In all my excitement over tomorrow’s first round MLS playoff matchup, which sees the Chicago Fire take on regular season champions DC United, I had almost forgotten that most of the country won’t even notice the game. Once again, the issue of the playoffs taking place during October means MLS’ showpiece games are lost in the shuffle.

As Robert Spain points out, tomorrow’s game has quite some competition for attention.

D.C. United will face the Chicago Fire on Thursday, October 25 at 8:30 PM EST on ESPN2 to kick off the 2007 MLS Playoffs.

At the same time, #2 Boston College will already be underway with their Primetime Thursday matchup with #8 Virginia Tech, which airs on ESPN; while FOX will be airing Game 2 of the 2007 World Series between the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox.

It seems as if the MLS just can’t catch a break.  Thursday is just another prime example of how the MLS isn’t playing just for trophies and advertisements—they are playing for pride, TV airtime, and most importantly, attention.