I’ve seen the future of hockey, and it is soccer. At least that thought flickered through my mind last night, attending my first MLS game, in which the NY-NJ Metrostars sadly defeated the DC United at RFK Stadium, 2-1. The attendance was 18,751. The night before, at the Washington Capitals’ second hockey game of the season, a measly 13,021 spectators paid for admission. This may not be an entirely fair comparison: The United were playing a late-season contest with playoff implications; the Caps may very well be the worst team in the NHL, and hockey fans may still be upset by the strike. Also, the United historically have been one of the best franchises in the MLS (they’re like the Yankees of soccer), and hockey tends to be most popular in snowier places north of here. So maybe we’re dealing with apples and oranges. And please don’t get me wrong: I’m a big-time hockey fan who will be taking his son to early-morning mite practice in just a few minutes. But if attendance numbers like this are at all typical, soccer will dislodge hockey as our country’s fourth major professional team sport, at least in some cities. If it hasn’t already.