MLS Open Thread: Round 1

The opening weekend of MLS is upon us, and in the spirit of new beginnings it seemed a good time to introduce a new feature here at Waking the Red: the MLS Open Thread.

With Toronto FC just one of the now 22 clubs in the league and a flurry of matches each weekend not involving them, fans in Toronto need a place where they can watch the games together, share observations and perhaps the occasional joke, as required.

In that spirit we invite you to tune into the matches and congregate here for some chatter. The staff at WTR will endeavour to take the initiative, but hope you too will get involved in driving the conversation.

The action got underway last night in Portland, and though only the three matches involving Canadian sides will be available on television north of the border, the rest can be viewed on MLS Live. Individual and match highlights will become readily available in near-real time via MLSsoccer.com.

Looking over the docket for the opening round, a few highlights emerge.

Aside from the whole first-look-in-actual-play for every team, they include: the debuts of the expansion sides, Atlanta and Minnesota United (Atlanta have reportedly sold more than 50,000 tickets for their home match on Sunday against the Red Bulls, which they hope will go better than Minnesota’s humbling against the Timbers); an enticing early season meeting on Saturday between the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas, two of the premier sides in the Western Conference; and a Sunday evening appetizer featuring two of the previous expansion class, Orlando City and New York City.

Plenty to watch for on this opening round of the 2017 MLS season.