The first and last professional soccer team I rooted for actively and on a regular basis hasn’t played a game since 1981. That would be the Dallas Tornado of the also-defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). The Tornado had one NASL championship, in 1971.

Much like basketball — despite the woeful expansion Dallas Mavericks at the time (founded in 1980) — soccer didn’t garner much attention or affection compared to the Texas Rangers and especially the Dallas Cowboys. Football was and is king in Texas.

Times have changed, and there are now much-loved basketball (the powerhouse Mavs!), soccer (FC Dallas), and even hockey (the Stars) teams running around the Metroplex.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and Southern California has been blessed with first one and now two professional soccer teams, not to mention a beautiful soccer stadium and complex. And with my recent catching up on the global game’s history and current state (not to mention attending a Chivas USA game last season), I’ve been pondering adopting one of them as a Favorite Soccer Team.

Alex is leaning toward adopting Chivas USA, especially since the Beckham announcement. I had been considering the Galaxy, partly because they’ve been around longer, and partly due to Landon Donovan, who’s a Redlands native. With Beckham and accompanying media frenzy, I’m beginning to have my doubts.

Doing some research on the parent Club Deportivo Guadlajara Chivas team, it reads as if they are kind of the Yankees of the Mexican Primera División. And you can say I’m not a big Yankees fan. ;) A better analogy might be Manchester United, I suppose.

However, I do dig the goats, and if the rumored move to Pomona comes true, that might make the decision for me.

So for now, I think I’ll just follow the news and maybe try to make a game or two. Ask again later. Besides, there are other important things to keep me occupied.