A sell-out crowd of more than 70,000 fans will fill Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday for the 24th playing of the MLS All-Star Game. For the 15th time in a row, MLS all-stars will face a team from Europe in the summer showcase — with Juventus being the latest to participate — and there is plenty of reason to believe the league has outgrown the format.
The original MLS All-Star Game set a high bar for the event, with a sell-out crowd of 78,416 filling Giants Stadium. The size of that inaugural crowd had more to do with the second match played that day, between the Brazilian national team and a World All-Star team that included Jurgen Klinsmann, George Weah and Lothar Matthaeus.