This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on April 1, 2005.

By Nick Tavares

All attentions are focused on the Red Sox and Yankees opening-day spectacular, but, in case you missed it, we're on the eve of another opening day — soccer's. Specifically, the Revolution, who open up tomorrow at 10 p.m. at San Jose to play the Earthquakes.

It may be surprising, but Major League Soccer is on the verge of its 10th season, not bankruptcy. So the sport that "nobody" cares about may actually be thriving.

And there's no shortage of story lines to follow this season. Freddy Adu will begin his second season with D.C. United at the ripe old age of 15. U.S. star Landon Donovan is back in North America, having signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, a major coup for a league that has been losing its biggest stars to European leagues for the past few seasons.

There are two new teams as well, and it appears that this expansion will go more smoothly than the last go-around. Prior to the 1998 season, MLS added the Miami Fusion and Chicago Fire. But by 2000, the Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny were deleted, leveling the league off at 10 teams again.

But time and a sense of stability have given MLS a new sense of wisdom. No longer trying to appeal to Joe Fan, the league added Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA, a Mexican club that will play in Los Angeles.

All this, and the Revs seem to be in decent shape to start the season to boot.

Goalkeeper Matt Reis will begin his first full season as New England's starter, taking over halfway through 2004 following Adin Brown's injury. Reis came up huge in the playoff push that saw the Revs advance to the Eastern Conference final for the third straight year, and the defense seems to rest on his ability.

That's not to say he's alone, though. Defender Joe Franchino is back for his sixth season with the red, white and blue after a solid 2004 campaign, and he will play alongside Jay Heaps and Carlos Llamosa, who is returning after an ACL injury kept him out all of last year.

Up the middle and on the offensive side, New England should be strong again. Returning Rookie of the Year Clint Hurdle will play alongside Steve Ralston and Jose Cancela, and the forward duo of Pat Noonan and Taylor Twellman should be solid again.

And if it takes them a while to win a game out of the gate, don't fret. Early-season struggles don't seem to faze this group, either. This team has made a living out of playing mediocre ball for four months before pulling everything together for a late-season playoff run.

From the MLS Cup game in 2002 through the last two conference title games, this team has made a living off of streaking in the final weeks, and it has paid dividends for three years running.

So, if you're not busy on a Wednesday or Saturday this summer, take a drive up Route — to Foxboro to catch a game. They make their home opener a week from Saturday against the Columbus Crew.

It can be a nice distraction from baseball, especially if the Sox are 10 games out of first and you're wondering what the other 5.7 million people on Earth have been making such a fuss over.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. Contact him at ntavares@s-t.com

This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on April 1, 2005.