First, NBC has reached a 3-year deal to televise 45 MLS and 4 US Men’s National Team (USMNT) games. As part of the deal, NBC itself will air a few regular season and playoff games. The bulk of coverage though will be seen on the Versus network (which is being re-branded in January 2012 and will become the NBC Sports Network). This is big news for the MLS. Previously, their games appeared on the Fox Soccer Channel. And while people criticize the NHL’s presence on Versus, I can tell you that more people know where Versus is on their dial than FSC. And I can also tell you that Versus’ sports broadcasts are as good or better than ESPN’s in many cases. And NBC and Versus will promote MLS in a way that ESPN does not.

Some of you may be confused. You may think, “No, Jason, the MLS disbanded years ago.” While that may seem true, it is in fact inaccurate. In fact, MLS is looking at some kind of resurgence (can you have a resurgence without a surgence?”) in 2011. MLS has done a lot of things poorly in their 15 years of active play. Remember the Tampa Bay Mutiny? The Miami Fusion? If there’s one thing MLS has done, it’s expand perhaps too much. It’s also done itself a disservice by not marketing itself very well. Having your games buried on ESPN2 on Friday nights isn’t going to do much good. But there’s lot of good for MLS. Of the 19 teams in the league beginning with First Kick 2012, only 4 will be playing in non-soccer specific stadiums. And each of those teams are on solid footing in the league (DC United, New England Revolution, Seattle Sounders, and Houston Dynamo). Perhaps the best thing that MLS has done is begin to infiltrate markets not generally regarded as soccer hotbeds, but which are proving to be crazy for their teams: namely Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Earlier this season, the Portland Timbers hosted the Seattle Sounders in front of a sold out crowd at Jeld-Wen Field. The game was broadcast on ESPN following the Women’s World Cup Final. It drew good ratings and has been regarded as a turning point in MLS’ history. For once, the league had a storyline: Two teams had a rivalry.

There are two things that MLS needs to survive and thrive: exposure and more talent. It’s worth noting that I think the quality of soccer in MLS is vastly inferior to the other international leagues broadcast here in the States. It’s very likely that the former need won’t come until the latter does. Depending on the financial details of today’s deal (undisclosed at this point) and the league’s revenue sharing agreements for its clubs, this NBC agreement could help bring that talent to the states. And I’m sure that’s something that NBC is banking on. More money means more reasons for the world’s best players to come to the US. More rivalries like the one in the Pacific Northwest mean more general interest from the less than average soccer fan, which means higher ratings, which means greater advertising dollars, which means, well, it means more reasons for the world’s talented players to choose American club teams. The results of this NBC deal will not take hold fully for a few years. But Major League Soccer is on the right path. Following their current trend MLS can be more than sustainable within the next 5-7 years. It could be a sports staple in this country. The potential is all there. They just need a little assistance from the USMNT.

Speaking of which, what about the other half of what makes today a potentially monumental day for American soccer? Well, tonight, the USMNT has a friendly (aka an exhibition match) against their greatest rival: Meixco. A little less than two months ago, the United States nearly beat Mexico in front of an unfriendly crowd on home soil in the CONCACAF (don’t ask what that stands for) Gold Cup Final. A win would have been a pretty big deal. Instead, the US blew a 2 goal lead to Mexico and lost its match 4-2 in embarrassing fashion. A few weeks ago, US Soccer announced that coach Bob Bradley was being relieved of his duties and the following day hired former German National Team player and coach Jurgen Klinsmann to command their ship. The USMNT, under Bradley, may have accomplished more than at any other point in its history. But it was very clear that Bradley had maxed out as coach what his team was going to produce. And his style wasn’t truly conducive to long term success. In soccer, you’re not going to be successful by not being particularly good at anything. The USMNT wasn’t particularly strong defensively and was, at best, uninteresting offensively. And bad, at worst.

Klinsmann has promised to bring more excitement to American soccer, which is like Alaska saying it could afford to bring in more palm trees. He promises to not be so focused on the ridiculous notion of playing white soccer players as a marketing gimmick. Klinsmann will play the players who fulfill FIFA’s requirements for national eligibility. It doesn’t matter what they look like, what language they speak, or how you say their last name. Gone are the days of Stuart Holden and Jonathan Bornstein getting playing time because there’s some sort of notion that soccer will be successful in the US if someone in Iowa can turn on their TV and say, “Aw, he looks like a nice boy.” If you’re talented, you’ll play. If you can score, you’ll play. If you can pass, you’ll play. It’s the way things should have been before.

Klinsmann hasn’t had a whole deal of time to implement his system into US Soccer. Tonight is just a very early first step in the process. But make no mistake about it, his arrival is a change. And in this instance, change is good. And this is change I can believe in. I don’t expect the US to avenge their Gold Cup loss to Mexico tonight in Philadelphia with a resounding 4-0 victory. But I do hope to see some glimmers of hope, of life, and of inventiveness on the pitch at Lincoln Financial Field tonight. And I expect to see development of the system in the coming year, as we head towards World Cup 2014 qualifying.

We might not realize it today or tomorrow morning, but there may be a day, years down the line, when some soccer scribe looks back on August 10, 2011 and puts into better context than I can what today could mean to American soccer. The sport is not going away. It only continues to gain in popularity on the world’s scale. There will come a day when soccer is the third sport in America, behind American football and baseball. As our nation’s Hispanic population increases, soccer will become more popular. That will lead to higher TV ratings. That will lead to increased ad dollars. That will lead to bigger TV contracts. That will lead to more money for teams to spend on players. That will lead to the world’s best players wanting to spend their prime making bank in cities like Los Angeles, Houston, and Seattle. And finally, that will lead to a higher quality of club level play. The road is clear for soccer’s success in this country. The road trip starts today.