Finally, it came. Paper streamers arced through the air, covering the player setting the ball near the right angle of the field for a corner kick. He brushed off the party decoration, then stooped to clear the area around the ball. In the box, the home team caught their breath a bit, secure in the knowledge that it would take a while for the corner to be taken.

None of this seems like a recipe for disaster, but many fiascoes start innocently enough.

The crowd issues in MLS actually started years before the league existed, with the most successful soccer organization in the US - the American Youth Soccer Organization. AYSO soccer took as part of its fundamental philosophy to make the game fun for all involved. While that might sound ideal, the fact was that AYSO had stepped into a development gap and imposed a philosophy that would be hard to shake. It wasn't the players who were being conditioned, though. It was the fans.

AYSO grew exponentially right around the time the North American Soccer League became defunct. Instead of soccer in the U.S. being considered a pro game, with well-paid athletes who were held to adult standards of professionalism, the beautiful game came to be considered a pastime for children. As such, fans were taught at AYSO matches to cheer nicely for both squads and to never boo or belittle any players on the field.

When MLS was finally formed, it was difficult for many to break that habit of politeness and quiet observance, especially since many brought their AYSO-participating children to games. The league was family-friendly, and yet it was sadly lacking in die-hard aficionados.

It was no wonder, then, that after years of tepid atmosphere in the stands, that MLS was thrilled to welcome expansion and see giddy fans in an electrically charged environment at Toronto games. In fact, the league was as pleased as it was clueless. This was proved when Toronto gave away inflatable seat cushions before a game in the team's inaugural year. Danny Dichio scored and the fans honored him by flinging the objects on to the field. Play had to be stopped while stadium crew labored to clear the debris, some of which had hit players.

The ignorance of MLS administrators continued to compound the problem, rather than solve it. When Commissioner Don Garber praised Toronto fans and their throwing of streamers, he mentioned that South American spectators also use streamers for atmosphere. Garber failed to note that nowhere in the entire soccer world, outside of MLS, are fans allowed to heave things on the field that delay play, which the streamers flung during corner kicks definitely do. Instead, his explicit condoning of the action, while it may have seemed harmlessly indulgent, failed utterly to nip the issue of interference in the bud.

So it was not surprising, perhaps, that fan groups that had previously abstained from such behavior started to embrace it and even go further in pushing the envelope.

In Columbus, during a recent home game versus the New England Revolution, Crew fans pelted veteran midfielder Steve Ralston with not only streamers, but coins, beer cups and batteries when he set up for a corner kick. At one point, Ralston picked up a smoke bomb that had landed on the grass and moved it out of his way.

It was a bit eerie to consider that only a few short years ago, Crew Stadium was where Ralston had scored the winning goal versus Mexico to clinch a spot in the 2006 World Cup for the U.S. Now he was ducking garbage thrown by perhaps some of the same people who cheered him previously.

Oddly enough, Ralston didn't complain too much afterwards, though he did complain about the hard objects thrown. The truth is that so many players have performed for years in front of those AYSO-trained and deadened spectators that they are starved for attention. Loud and involved fans are treasured around the world and in MLS, they are especially cherished. Players are so happy to see people demonstrating how much they care, that they don't want to do anything to dampen that. Instead, they let it go.

That might be why streamers are no longer enough for some. The ante must be upped because there's no longer an illicit thrill if behavior such as pelting players with streamers is in fact allowed. New shenanigans are taking place. A fan invaded the field during the Galaxy/TFC match in Toronto, for example.

Some MLS organizations have coped with crowd control by imposing draconian rules on fan behavior. Others are more lax. The central leadership of MLS (other than Garber's professed affection for streamers) is remarkably quiet on what the limits for fans are. That's bizarre, given that this is a sport where players are fined if they criticize officials or take off a jersey to celebrate a goal. Meanwhile, the standard for behavior in the stands is oddly unclear and varies from venue to venue.

That is why, even as despicable as the incident where a spectator at Crew Stadium voiced a racial epithet was, it hardly seems fair for the league to suddenly become retroactively indignant and deduct points from the club. Some have suggested this should be done. Nothing would be wrong with this judgment if it was clearly outlined by the league beforehand what punishment would follow a specific crime.

Too much of what individual MLS clubs do on the issue of fan behavior is reactive - after a situation spirals badly out of control. In Columbus and in earlier incidents between supporters of the two LA squads, it was deemed that a heavier security presence, or one better trained in what sort of actions to police, would have made a crucial difference in either averting the problem or quickly coping with the transgressors.

At least, however, the different organizations are trying to deal with how best to manage their crowds.

MLS focused for years on developing a family-friendly structure, but the league is now attracting attention from supporters with more edge. For such divergent groups to coexist peacefully, expectations should be spelled out league-wide and enforced equally and consistently. Families will be the first to flee any environment that they deem fraught with possible danger to their children. But if they don't leave, then their AYSO kids watching will hopefully catch a glimpse of real fandom - the chants and the cheers and the sometimes negative exhortations.

A balance needs to be struck to keep the passion in the game and in the stands while also coping with the problems of where to draw the line.

That seems to be what Garber has finally realized, reversing his previous course on the use of streamers to limit and manage their use.

"It has become apparent that the use of streamers has become an opportunity for home team fans to target visiting team players, particularly during corner kicks," Garber said in an official statement on the issue. "This has resulted in an unnecessary risk to player safety and negatively impacts the competition on the field."

He reached out to MLS supporters' groups for assistance in managing the tifo.

"As a result, we ask for your support communicating with the members in and around your group to ensure that streamers are not to be thrown at or toward a player, referee or stadium staff member. The general use of streamers and confetti as an expression of fan enthusiasm is not prohibited, but will be kept under review. Should problems continue to escalate regarding the use of streamers, MLS will have no option but to prohibit the use of streamers at MLS games."

Garber also condemned completely any racist language, indicating that any person identified as calling out bigoted terms in an MLS stadium would be banned from league venues for life.

It's clear that Garber was attempting to still give fans leeway, but finally setting guidelines with clear-cut results if rules are transgressed. However, it remains to be seen how fans respond. Some will no doubt be disgruntled, after having been humored in their behavior for so long. Some will accuse the league of becoming Major League Straitlaced. Others will see an opportunity to emphasize other forms of support, such as chants, songs, flags. Even streamers could play a part, thrown in the context of specific celebration, but not at players trying to perform in a game.