NASL adopts Spring/Fall seasons for 2013

Discussion in 'NASL' started by WhiteStar Warriors, Sep 5, 2012.

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  1. Macsen

    Macsen Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 5, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Always fun watching Whitestar contradict himself. He was, after all, always the strongest proponent of NASL's home-and-away playoff format. At least, until the league said otherwise. Then, revisionist history seems to be the flavor of the month. :whistling:

    Seriously, interesting setup. I sense a possible setup to flipping the schedule and trying to do a fall/spring schedule at some point in the future. And it's good to have some schedule space built in for friendlies instead of shoehorning them into the schedule (if you even bother with it).

    Of course, this assumes this is even the announcement. It's not on the website yet. Has anyone else got this release?
     
  2. CHHSfan

    CHHSfan Member

    Oct 30, 2010
    Chapel Hill
    Club:
    Carolina Railhawks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Selfishly, I love it because July gave us multiple rain delays. That said, the NASL is moving a little more on Football season. That may not affect us, but it will affect the casual fan, especially here.
     
  3. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
    so a team can win both apertura and clausure but still lose the soccerbowl ?
     
  4. Smoke & Mirrors

    Jul 18, 2010
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Heard about this last night from someone who would certainly know. This is definitely the announcement coming today Rays. Although how someone got ahold of the actual press release, WSW of all people apparently, is a bit beyond me. I'm guessing someone at league HQ isn't going to be happy about that, especially considering the overwhelmingly negative response it has garnered thus far. Not to mention confusion. Just look back at this thread for a minute, and realize it's only the tip of the iceberg on the topic. This is a horrible, horrible idea for a number of reasons:
    • Confusing fans - Those of us frequenting these forums are the diehards. We live for our teams and leagues. If we aren't completely sure about the rules of this thing, just think what kind of headache it's going to be to try and explain to the friend, family member, or co-worker you're trying to convince to come to a game for the first time to give it a chance. How on earth does the average American sports fan even begin to relate to "half season champs" like in Mexico or Central America somewhere? It's completely assinine. Instead of making things easy to understand and help to continue attracting new fans, we're going to adopt a system that will confuse everyone? Stupid.
    • Starting earlier, finishing later - Quick, someone tell me why the MLS still hasn't conformed to the schedule the rest of the world plays? Ding ding ding, that's right! Because Americans aren't interested in freezing their arses off in Feb. or Nov. to watch pro soccer. I wish the game had grown to the heights of popularity here that we could fill stadiums with rabid fans who couldn't care less about the fact it is 10 degrees and snowing. But it hasn't. It might never.
    • The meaning of regular season games - Is anyone going to argue that the single biggest challenge pro soccer clubs in America face each season is how to get more fans to attend? It's the lifeblood of the entire effort, even more so at the lower levels where there is zero TV money and sponsorships are even more difficult to secure. So how does implementing a schedule that will make more regular season games even more meaningless for more teams going to help attendance???
    I could go on. But to me, I see not a single solitary benefit to this, and unfortunately I see a whole lot of problems. I feel bad for WSW sometimes because he's always getting piled on, but look dude, you're just wrong here. I'm not one to bash you, but anything resembling an argument you've tried to make in favor of this move is just wishful thinking/utter nonsense. This is bad for the NASL and its fans for lots of reasons. Maybe someone will explain just what problem exactly it is they are trying to "fix" with this "solution." Maybe somehow it will make some kind of sense. But for the life of me, right now, I can't see anything that could cause me to change my opinion on it. My sincerest hope is that fans will tell their teams and the league how poor a decision they find this to be, and that the league, and the commissioner who always says they want to hear from the fans in an effort to make their league better will listen and take action. I for one can't wait to see Mr. Downs at Lockhart again so I can, rationally, and resepctfully provide him with my opinion on the matter.
     
  5. teucer

    teucer Member

    Dec 17, 2009
    Raleigh, NC, USA
    Club:
    Carolina Railhawks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A break in July is also good for the players, given what the weather is like here and in the NASL cities even further south. (August would be an even better time for a break, really, since most years it is even hotter than July.)
     
  6. teucer

    teucer Member

    Dec 17, 2009
    Raleigh, NC, USA
    Club:
    Carolina Railhawks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes. One of the teams jumped the gun and posted it to their website, then took it down.
     
