| The United States has not had professional soccer | | | | In just the Eastern Standings, D.C. United took the lead |
| until just in the last century or so. Compared to other | | | | for the year with 55 points total. New England came in |
| countries, this is actually recent in soccer history. | | | | second with 50 points, and New York barely clinched |
| In the US, Major League Soccer is broken down into | | | | third from Chicago with 43 points. In the Western |
| two sections: Eastern and Western. In the Eastern | | | | Standings, Chivas USA barely stole first with a total of |
| Sectionals, there are seven major teams: Chicago, | | | | 53 points, with Houston not far behind with 52 points. |
| Columbus, D.C. United, Kansas City, New England, New | | | | FC Dallas came in third by quite a distance, with 44 |
| York, and Toronto FC. In the Western Sectionals, there | | | | points. |
| are six major teams: Chivas USA, Colorado, FC Dallas, | | | | In the Major League Soccer Playoffs, only some of |
| Houston, Los Angeles, and Real Salt Lake. Then there | | | | the top teams from each region made it into the top |
| are the playoffs, which are the ultimate rankings, | | | | three. D.C. United came in first with their total of 55 |
| combining both sections of the nation. Let's look at the | | | | points, with Chivas USA coming in second with 53 and |
| top three of each region's standings first, then we'll | | | | Houston taking a close third with 52 points. |
| take a look at the top three in the playoff standings. | | | | While professional soccer teams in the United States |
| When looking at standings, we look at the total number | | | | are pretty new, it is becoming a more popular sport in |
| of points accrued during a specific period of time. For | | | | the States, as more people get caught up in the |
| our purposes here, we are going to look at the 2007 | | | | soccer craze. |
| standings. | | | | |