Independence day is one of the summer highlights in the United States. For many, it’s a chance to kick back, relax, bask in the sunshine, and take in some… soccer?

Wait a minute. Soccer on the Fourth of July? That’s hardly an American past-time.

But with every home team reporting more than 10,000+ at all six games on Friday and Saturday, perhaps soccer is actually creeping its way into mainstream America. Overall, an average of 16,141 fans were at six game — and this includes FC Dallas, who have struggled to crack the 10,000 barrier, and Colorado, who actually exceeded their stadium’s capacity.

While one weekend is not enough to draw conclusions off of, it’s a positive step nonetheless. Perhaps their was spill over from the Confederations Cup or maybe fans were lured by the promise of fireworks.

At the very least, it’s an indication that front offices around the league are becoming creative and drawing the crowds that supporters of the league would like to see.

Good crowds aren’t an indication of a quality product on the pitch, but it is a step in the right direction. For the casual fan, tuning in at home to a match played in front of a sparse crowd is not going to lead to league growth and to grabbing extra fans. In order for the league to grow and enjoy success, they’ll need larger crowds to provide the sort of atmosphere that only soccer is capable.

Plenty of story lines to dissect after the first heavy action around the league. The loss of a number of players to Gold Cup duty led to mixed results — Greg Janicki manned D.C. United’s central defense well in the absence of Canadian Dejan Jakovic, the Dynamo squeaked by the Wizards without Brian Ching and Stuart Holden. On the other side of things Kansas City struggled without Davy Arnaud and Jimmy Conrad, and Colorado also fell without Omar Cummings and Colin Clark.

First XI observations

1. No sign of Landon Donovan on Saturday night in the Galaxy’s 2-0 win against the Revolution. It’s a move that certainly makes sense, after Donovan’s heavy workload in South Africa with the U.S. National Team. There’s plenty of buzz surrounding Donovan and the inevitable David Beckham-return, but there’s bigger things at stake here — namely, the Galaxy have won two games in a row and sit in a tie for fourth with Colorado. Could the Galaxy get over the hump and make a run to the playoffs? Or will Beckham’s return combined with Donovan’s comments send LA spiraling back down?

2. For what it’s worth, FC Dallas has some young talent on that roster. If Schellas Hyndman decides to buckle down and let the kids play, I think he could be pleasantly surprised. Brek Shea, Kyle Davies, Dax McCarty, Anthony Wallace, and Eric Avila are just a few of the young players Hyndman has at his disposal. Finding the right mix between the younger players and veterans such as Jeff Cunningham and Dave van den Bergh is vital if this team is to climb out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves in the first half of the season.

3. As they’ve managed to do for most of the season, D.C. United had numerous chances to put the game away. In what is becoming normal for them, they were unable to put the game away, outplaying the Crew for large portions of the match. Coach Tom Soehn was less than pleased about it, speaking after the game. “At this point we need to learn how to put teams away. That is something that comes with experience. We have had half a season to develop that. At this point in the season that’s a game you need to come away with three points.” D.C. has played well this season, but always seems to have a defensive lapse or two that costs them all three points. It reared its ugly head against on Saturday, as Alejandro Moreno was left unmarked for the equalizer.

4. What an interesting week for Alecko Eskandarian. Swapped LA clubs during the week, earning the start for his new club, and scoring the game-winning goal against New England in the sixth minute. Galaxy fans must be hoping he maintains that scoring record for the rest of the season.

5. The ship is sinking on Steve Nicol’s team. He can’t be blamed much, as injuries to just about every important player has played it’s part. Nicol spoke of their troubles after the game. “We had a right winger playing left back, we had a ton of things against us tonight, but we stood up and we showed what we are made of. We could’ve had a penalty at the end. We didn’t quite get on the end of some things in the penalty box. Whether that means we need to put a better ball in or make a better run. But, we are absolutely gutted that we didn’t get a point.” That being said, it also took a few nice saves from Matt Reis to keep the score close.

6. The loss of Jimmy Conrad is perhaps the biggest any MLS team must endure during the Gold Cup. Enter Rauwshan McKenzie, a second-year defender out of Michigan State. His MLS debut on Saturday wasn’t a day to remember, as a Mike Chabala cross just eluded McKenzie’s head, instead finding Kei Kamara for the game’s only goal. He followed that up by missing a golden chance on a set piece later in the match. The Wizards looked like the much dangerous team, although lacking that finishing touch that would have perhaps earned them a point.

7. Chicago must be appreciative of the fact Marco Pappa plays for such a rubbish CONCACAF side. The Guatemalan’s first half goal was essential for a strong start out in Commerce City, Co. Sad to imagine if his country’s national team was any good, that he would have missed out on last Saturday’s match.

8. The home dominance didn’t continue for Real Salt Lake this week. After a brilliant goal from Arturo Alvarez, they found themselves one goal down and with little answers, despite the work of Clint Mathis in the midfield. They were fortunate to find an equalizer thanks to a Chris Leitch own goal. Disastrous for the Quakes, who were so close to a win but couldn’t hold on against a ten-man RSL side. Heartbreak for San Jose and Leitch, who needed a win badly.

9. Though Jon Busch was on the Gold Cup roster, he didn’t make the trip to Seattle with Troy Perkins getting the start in goal and Luis Robles listed as a back up. A win-win situation for both, as Busch gets a look from Bob Bradley and his staff while not missing out on the entire month.

10. An interesting point about Juan Pablo Angel — the striker was nursing an injury he said would have kept him out under normal circumstances.”If we weren’t in the situation that we are in now, I wouldn’t have played today…We only had 13 field players in the squad which I find shocking, but I guess that is the way it is. Obviously, there is something we are doing wrong here. You can’t be at this level. I am not happy when we don’t have sufficient players on the bench to fill up the squad.” With the Revolution having to do this in a USOC game last week and now the Red Bulls in a league game, is this a major talking point when it comes  to roster size? Injuries are the biggest cause, but there needs to be a rule in place to give team’s more flexibility when it comes to roster issues.

11. Bonus Gold Cup thoughts — Strange to see Jimmy Conrad called into the roster, only to not even make the final 18…the U.S. Open Cup match between Portland and Seattle on Thursday outdrew the U.S.-Grenada game, 16,382-15,387. What do you make of that?…Freddy Adu looked rusted against Grenada and needs consistent playing time…Robbie Rogers looked much better against a no-name CONCACAF opponent than he has against most MLS defenses this season…Props to Kyle Beckerman for his return to the USMNT. He looked solid out there, and I’m hoping he’ll get a long look from Bradley during the Gold Cup.

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