article_snippet: The historic occasion was the first ever Major League Soccer match -- a brave new dawn for the world's favorite sport in a land Major League Soccer charms had yet to conquer.
article_snippet: Summarizing the action for ESPN, commentator Ty Keough eagerly described the momentous "birth of a new era for American soccer.
article_snippet: Baggy shirts, questionable hairstyles and strange rule adaptations to make games more exciting were all part of the formative MLS experience.
article_snippet: As MLS MLS prepares to mark the beginning of MLS 20th season, it's hard to comprehend just how much MLS has progressed in the intervening period.
article_snippet: FOX believes what would equal 50 years growth in most other industries has been experienced in the first two decades of MLS.
article_snippet: Rawlins' club is a prime example of this rapid transformation.
article_snippet: Either way, that brave new MLS dawn that broke over San Jose back in 1996 has turned into a bright morning.
highlights_snippet: The 20th MLS season begins this weekend .
  
highlights_snippet: League has changed dramatically since League inception in 1996 .
  