I’ve been talking a lot about Atomic Habits lately — not because it’s trendy, but because James Clear completely reframed how I understand progress. He makes the case that it’s not goals that drive us, but systems. The structures we build. The habits that keep them running. The quiet routines that support the things we care about.

One of my longest-running systems — and maybe one of my nerdiest — has been my Apple Account ecosystem built around MLS.

For the past three years, MLS and Apple TV have partnered to give season ticket holders FREE MLS Season Pass. But when I lived in Arizona, that perk came with a logistical problem: I couldn’t just share my main Apple login with WCP without exposing everything else tied to my digital life.

So I built a system.

I created a “child” Apple ID under the shared email that WCP and I use only for Seattle Sounders FC business.
That way:

• She could use the MLS Season Pass independently,
• I could use my main account without disruption,
• And on our shared Saturdays off, we could watch Sounders away matches together, in sync, across two different states.

It was delicate. It was clever. It was held together by Apple Family Sharing, caffeine, and Sounders loyalty.
And it worked.

Then in April 2025, I moved back to Washington. The away-day streaming ritual stayed intact, but now I could walk through the Lumen Field gates and watch home matches in person again — the way it’s supposed to be.

And just when I thought the system would continue unchanged…

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🍎📺 The 2026 Shake-Up: MLS Season Pass Disappears

MLS and Apple dropped the first of two bombshells:
Starting in 2026, MLS Season Pass will no longer be a separate subscription.

It gets folded directly into Apple TV.

No more standalone pass.
No more separate paywall.
Just Apple TV → all MLS matches included.

Which now means I have to reevaluate my entire setup.
Do I keep my own subscription?
Do I merge everything into Jen’s Apple TV plan since she already pays for it?
Do I dissolve the Sounders-specific “child” account system I built years ago?

Systems evolve.
Life changes.
And sometimes the solutions that made perfect sense in Arizona don’t translate to Washington.

I was already chewing on that when MLS dropped a second bombshell — and this one is historic.

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📆⚽ The 2027–28 MLS Calendar Realignment

A new era, and a whole new rhythm.

Major League Soccer announced that beginning in the summer of 2027, the league will move to a summer-to-spring season, aligning with the world’s top soccer leagues.

Translated:
MLS is finally syncing with the global game.

The MLS Board of Governors approved the shift in Palm Beach, Florida, and Commissioner Don Garber called it one of the most important decisions in league history.

And he’s right.

This change affects everything:

• transfer windows
• competitive flow
• international player movement
• continental cup qualification
• playoff spotlight
• even fan habits and supporter culture

For me personally — someone who supports Liverpool FC just as faithfully as the Seattle Sounders — this is the first time my fandom actually aligns on a single calendar.
My world soccer rhythm won’t be split across two timelines anymore.

It feels like someone just merged my two universes.

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🗓️ 2027–28 Season Structure

Transition Season — Feb to May 2027

Before the new calendar begins, MLS will run a special mini-season:

• 14-game regular season
• Playoffs + MLS Cup
• Determines 2027 qualification for:
  • Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
  • Canadian Championship
  • Leagues Cup
  • Concacaf Champions Cup

Regular Season (Global-Style)

• Kickoff: Mid-to-late July 2027
• Final matches & playoffs: Spring 2028
• MLS Cup: Late May 2028

Midwinter Break

• Mid-December → early February
• No league matches in January
• A true European-style pause

MLS is also evaluating adjustments to both the regular-season format and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, but nothing is final yet.

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🌍⚽ Aligning With the World — and With Myself

I didn’t expect a streaming announcement and a global calendar shift to intersect with something I took from James Clear… but here we are.

When the systems you build meet a moment of major structural change, you get clarity.
MLS is changing its system — fundamentally.
And as a supporter, my own system adapts with it.

From shared Apple logins
to Sounders Saturdays
to global soccer calendars
to Liverpool mornings and MLS evenings —
it all suddenly aligns.

2027 marks the start of a new MLS era.
2028 will define it.
And for fans like me, whose hearts are painted in Rave Green and Liverpool Red, this new rhythm feels… right.

Different, yes.
But right.