Basket is now 4th, well tied for 3rd we could say http://eleconomista.com.mx/infografias/aguilas-america/2012/02/17/aficion-futbol-soccer-mexico
The difference between MLS and the NFL and NBA, if not MLB, is that it can't, or doesn't, mess with the rules of the game to try to gain more market share. The NFL regularly tweaks its rules to encourage offense, because that's what sells. It also makes changes for the benefit of the TV networks, like reducing the time between plays to keep the game as close to 3 hours as possible. The NBA has added things like the shot clock, the 3-point line and the half-court in-bounds after a timeout. The NHL eliminated tie games and the two-line pass rule. The MLS has decided that it's better off appealing to the segment of American sports fans who want an "authentic" soccer experience than trying to win over the masses by "Americanizing" the game, having failed at that early in the league's history. That may be a smart business decision, but it means its ambition is probably not to overtake baseball, football or basketball.
revitalized brazilian soccer?? when did brazilian soccer ever die/collapse? im pretty sure they've been as high as #1/#2 like 4 years ago, and haven't been ranked in the double digits for as long as i can remember (haven't looked it up)
well i don't neccesarily agree (honestly there's been more controversy regarding the recent nfl rule changes than satisfaction), i think the fact of the matter is what rules would u change to americanize it?? Changes in those sports happened because of demand by fans or because it made sense. There really isn't any rule changes for the MLS that make sense
It might be more of a reference to the fact that the Brazilian league is managing to hold onto star players for longer and even draw national team members back from Europe. But most of that has to do with the fact that the Brazilian economy is strong and growing. In the 90s, Neymar never would have stayed in Brazil for this long. Hell, he wouldn't have still been in Brazil if it were 2005.
Stop expansion at 20, so you don't dilute talent that way maybe we will see a MLS team win CCL, by winning CCL you get notoriety by playing against the best.
i think a mls team winning the CCL would definitely help exposure as well. But to be honest we definitely need a superstar, and we need to keep him in the league. I mean hell look at the increase in ratings golf got when tiger woods burst onto the scene, im pretty sure the same thing can happen in soccer if we could develop a great player or two
Who says soccer has passed hockey? Just look at hockey attendance this year over 3000 Professional Chicago 21,525 Montreal 21,273 Philadelphia 20,581 Detroit 20,124 Toronto 19,524 Calgary 19,289 Ottawa 19,289 Vancouver 18,883 St. Louis 18,783 Pittsburgh 18,560 Buffalo 18,535 Washington 18,506 Tampa Bay 18,457 NY Rangers 18,190 Los Angeles 17,881 Minnesota 17,763 Boston 17,564 San Jose 17,562 Edmonton 16,839 Nashville 16,632 Florida 16,538 Carolina 15,780 Colorado 15,394 New Jersey 15,324 Winnipeg 15,004 Anaheim 14,618 Columbus 14,579 Dallas 13,813 NY Islanders 13,116 Phoenix 12,170 Hershey 9,780 Fort Wayne 7,873 Providence 7,631 Lake Erie 7,595 Chicago 7,426 Houston 7,180 Grand Rapids 7,118 San Antonio 7,045 Charlotte 6,838 Wichita 6,414 St. John's 6,300 Toledo 6,187 Milwaukee 6,113 Ontario 6,072 Stockton 5,832 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton5,711 Missouri 5,504 Rochester 5,488 Manchester 5,473 Texas 5,471 Colorado 5,289 Toronto 5,287 Portland 5,227 Peoria 5,216 Gwinnett 5,174 Syracuse 5,166 Bakersfield 4,957 Adirondack 4,949 Bridgeport 4,912 Hamilton 4,897 Norfolk 4,882 Evansville 4,832 Florida 4,817 Rapid City 4,730 Connecticut 4,636 Tulsa 4,500 Alaska 4,449 Worcester 4,411 Reading 4,314 Allen 4,292 Utah 4,274 Las Vegas 4,264 Rockford 4,184 Cincinnati 4,136 Idaho 3,882 Oklahoma City 3,676 Knoxville 