The equality of play was a surprise-it was the most competitive race in the seven-year history of MLS.

I have kiddingly called it the 'Super Bowl,' which obviously can be improved upon.

You can't compare a Super Bowl crowd, which tends to be more polite and a little more neutral to that. The Super Bowl only has 7,000 to 8,000 fans for each team.

Well, we've made huge strides since the 1990 World Cup, USA '94, and obviously since '98. Unfortunately, those strides only register with the public once every four years.

We literally had all 10 teams alive for a playoff position in the final week of the season. That outstanding balance and those close races created a major surge in attendance in the last month of the season.

It isnt easy to put all of the ingredients together and one of the key things is this is the first time theres been a real, significant governmental body participation. In our case, its Collin County and the City of Frisco, the Frisco Economic Development group and the Frisco Independent School District. Those bodies, and Hunt Sports Group, obviously, put money into the project, and that has helped make it work.

I'm a friend in the context that we helped fight a battle together for survival of the American Football League. But I don't consider myself close to Al in recent years. You just don't continually sue your business partners like he has.