  7. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  8. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
    NASL Changes to Split Season Format in 2013, Traditional Playoff System Eliminated

    2012 SEPTEMBER 5

    In what could be interpreted as a cost saving measure for team owners, the NASL will announce on Tuesday morning that in 2013 they will go to a two part season similar to some Latin American countries.
     
  9. Kickballer

    Kickballer Member

    Nov 2, 2010
    Orlando,Fl
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Finding ways to save money is always smart. But, does this show some financial problems looming for NASL?
     
  10. fifty7

    fifty7 Member

    Oct 27, 2010
    Long Island
    Club:
    Everton FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Can we make all these 'NASL will challenge MLS'/'NASL will get great players because of no cap' posts moddable due to rampant stupidity? It's the worst part of being a Cosmos supporter, having to deal with all these deluded people who think we're going to be a superclub
     
  11. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think it'll be that confusing, I know split season schedule has been used in minor league baseball for some time. When a local minor league team's league went split season here in MN no one complained or revolted and stopped attending the games.
     
    TheJoeGreene repped this.
  12. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep

    Minor league sports teams usually are break even at the best, and playoffs a pretty expensive with almost no time to promote games nor get good incomes
     
  13. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So say only 9 teams in 2013 (Hope Minnesota keeps going).

    That is 16 games for the "Spring" season are there going to be playoffs?

    Then 16 more games in the "fall" season playoffs?

    Then 1 game soccer bowl.

    If there are no playoffs that means 32+1 games for the full champion and 32 games for all other teams, compared to 28 – 34 games in the current format with playoffs.

    But then as they add teams in 2014 like Ottawa and/if Virginia that will make the format very complicated.

    I have never been a fan of the Apertura/Clausura format, so can't lie, I am not liking this, hopefully it helps in the economic front.
     
  14. Permanent4

    Permanent4 Member

    Jun 6, 2008
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Carolina Railhawks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    PLAYOFFS!?!?? DON'T TALK ABOUT... PLAYOFFS!? YOU KIDDIN' ME? PLAYOFFS!?

    I don't read this format as having any playoffs. You play one round-robin, and you have a winner. Then you play another round-robin, and you have another winner. The two winners meet in a final. I doubt that fans of these clubs will really be all that confused by this.

    What I like about the format is that it makes the regular season feel more important. Right now, 75% of the clubs in the NASL make it to the playoffs, and that's really too many. This way, instead of coasting through the season and making a run in the playoffs to win it, you must finish top of the table to have a shot at the big prize. Getting rid of awkward and expensive playoff scheduling is probably a nice financial side benefit for the clubs.

    What I don't like about the format is that it appears the spring champion automatically hosts the final. Why? What's so special about the spring champ that it earns the right to host? Is that so the other clubs don't have to worry about reserving the stadium for the final? Compared to the uncertainty of playoff scheduling, it doesn't seem like it should be that hard for clubs to set aside one date for a potential final. I'd prefer to see the seasonal champ that had the best overall record over both seasons be the host for the final. That would keep the spring champion sharp for the fall season.

    Overall, though, I like this format. I think it'll be fun.
     
    WhiteStar Warriors repped this.
  15. jmmj

    jmmj Member

    Feb 17, 2006
    San Antonio, TX
    Club:
    San Antonio Scorpions FC
    I'd like to spell out the third point from Smoke & Mirrors a little more. Right now, four rounds remain and there are no teams mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. There's still a theoretical chance that any team could be the champion. That's all we have. There's no relegation battle (thank the owners), no all-the-pros-except-MLS "milk cup," for the US based sides no CCL (realistically), and no Sky/ESPN money to award by table position. Six of eight going to the playoffs sounds ridiculous until you're in the bottom four. Even position within the qualified group matters in the current arrangement. Keeping the games meaningful keeps attendance up and makes merchandise more desirable. Attendance sells sponsorships. These are the revenue streams.

    I've really enjoyed going to all the Scorpions' home matches this season. I bought season tickets long before we had a team and fully expected to have a season that looked more like our series with the Islanders than with the rest of the league. I have attended Trinity Universtiy (D3) college games and only vaguely hoped the quality of NASL would be better than that. It is. But the quality is not high enough to be compelling all on its own except to those of us just hungry to have live games to attend. Heck, the quality at the MLS game I attended this year (Hou v DC 5/12) was not all that super (excepting Davis' goal).