3,631 Binghamton 3,543 Springfield 3,510 Rio Grande Valley 3,499 Abbotsford 3,474 Albany 3,404 Huntsville 3,386 Greenville 3,371 Fayetteville 3,305 Elmira 3,290 Quad City 3,245 South Carolina 3,132 College/Junior Wisconsin 11,773 North Dakota 11,155 Quebec 10,525 Minnesota 9,539 London 8,860 Nebraska-Omaha 7,864 Boston College 7,549 Calgary 7,428 Colorado College 6,754 Massachusetts 6,603 Minnesota-Duluth 6,328 Kitchener 6,326 Maine 6,182 Halifax 6,177 Kelowna 6,073 Michigan 5,997 Victoria 5,845 Windsor 5,613 Spokane 5,520 Vancouver 5,499 Ottawa 5,445 Michigan State 5,364 Denver 5,359 New Hampshire 5,297 Ohio State 5,178 Boston University 4,963 St. Cloud State 4,939 Massachusetts-Lowell 4,904 Red Deer 4,716 Saskatoon 4,593 Notre Dame 4,593 Everett 4,551 Sault Ste. Marie 4,375 Cornell 4,238 Edmonton 4,174 Brandon 4,114 Portland 4,085 Medicine Hat 4,006 Moncton 3,943 Tri-City 3,933 Saint John 3,901 Seattle 3,854 Kamloops 3,841 Fresno 3,791 Regina 3,767 Moose Jaw 3,752 Lincoln 3,630 Vermont 3,573 Bemidji State 3,521 Sarnia 3,495 Western Michigan 3,444 Guelph 3,441 Rensselaer 3,435 Oshawa 3,377 Saginaw 3,356 Fargo 3,322 Sudbury 3,317 Shawinigan 3,258 Barrie 3,240 Minnesota State 3,228 Indiana 3,223 Lethbridge 3,175 Yale 3,169 Dartmouth 3,112 Alaska-Anchorage 3,093 Alaska 3,078 Miami 3,021 Rimouski 3,019 Wenatchee 3,012
I have no doubt soccer will be the 4th major sport in the US and Canada within the next generation, or 20-30 years. That is, as long as MLS survives. It should be twice as popular as it was 20 years ago, so it should be pretty sweet. I personally think America and Canada are big enough to have a Big 5 pro sports market. I don't see why it can't happen, we have the population and interest in sports to do it.
Because it isn't "big" in those terms. It's like Eris. Soccer is Pluto and indoor soccer is Charon. American football is Jupiter.
Well sure, but MMA is more of an Individual sport, I mean NASCAR is top 3-5 but we usually exclude them from the list.
If we included individual sports wed have to include nascar, golf, tennis, mma, boxing, horse racing, indycar... etc
I'm talking about brasilian domestic league where the interests for every santos game is in an all time high. Neymar is the face of brasilian football not one of the brasilians playing in the european big clubs. Because of neymar there is a big movement to keep players in brasil for longer. And the national team is made up with a bunch of local players and for the olympics the majority of the players will be from local leagues instead of europe. []__[]
Is there anything in the current day setup that suggests MLS won't survive? We are beyond the point of having to worry about its sustainability. Otherwise I agree with what you're saying. Lol Lacrosse. Seriously, even soccer fans can disparage lacrosse.
Do not underestimate the power of Concacaf and FIFA to F things up. Like say pulling the Canada waiver or forcing pro/rel on MLS, etc. Remember we are lawsuit happy here in the USA, FIFA hates lawsuits that they can not control or put down. Could MLS survive losing International (FIFA) recognition if it came down to it? Perhaps, but it would not be as fun IMO. So Lacrosse is to soccer what soccer is to Hockey. They do have TV deals with ESPN2 (6 games) and CBSSN (14) They are where we were about 10 years ago, does not mean they will make it, but hey I am sure Hockey fans taught the same about MLS in 2000. One thing soccer does have over Lacrosse is that soccer has the attention of a huge Latino market in the USA, Lacrosse does not. A few more things about soccer over LAX Lacrosse is also more expensive than soccer and not popular internationally like soccer. So maybe LAX = Hockey (less international) and Soccer is more like Basketball.
i dont know if this is the correct thread to post this, but the attendance has been very bad this season in mls. All i see is about 10k a game