With this year's AT&T MLS All-Star Game being held in our own backyard, the New York/New Jersey based MLSsoccer.com editors (and those with roots here) couldn't help but feel some civic pride about the Big Apple and its surrounding boroughs. With that, we present you 10 reasons why New York is a perfect fit for MLS All-Star week.
1/ Because when Jay McInerney wrote Bright Lights, Big City, he didn't set it in Dubuque. When big things happen, they happen in the Big Apple. — Greg Lalas, Editor-in-Chief
2/ Because European teams have been coming to New York for more than a century. In the 20s, Hakoah Vienna drew more than 40,000 for a match at the Polo Grounds, home of baseball's New York Giants. In 1952, Manchester United played a friendly against Stuttgart in Manhattan (Roger Byrne scored for the Red Devils). The 2011 All-Star Game is just the next chapter. — Greg Lalas, Editor-in-Chief
3/ Because can you believe the New York area has never even hosted MLS Cup? And you’ll have to go back to the league’s inaugural and second seasons for the last time the All-Star Game was held in Jersey. All that City That Never Sleeps stuff aside, isn’t it time the Big Apple had a taste of a Big Game? — Jonah Freedman, Managing Editor
4/ Because it’s a chance to bury the past – the bad old days of Giants Stadium – and get everyone into Red Bull Arena. — Matthew Doyle, Armchair Analyst
5/ Because New York is the world’s living room. If you want everyone to see it, hold it in NYC. — Matthew Doyle, Armchair Analyst
6/ Because in NYC, the only thing more popular than soccer is the air conditioning in a taxi. — Shawn Francis, MLS Insider
7/ Because the melting pot that is New York City means there will be Korean fans coming to see Ji-Sung Park, Bulgarians to watch Dimitar Berbatov, Serbs that want to see Nemanja Vidic—and don’t forget the Portuguese colony outside Red Bull Arena that are big Nani fans. There won’t be a more diverse collection of jerseys in a stadium in America. — Simon Borg, ExtraTime Radio
8/ Because a city rich with soccer fanatics and a stadium with rave reviews of having one of the best atmospheres in MLS equals a formula for success. — Fidencio Enriquez, New Media Editor
9/ Because New York City is the ultimate playground for an All-Star. The food, the music, the clubs, the atmosphere … bright stars call for bright lights, and the Big Apple has 'em. — David Agrell, New Media Editor
10/ Because the world's game should be celebrated in the world's city. — David Agrell, New Media Editor
