It’s an unimaginable scene playing out at Chivas USA.
Here is MLS, seemingly at the height of its off-field success and soon heading into its 20th season, with franchise fees of $100 million, cities queuing up to join and a huge new TV contract.
Yet the franchise that signaled the start of spring growth following two failures in Florida–that club is bound for the scrap heap come season’s end. And that’s difficult to comprehend, let alone witness.
It’s not easy to watch, this writhing carcass of Chivas USA. Where more than 19,000 once watched the Goats at StubHub Center, only a scattering of diehards remain.
If you’ve followed American soccer beyond, say, 2002, the sight of failing franchises is all too familiar. One NASL offseason saw eight teams erased. And although MLS terms this two-year (minimum) hiatus a re-brand, it really looks and feels like the Goats are going to slaughter. Whatever form the so-called LA2 takes will bear little resemblance to CUSA. The crest and records will join those of the dusty Fusion and Mutiny archives. StubHub will once again become a single-family dwelling.
The Weakest Link
This could not have been an easy decision for MLS leadership. They will need some thick skin. Cynics of the recent soccer boom will pounce, no doubt arguing that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
However, in many ways CUSA is a relic of the old, instable MLS. It became the 11th franchise in 2004, when there were only one or two ownership groups outside of AEG and Hunt. The price tag was $10 million, relative chump change now. The new LA2 ownership will pay reportedly 10 times that amount and, consequently, pay much more attention to getting it right, and they must.
MLS owners will meet in L.A. next week, when the sale and hiatus may become official. As bad as owners may feel, the folks on the frontlines will bear the brunt. For thousands of fans, and hundreds of players and staff, this loss is very personal and the fallout palpable. These are the staff who will be out of work, players moving their families and fans searching for a new subject of their affections.
As this situation is resolved, the club continues to play out its string. 
Clearly demoralized, Chivas is winless in 12 matches. The two academy teams remain viable, however after former coaches filed a discrimination lawsuit last year, there’s a dark cloud hanging there as well. Will the academy go dormant? Will it be absorbed by LA2? Who knows.
The Fault Line
For sure, the failure of Chivas USA cannot be attributed to the players, staff or fans. The failure lies with leadership, particularly owner Jorge Vergara, but it’s tragic that MLS let matters get so dire during the past couple years while attention and resources were seemingly focused on NYCFC and Orlando and Atlanta and Miami.
The Goats’ poor form of the past four seasons was not always the case, nor were the paltry turnouts. At one point Chivas made the playoffs four consecutive seasons, and there was a solid base of 14,000 fans until the franchise lost its bearings.
Three home games remain for Chivas, and the attendance average of 6,952 is sure to spiral further downward. I can sympathize with both staff and supporters. I’ve worked and been a fan of Puget Sound area soccer clubs that have gone under. Remember the original Sounders? How about FC Seattle or the SeaDogs, Tacoma’s Tides and Stars?
Pull Alongside
The NASL Sounders and MISL Stars once boasted fan bases larger than Chivas. Tens of thousands of fans were literally disenfranchised. It was a long, long, long wait for Sounders FC, but the passion was still here and the roots never stopped growing.
A lot of people connected with those aforementioned clubs stayed active in the community, supporting the game in other, less glamorous ways, be it coaching, volunteering or supporting collegiate and semipro programs. And once in a while, when a big international event would stop in Seattle, they would come out in force, some 40-60,000 reminding the rest of America that we’re still very much alive and kicking.
Back in 2007, the Sounders FC formation was announced some 16 months before the Rave took the field. That lead time and effort was spent in sharing plans, values and dreams, so that it was clear this would be a club run in world-class fashion and be worthy of their financial and emotional investment. People could buy in to the brand, and when that inaugural match came about, the passion was fully ignited.
Hopefully the Chivas USA faithful will play a part in the formative stages of LA2. Hopefully they will remain connected to the club’s leadership as well as one another. And hopefully, after this excruciating test of one’s faith and passion, come that first match in 2017 in L.A.–as it was and continues to be in Seattle–it will be well worth the wait.