MLS Power Rankings, Week 8: Stars in charge

Through the first quarter of the season, we've already seen some brilliant performances by some of the league's brightest talent. In Week 8, the stars aligned and lit up the scoresheet for several teams, and this is a great thing for the league in reeling in those casual fans who are deciding where to spend their sports entertainment dollars this spring and summer. There were plenty of goals (28) this past week, and many of them were simply magnificent. It was a week that was fun to watch, and it would be easy to sell your friends or your coworkers about coming out to the next match.

You can tell them about Sebastian Giovinco and his two goals this weekend against Montreal. You can tell them to tune in and watch a San Jose match that features the league leader in goals so far, Chris Wondolowski. Discuss how Jermaine Jones has completely revitalized the Colorado Rapids with his inspired play. Relive Luciano Acosta's chip over and over and over and over again. Or, just teach them how Gyasi Zardes + Mike Magee + Giovani Dos Santos = world class soccer. There were too many wonderful performances to count, including on the defensive end. The stars in this league have a lot of shine, and Week 8 gave us all a ton of fuel to feed the casual fan's burning desire to come out to the next match and not suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

Despite some of the masterful individual performances, many of the top teams suffered setbacks. Last week's top dog, FC Dallas, drops this week after losing on the road in Canadian Cascadia. Your new team in the pace car is the LA Galaxy, fresh off their 5-2 throttling of Real Salt Lake. Your beloved D.C. United move up a few spots after getting back to their winning ways, while the Chicago Fire sink to the bottom of the ocean despite being idle.

Alright, it's your turn. What was your favorite performance of the week? What team showed the most in Week 8? Which teams have a lot more to do? Why haven't you voted for Lucho in the Goal of the Week bracket? Do it, my people...hit the comments and "put some respeck" in your take!