I would love to see Melee back on the MLG circuit. I dont think it will happen but heres a few things to keep in mind:
1) Back in the day the payouts werent that big and the community DEF. isnt as big as it is today. With melee on the scene it would have a much bigger fan base then it did when it was first on the circuit. The payouts now arent that great but people still make the trip, thats how the community (at least for melee) is.
2) MLG just started back then and its empire probably wasnt as big as it is today. If you watch MLG (i love to watch Halo) and keep up with it a bit they seem to be getting some sponsorships from other companies for all their games. The company itself is getting a broader audience. If smash was giving a chance it would prolly catch the attention of many people who ever saw it as that fast pace competitive game
3) Because of brawl melee has more awareness thus you see new players coming in everyday and higher attendance on major tournys such as genesis and pound.
4) People are worried about how many people are willing to take the trip and the turnout. When MLG first started it had a lot more areas on its list to stop at then it did today and people went there just fine. Now that there is less events it would leave a bit more time for people to save up that money and make the travel.
5) I understand that team based games get lots of attention so it would be a bit tough for melee but as someone stated earlier teams can rake in some people. Who knows maybe we would see a revival of local crew 4 man team crew battle (just a random though since gears and halo have like 4 men teams).
6) Im sure MLG FANS dont always show up to the venue but always catch it online, and if views is what they are looking for i remember pound had A TON of viewers on the live stream compared to other events that i could think of.
7) In Halo competition is insane but that doesnt stop people from competing. I hear things like Not everyone is going to be M2K Mango and Armada who have a legitimate shot at winning every time but if you look at MLGs games they have dominant teams that seem impossible to beat yet people enter because they are dedicated
8) The game is old and someone mentioned halo 2 being like melee and Halo 3 like brawl. Halo 2 isnt in the circuit so why would melee be in? The game is too old. Well the difference is that a lot of the big name players from halo 2 went to halo three and didnt have an insane problem with the switch. thats why you see the same names from both games. From brawl to melee the change is nuts and all the old favorites stoped playing brawl and went back to melee. The spark for halo 2 to 3 was in a sense passed as for melee it just hasnt left. (IMO)
I hope this doesnt sound like rambling but i think it could be a good opportunity i mean i could imagine this being on the Mlgpro livestream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTu5iIJt3SM