    The only people who seem set to benefit from this new competition are the squad players who are not currently getting league games. Folks like Jeff Jennings, Karsten Smith, Lubo Kocic, Craig Hill, Luiz Tiago, Matt Gold, and Trinity University's Zachary Garcia. And that's only if we are in the bottom six late on.
     
    speedcake and Smoke & Mirrors repped this.
  16. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No, actually, I'm not.

    YOU SAID: "A one-game semifinal and final is idiotic, but a one-game final is awesome without a one-game semifinal." You don't see the hypocrisy in that?
     
  17. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Again...how many international transfers (in/out) do we normally see out of the lower divisions, and how many games is the USMNT going to play next July?
     
  18. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Revolutionary?

    You do know what that word means, right?

    Trolls? That's another word you don't know the meaning of. I know you mean it as a pejorative, but it's not applicable.
     
  19. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I can not understand why you do not just put WSW on ignore.
     
  20. bullsear

    bullsear Member

    Feb 17, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    I'm a Minnesota fan, so I'm just going to put aside all the speculation and stick with material facts that will affect my favorite team. I know that my team might not even be a team next season, but in the event that they are, this looks like a pretty bad deal for them. (I imagine that Edmonton and Ottawa will have similar issues though.)

    First, March/April is too early to play soccer in MN. It just is. March is the snowiest month we have, quite often. And in April the ground is either soaking wet or frozen. So either you spend your whole preseason indoors (playing nobody, because no colleges, high schools, or lower division teams can play then either) or you spend a lot of money to take your team south.

    Second, October is often way too cold to play soccer. Again with the snow.

    Last, and maybe the biggest in my mind, is that the hiatus will occur directly on top of the Schwan's USA Cup, the biggest youth soccer tournament in the country from which the team almost always gets a big attendance bump.

    It seems okay in theory, but in practice I'm not sure it will make a lick of sense. We'll just have to see.
     
  21. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
    not a good idea if you want to save a buck or two
     
  22. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Look, the difference between this and Mexico is that Mexico has two complete and distinct seasons with their own playoffs (la liguilla) and a champion of that season crowned at the end (kind of like Dancing with the Stars having two seasons in the span from September to May).

    This apparently is more of a minor-league baseball "split season" thing where the first-half winner is the thing you want to be, but all it really gets you is the chance to host the one-game final in November. (By which point, you could be a completely different team than you were in May, thanks to "aligning with the transfer window.")

    The 2013 NASL Champion, as I read this, will be the team that wins the one-game final; there won't be dual champions as there are in Mexico. If you win one half and someone else wins the second half, the two winners play one game. If you win both halves, you play the team with the next best overall record. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's possible that you could win neither half and still have the best overall record (the Cincinnati Reds did it in the split season of 1981, if memory serves), and if that happens, that will be fun.

    Benefits I see: two "races" (one for each season), the elimination of short-notice playoff games, and a long time for the first-half champion to sell the final (assuming the first-half champion does host the final). You may even have a third race, for the second spot in the final if one team is on their way to winning both halves.

    Negatives: I think the confusion bit is a little overplayed, it's not that complicated, but you will end up with a scenario where teams that are out of it later in either half (once, as we know, the Cosmos spend on all these Latin American players who will make them world-beaters) play meaningless games. We'll see what impact that has. The other things are just, as I said, solutions in search of a problem. Transfer window is not really an issue, come on.

    So if they have 10 teams next year (in which case they'd better announce the 10th team soon): you'll play 18 games in the first half, then break, then 18 games in the second half, then a final. So at least 18 home games, which is a lot to sell for some of these organizations (good for San Antonio, obviously, but not everybody's going to find it so easy) PLUS US Open Cup games (if you don't sell yours) PLUS any other friendlies PLUS (if you make it) the final. You could play 40 games, which might be a record for a lower-level league.

    If they have nine teams (unwieldy, but possible), it would be 16 and 16, which is still a lot but fewer than in a 10-team scenario. The problem is this format isn't sustainable with more than 10 teams, I don't think. At 12, you're playing 22 games in each half, that's just too many to sell for most clubs.

    I give them credit for going against the normal currents here in the US and Canada. But please don't call this "innovative" or "revolutionary" when it's something the Midwest League has been doing forever.
     
    KidFlash, TheJoeGreene and NORML repped this.
  23. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm on a mission to raise the level of discourse. Progress is slow, but I'm in it for the long haul.
     
  24. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Kenn Tomasch bigsoccer's Will McAvoy :D
     
  25. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is more like the Argentina format than the Mexico format (no playoffs)
     

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