Expansion in '08? MLS Knows The Way To San Jose

Major League Soccer appears set to expand to 14 teams for the 2008 season. After adding Toronto FC as team #13 for this year, next year appears promising for the San Jose Earthquakes. People familiar with the subject knew it was only a matter of time before Lew Wolff got a team back in the Bay Area, but now a potential deal with San Jose State to build a 23,000-seat stadium is coming to light. The deal isn't completed yet, but an announcement could be only a couple of weeks out.

The Earthquakes were uprooted at the end of the 2005 season and shipped to Houston - where they were re-branded as the 1836 and then, ultimately, the Dynamo. You might know them better as winners of the 2006 MLS Cup.

While never leading the way in attendance, San Jose had a very devoted core of fans. Nearly 200 Earthquake fans made the trip down the coast to the Home Depot Center last year when the Galaxy hosted the Dynamo, and they made themselves heard. They were among the most passionate fans I have encountered in the league, and they deserve to have their team back. Congrats, Earthquake fans... and prepare to be annihilated by the G's in '08, and '09, and '10...