Can St. Louis be Soccer Heaven for More Than A Day?

At least for a day, St. Louis was the center of soccer in the U.S. as 48,628 fans watched Manchester City reverse an 0-3 deficit to earn a 4-3 victory over Chelsea at Busch Stadium last night. It was the largest crowd to see a sporting event in the stadium's short history. The friendly drew praise locally and in Europe, where match reports cited "iconic" Busch Stadium and noted tickets for the match were gone in just 20 minutes.

European news reports placed the match in the "American Midwest" - that sounds like a label St. Louis could own. Chicago is itself, identifiable as a monolith. St. Louis however, can own the Midwest. Kansas City, Columbus, someplace else? Not so much. St. Louis is larger, has more history, and more soccer history.