Montreal 2012 in MLS. Thoughts and So on

Is it 2012 yet?!?

I am so psyched to finally have Montreal join MLS. Its great by 2012 there will be three Canadian team in MLS. Should help improve Canadian team and improve soccer standing with the country. I hope to see all three have more Canadian players within their respective teams. Does Montreal have an academy set up?

They have a reserve team called "Academy", whose players are 17-19 years old.

lol wtf so much hate

Montréal is one of the most beautiful city with a MLS team and the organization is really classy.

Well I do hope Montreal can come in the league and be a top team real quick do what Chicago did in 98'.

What I would like to know is will the stadium once increase will the fans show up? Will Montreal Impact name be changed and does anyone want it to change or not?

Stadium will be 21k for MLS. There will probably be a provision for one game a year + maybe playoffs at the Big O (55k) next door, as is the case with the Alouettes.

The ownership has mentioned the team will keep its history and its name, Montreal Impact, which will have been synonymous with pro soccer in Montreal for 20 years.

The people suggesting a name change are mostly bandwagon jumpers who don't currently follow the Impact (and will not follow them either in 2011).

I know I'm excited.

That makes sense to keep the same name. Well I do hope the MI academies will get improved upon soon with more youth programs.

I think people that want a team change just don't understand that the team has been around for 20 some years with the current impact name. they are just uninformed is all.

I don't care what they are called I'm just happy to have an MLS team within reasonable driving distance.

With the stadium being increased to 20k+ seatings my question is will the stadium sell out once MI joins MLS? Like TFC will the Montreal fans show the same love and passion like the TFC fans have done? Can't wait to see this rivalry of Toronta vs Montreal begin in MLS. Gonna be classic games come 2012 and so on.

I think that's a bad example(TFC-Passion).

I and many others have always said that those things dont belong in the same sentence, and now that the wheels are coming off, you can look anywhere the loyal RPB-NEE go, and see how many of them are jumping ship.

Sure not all of them are, but from their own accounts(at least on RPB), some noticeable members have left.

I personally hope it is unlike TFC, because that'd just be terrible. I don't know what it'll be like come MLS, because even the recent undying love and support of the canadiens is a recent phenomena, it didn't exist 15+ years ago.

Attendance will be good as long as results are good, with obvious dropoffs when they do bad or the newness wears off. But I think it'll be less of a drop than we might see in Toronto.

I know this is a soccer forum, but are you suggesting the Canadiens didn't have support in 1995? I seem to remember them beating LA in the Stanley Cup in 1993. Not to mention they are the greatest hockey franchise ever. EVER! lol .
Back to the Impact...

University of Vermont alum John Leclair was on that team

As well as Eric Desjardins. 2 former Flyers.

No, for someone not from the city, I guess it doesnt make sense.

There was always passion for CHC here in montreal, but recently within the last 15 years the passion is a cult like unwavering confidence and blind support to the team.

There's many actual sports people who've mentioned that, it's not just anecdotal.

Not much different here in Philly to be honest.

I am excited for the inclusion of Montreal into the league parce que finalement j'aurais opportunité de parler avec des autres francophones. Nous allons devenir une ligue avec trois langues représentées et peut-être la seule autre qui serait tellement diverse serait La Liga (Gallego, Basco, Catalan, Castellano).

But anyways, I have only one concern with Montreal and that is the brand "Impact".

Judging by what Kansas City has done to move away from archaic names, is Impact just too archaic for this forward moving league?

Can someone help me fall in love with what "Impact" means? The fan's spirit? The historical legacy? The transcendental value of this deep name?

The word "impact" has the same meaning in both English and French. A key in promoting the team in a bilingual city such as Montreal.

"Impact" as a word is insignificant. What matters is that the "Impact" has been Montreal's soccer team for nearly 20 years, with 3 league championships, 7 Voyageurs Cups and countless memories.

Is anyone really going "well, Bolton doesn't really wander, so maybe they should change their name".

KC rebranded for its market, not for the benefit of the league. The Impact has no need to do so because it has high awareness in Montreal - everyone knows that the Impact is the soccer team.

I do... Bolton Wanderes is an awful name. Even Gallos Blancos makes more sense than Wanderers do.

I would love to see something a Europeanization of the club to become more of the likes Olympique de Montreal, Racing Club de Montreal, Association Sportive Montreal, Athletic Club Montreal.

I think it is worth saying that Montreal Impact has done great things and series like the one against Santos are incredibly memorable ones. Montreal Impact won't be forgotten. However, I somehow still feel that this becomes a prime opportunity to begin the inclusion of Montreal in the greater soccer community fresh with a new name.

I am just saying.

Maybe it's a US perception thing: Montreal (and the Impact) doesn't need to "fit in" anywhere, it's fine where it is. We have a football team called the Alouettes, for crissakes!

RC: they were originally actually racing clubs like Strasbourg
AS/AC: We aren't a sports association, we're a soccer team.

Good thing you aren't from Montreal.

Leave Montreal's business to Montreal.

Absolutely. I am just wanting to engage with the Montreal Impact brand I am struggling but I guess it will take some time.

Have the ownership talked already about any potential DPs? Perhaps bringing Karim Benzema to the fold?

Potential DPs? Dude, we just had the announcement that we have a league this year. We don't even know what the format of this year's national cup is going to be, so we aren't too concerned about who might play for us in two season and whether or not they have a flashy name.

And Impact was like stated, it's the same in english and french, while remaining neutral. It's also the name that won seven straight national cups, went to the quarterfinal of the Ldc, losing dramatically 5-4 on aggregate to Santos Laguna, filled a huge stadium in february.

If you want to rationalise it, think of it as Real Salt Lake, but with a better history and more sense behind the name.

It makes absolutely no sense for a club from Utah to be called Real Salt Lake. I'm just saying.

You seriously think Karim Benzema would play in the MLS this early in his career?