2009 MLS Cup Full Of Intrigue

This Sunday at 8:30p.m. ET, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake will face off at Qwest Field in Seattle to determine the 2009 MLS Cup champion. The stadium, home to arguably MLS' best fanbase, will be hosting the MLS Cup for the first time.

The Galaxy, fresh off a 2-0 extra time victory over the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference Finals, finally have put the star power of Landon Donovan and David Beckham to good use. Manager Bruce Arena has melded these two influential players together with a new set of tactics and cagey veterans like Gregg Berhalter, Eddie Lewis and Chris Klein. Young sensations Sean Franklin and Omar Gonzalez have also provided the Galaxy with back-to-back MLS Rookie of the Year honors. [David Beckham, left, helped lead the Galaxy to victory]

Real Salt Lake have gone from humble expansion beginnings to the top of the MLS heap in merely five years. Founded in 2004, RSL have undergone their share of struggles as the organization got their feet under them. This season, the team has ridden the goalkeeping of Nick Rimando and the goalscoring of United States international Robbie Findley. Rimando saved three shots in the penalty shootout in Saturday night's 5-4 win over the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference Finals.

[Nick Rimando came up big in goal vs. Chicago]

Sunday night's cup final will bring together two franchises who have tasted defeat more often than success in recent years. It will be refreshing to see a new champion arise out of traditional MLS powers like the Houston Dynamo, New England Revolution and DC United. The Columbus Crew, winners of the 2008 MLS Cup, seem to have started such a trend.

Also for the first time,the game will be nationally televised on ESPN and will compete with Sunday Night Football on NBC for its viewership. With this new prime time slot, it will be interesting to see just how the ratings turn out.

With the single-entity stucture of the league, it's no secret that the MLS is full of parity. The 2009 MLS Cup sees two teams who have persevered through it all trying to stake a claim as this year's best.