heyday - as it attempts to translate the sport's
past glory into interest for a new generation of fans.
The additions of Shep Messing
(Chairman), Keith Tozer (Commissioner) and Episode 66 guest JP Dellacamera
(President, Communications/Media) to the MASL executive suite
signals a major effort to stabilize the long-wobbly league and
elevate the indoor game back to the level of its legendary
predecessors - like the original Major Indoor Soccer League and
even the old North American Soccer League.
Besides weighing in on what
might happen in the months ahead, Lewis mines nearly forty
years of soccer reporting to recount some of the most memorable
indoor matches from his sportswriting career, including:
- The MISL's epic 1981 "Championship Weekend" at the St. Louis Checkerdome, where the hometown Steamers outlasted the Wichita Wings in a logic-defying 8-7 shootout semifinal, but lost a nail-biting 6-5 final to the New York Arrows two days later;
- 1975 NASL indoor tournament matches at Rochester's War Memorial, where goals measured only four feet high x 16 feet long;
- The MISL's 1981 All-Star Game - played at the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden;
- A January 1985 Cosmos MISL home loss to the San Diego Sockers that portended the team's folding just two weeks later; and
- US National Team goalie Tony Meola's indoor debut with the New Jersey Ironmen of the one-year Xtreme Soccer League in 2008.