As the popularity of American soccer continues to rise, one person who is observing with keen interest is Max Bretos. He is a play-by-play announcer for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Bretos has been broadcasting soccer on various networks and platforms, including FOX Sports and ESPN, for over two decades. He is also known for his time as a SportsCenter anchor.
He is scheduled to call the action when Atlanta United visits Orlando City on Saturday night. We recently caught up with Bretos to ask him about MLS and the league’s progress.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: Why should someone sign up for MLS Season Pass?
Max Bretos: “It’s a window into the American soccer culture, which is interesting. It’s still in diapers, it’s still growing. I can certainly enjoy that, and it’s a big league. So, MLS Season Pass, I think it’s twofold, to develop a fandom for a club, maybe it’s your local team, maybe it’s a team you have a connection to, maybe it’s a player you like. And also, seeing the landscape of American soccer. There are a lot of interesting players, some big-name European players, some interesting young South American players, and even our young American players…
“There are a lot of foundation stones in watching MLS. I think it’s very fulfilling. The sooner you get in, the more you’re going to appreciate it.”
What’s the big story this season in MLS?
“I think most people are going to gravitate towards (Lionel) Messi and to see where he goes. I think that’s the easy answer. To me, it’s going to the South when MLS did not have a footprint there. I don’t think anyone in a million years ever thought that that would be feasible. We have successful teams in the area you would call the Bible Belt. You have in Charlotte. You have Nashville. You have Atlanta. You have Orlando, and then you have Miami. These are five newer clubs.
“If someone told me 10, 15 years ago that that was a direction American soccer was going to go, I would have probably discouraged them. ‘There’s no way it’s going to work. That’s college football country.’ That is a marketplace you wouldn’t think could support a soccer team. I was dead wrong.”
Who is a team to watch?
“I think if you’re going pick one specific team, it’s Charlotte. Charlotte, who’s in first place as I speak to you in the Eastern Conference and has a ton of ambition and has great ownership, which is something a lot of these clubs down in that Southern corridor have. I think that’s a team, if you’re neutral in MLS, you’ve got to watch some of the Charlotte games and see how they fare and see if they can maintain the standard because they might be that team at the end that will face Lionel Messi in Miami to see who can hit the target by the time we roll around in November.”
Who else has been a surprise?
“Vancouver, who started the season with reports that they were going to be sold. When that happens, you wonder: What does that mean? Is it possible that they may not be in Vancouver? It didn’t start with much optimism. Then they hired this Danish coach, Jesper Sørensen, who has really no pedigree. He never left Denmark. He hasn’t coached for very long. It seemed like a big risk. Well, this guy comes in and he immediately makes a shift with the Whitecaps. They lost their best player, Ryan Gauld, to injury and they haven’t missed him really at all. They have played in the Concacaf Champions Cup. They’ve knocked out two massive clubs from Mexico, Monterrey and Pumas, which historically is unheard of in MLS.”
Who are the young stars fans should watch out for?
“One in our backyard (in Los Angeles) is David Martinez, who is regarded as the best young player to come out of Venezuela. In normal years, he would probably find his way to Spanish football, but he’s come to LAFC. You can see the talent. He’s still very raw but when you see him, you get up out of your seat. It’s very exciting. The other interesting one is Cavan Sullivan. He’s 15. He joined Philadelphia when he was 14 and started some games. Now, he’s not quite ready, but what’s been interesting about Philadelphia is his older brother, Quinn Sullivan has been the guy that has taken that step. He’s 21, but he has taken that step to become a big star and setting the table for his brother.”
What can you tell about the next match you’re broadcasting?
“I’m going to be in Orlando for Orlando and Atlanta, two clubs with big aspirations. Both are struggling a bit right now, more so Atlanta. I mentioned Vancouver, maybe a bigger surprise on the opposite end is how poor Atlanta United has played. They spent a record amount of money on players. They spent $22 million on a new forward. They have a dedicated fan base. They have arguably the biggest benefactor to American soccer, and Arthur Blank, who has made abundantly clear he wants to make this a global brand. They have spent like that, and they have pursued it, but things haven’t fallen into place.”
Who is on your Mount Rushmore of SportsCenter anchors?
“I would put Chris Berman there. Chris was so wonderful with me when I was there. I would put Neil Everett, who brought levity and a certain style that was an inspiration to me. Linda Cohn is just a machine who continues to work on her craft at SportsCenter and do an incredible job. I was going to say Dan (Patrick) or Keith (Olbermann), but I didn’t watch them as much. I think Stuart Scott would probably be the fourth. So, I got Linda, Berman, Stuart Scott, and Neil Everett. How’s that? There’s probably not a wrong answer. There’s probably not a right answer.”
Did you ever work with the late Mike Patrick, who recently passed away?
“I did some segments with him early on, and he was just wonderful. I was a huge Mike Patrick fan…
“I remember I saw this when he was starting Sunday Night Football, and there was a story he shared on a program on ESPN where they had John Matuszak come in, and they were trying out people to be his analysts. John Matuszak, I guess, called the first half of whatever game they did and said, ‘I’m going to the bathroom. I’m coming back.’ Mike Patrick said, ‘OK.’ And then Matuszak never came back. So, Mike Patrick had to finish the game. It was a Sunday night game. I think that’s how the story goes.
“When ESPN got into that business of NFL broadcasting that Sunday night game, Mike Patrick was an important part of that development. I did get to work with him, and I cherish that. People like that are certainly going to be missed in the industry.”
Did you always want to be a broadcaster?
“I studied international relations (at Florida State). I was trying to maybe get into a legal field at some point. There were things in the arts I wanted to do. I dabbled in theater, but I knew I wanted to do sports. I came to Los Angeles. I put myself in a position where I could work for a sports company, answering phones and doing clerical work. I would eventually roll into the job at Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports World, and I got to call games. It was just the right place at the right time.”
What does Ted Lasso get right about soccer culture?
“To me, what it really hits is that humanity level. It’s a bit of a cartoon, which works for the show. It’s like these conversations that may take place, probably not. The personalities are over the top, which also works for that. It just has these precious moments of relationships. When you watch Ted Lasso, your favorite parts are kind of the non-soccer parts. It’s a good framework. I think it’s a good draw for soccer fans to tune in.”