No team would be able to stop the Atlanta duo of Adu and Hazard. If Clint Mathis isn't their first head coach (or maybe an assistant to Josh Wolff) I will be severely shocked and disappointed. (And yes, I know that S.C. and Georgia are separate states.)
Congrats to Atlanta... Everything seems fine with Blank and his vision. The stadium downsizing likely works. Vancouver is the new model for football stadium downsizing with even the Vikings now contending their new stadium has "Vancouver like" downsizing potential. Hope Garber worked out an acceptable field compromise... In this country just about everyone uses Field Turf. Titi won't play in Seattle/New England/ Vancouver but will and has played in Portland...Field Turf all. I remember here in New York Field Turf was installed in the Meadowlands around 2000(?) and after the first season the Jets and Giants decided to change its nature to make it play flatter and faster (everyone wants their outside defenders to be able to turn the corner and get to that #10 guy). Don't know exactly what they did? compress it? cut the synthetic blades? both? but it certainly turned into a different playing surface. Has Blank agreed to acceptable field characteristics and maintainance? I certainly hope so. Would name the team Atlanta Falcons SC since the stadium will almost certainly be full of Falcons FC colors/logos. On to Miami and Minneapolis - St Paul...then target Carolina (complete(?) South) / St Louis / Calgary (complete Canada with a Mountain location) / Arizona (non-Texas Southwest) for 25/26/27/28. From this point forward with "final" league design within sight everything should be Seattle/Houston/Philly-like, targeted locations with proactive league search for investors/solutions.
Come on, man. You get in the way you can fit in. An NFL owner's money is as good as anyone else's, and the idea that association with an NFL team is a bad thing is a lot of handwringing. It would have been nice if the Silverbacks could be the MLS team, but since they aren't, they can serve as a feeder team of sorts. Nothing wrong with that. Again, how you fit in. Soccer's going to have to adjust in places where grass is not a wise financial choice. Yeah, that, too. For a true national league, having a team in every region beats not.
What pleases me the most is that I talked to someone from Atlanta who said that Blank if well thought of and will handle things well for the team. He is NOT another Robert Kraft (thank God!). That was my biggest worry by far.
It's easy to say the right things now. I have to see the commitment before I believe it. I just don't buy the sudden committed soccer fans after decades of not caring until your new stadium could use extra tenants. I understand the reasons but the league has taken massive risks with NYC2, Atlanta, and the pending announcement of Miami.
Can somebody explain in baby terms exactly why they can't make Field Turf as bouncy or soft as real grass? (Assuming that's the reason why real grass is preferred? If not correct me.) It's not rocket science, yo? And even if it was, couldn't a billionaire building a new stadium wave the green (so to speak) and encourage the makers of this stuff to put out a better product?
They can get somewhat close, see Portland's turf. But turf that is designed more for football is harder so that it plays faster. Turf technology has come a long ways. When the first generation of FieldTurf replaced the old school Astro Turf, that was a huge upgrade, and today's FieldTurf is much better than it's first generation. Will be interesting to see what the next generation of turf is that is being developed.
Vancouver has had a pro soccer team playing in either the first or second division every year since 1974... save for a couple of seasons. In many of those seasons, the team was known as the Whitecaps. Atlanta doesn't have nearly as deep of a heritage. Also, Atlanta isn't the only North American city with major league teams with severe traffic issues. However, compared to many of these cities, their support of their teams are generally tepid at best. It's because of these reasons that I just don't believe that Atlanta is a great market for MLS. I hope I am proven wrong.
if thats what you think, you haven't been paying attention. blank has been involved and in talks with MLS for years.
Clearly but nothing to me suggest it's anything more than him trying to maximize revenue out of the new stadium, why wouldn't he try? A lot of these new stadium projects use the carrot of MLS to help sell the overall project which main focus is A. football. I like Blank, he's one of the good owners but I'm not interested what he claims he'll do, I want to see action.
Just out of curiosity, have you held other expansion candidates to this standard, or just Atlanta for whatever reason?
you seem too quick to make a negative assumption about his motivations, but want to see action. why not stay neutral and see what he does?
As it pertains to MLS why I should give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Blank a good NFL owner, we'll see if he makes a good MLS owner. I get why MLS are pursuing expansion in the south and targeting markets like Atlanta or Miami but supporters of these clubs can't force neutrals to be as enthusiastic and optimistic as themselves. I seriously hope Atlanta works but for so many reasons I have concerns.
MLS has taken massive risks since the very first day and will continue to do so until the end of time.
Yeah and some have failed, so I don't see why people have such an issue with people voicing legit concerns.
Atlanta doesn't have nearly as deep of a heritage? It looks like the people of Atlanta off and on since 1967 have had a pro soccer team to support. http://www.mlssoccer.com/sideline/n...ccer-history-what-might-citys-new-mls-look-be Atlanta Chiefs (NPSL/NASL) - 1967-1973, 1979-1981 Atlanta Apollos (NASL - Chiefs, under new ownership) - 1973 Atlanta Attack (NPSL) - 1989-1991 Atlanta Ruckus (A-League) - 1995-1998 Atlanta Beat (WPS) - 2009-2011 Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) - 1999-present