Looks like Oklahoma City will be joining NASL in 2015. http://newsok.com/article/3853730 That comment about the market size is not exactly true, BTW. Edmonton is slightly smaller than OKC. So, the NASL should have these teams by 2015. Maybe more. 1) Atlanta Silverbacks 2) Carolina RailHawks 3) FC Edmonton 4) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 5) Minnesota United 6) San Antonio Scorpions 7) Tampa Bay Rowdies 8) New York Cosmos (starting August 2013) 9) Indy Eleven (2014) 10) Ottawa Fury (2014) 11) Virginia Calvary (2014) 12) Oklahoma City FC (2015) * Puerto Rico Islanders are on hiatus. Possibly permanently.
BTW, the NASL Spring season is nearing its end. The winner of the first half of the season will automatically host the Soccer Bowl this fall. Teams play 12 games in the Spring half of the season. There are no playoffs. 1. ATL 9 g.p. 17 pts +3 g.d. ------------------------------ 2. CAR 9 g.p. 16 pts +5 g.d. 3. MIN 9 g.p. 14 pts +1 g.d. 4. TBY 10 g.p. 12 pts. +0 g.d. 5. FCE 10 g.p. 11 pts. +0 g.d. 6. SAS 9 g.p. 11 pts. -2 g.d. 7. FTL 10 g.p. 8 pts. -7 g.d.
Poor Edmonton. The only club on the western half of North America. I guess you could cut a line through Texas if you wanted to include SAS.
You could divide it that way but it wouldn't help. Edmonton is closer to Ottawa than they are to San Antonio. Heck, they are almost as close to NY as they are to San Antonio. Edmonton is just way up north. Mileage from Edmonton to - Minneapolis - 1,081 Oklahoma City - 1,468 Indianapolis - 1,588 Ottawa - 1,768 San Antonio - 1,829 New York - 2,021
Back in the day for us lower division clubs, travel by airplane was not that big of a financial burden for a team. Getting 20ish tickets and some deal with an airline was what we did in Houston in the 90's. Cuz travelling by van/bus can really be chore being the footprint of the league your city plays in. Your closet rival is hundreds of miles away normally save east coast folks.
Is the split-season format a one-year experiment or they still keeping it for the next couple of years? If they keep it next year, there will be 11 clubs and each of them are going to play 20 games in the spring and 20 matches in the fall. That's too much, I think they should not do the split-season for next year and use the whole season of 30 games (each club plays 3 times against the opponent). Then, when OKC, P.R. Islanders, and other expansion clubs join the NASL in the future, they will follow MLS and use conferences maybe even divisions to help some clubs cut down on some long distance travel costs.
NASL has not said what the format will be in 2014. I'd be surprised if they use the same format as this year for exactly the reason you state, too many games. But they still might do some sort of split season. We'll see.
Only six games left in the NASL Spring season: 1. CAR 10 g.p. 19 pts +6 g.d. ------------------------------ 2. ATL 10 g.p. 17 pts +2 g.d. 3. TBY 11 g.p. 15 pts. +1 g.d. 4. MIN 10 g.p. 14 pts +0 g.d. 5. SAS 10 g.p. 14 pts. -1 g.d. 6. FCE 11 g.p. 11 pts. -1 g.d. 7. FTL 10 g.p. 8 pts. -7 g.d.
It would be a miracle if the Scorpions win out and the Railhawks lose their last two matches and the Silverbacks don't win their last two.
Yeah, I had to look at the schedule to make sure that San Antonio and Minnesota are still alive. But they are. Carolina plays Atlanta next weekend so San Antonio needs that to be a draw or Atlanta win. San Antonio plays Fort Lauderdale next weekend. That's a likely win. And then they host Carolina in the finale. They would also need Atlanta to lose at Minnesota, which could happen. Best case? June 29/30 Atlanta beats Carolina, San Antonio beats Ft. Lauderdale, and Minnesota beats Edmonton. That would make the standings look like this going into the final matchday: 1. ATL 20 pts ------------------------------ 2. CAR 19 pts 4. MIN 17 pts 3. SAS 17 pts That way San Antonio doesn't need to overcome Carolina's big goal difference, just beat them and get some help from Minnesota. Three way tie for the Spring title.
They don't look at goal differential, just points? They went on hiatus. No one really knows when (or if) they're coming back.
No, goal difference is the first tie-breaker, then total goals. Just pointing out that there could be a three-way tie at the top.
What happens in the fall? What incentive is there for the Spring Winner to keep playing well in the Fall if they have locked up a spot in the final?
The Spring season champion will host the NASL Soccer Bowl Final. It can also happen that one team can win both the Spring and Fall seasons. Then, whoever has the 2nd best overall record in the Spring and Fall seasons will get to play in the Soccer Bowl Final.
Still one more game this weekend but things are looking very interesting. The Scorpions got a huge win to stay alive although they are still going to need help. And a lot of goals. Carolina is 1 point (plus a current goal difference lead) away from winning the Spring Season. Those two teams face each other in the finale so Atlanta and Minnesota (if they win today) are still alive. Saturday, June 29 Carolina 1-1 Atlanta Ft. Lauderdale 1-4 San Antonio Sunday, June 30 Edmonton v. Minnesota 3:00 pm Updated Standings: 1. CAR 11 g.p. 20 pts +6 g.d. 20 g.s. ------------------------------ 2. ATL 11 g.p. 18 pts +2 g.d. 17 g.s. 3. SAS 11 g.p. 17 pts. +2 g.d. 17 g.s. 4. TBY 11 g.p. 15 pts. +1 g.d. 17 g.s. 5. MIN 10 g.p. 14 pts +0 g.d. 17 g.s. 6. FCE 11 g.p. 11 pts. -1 g.d. 10 g.s. 7. FTL 11 g.p. 8 pts. -10 g.d. 10 g.s. Thursday, July 4 Tampa Bay v. Ft. Lauderdale 5:30 pm Minnesota v. Atlanta 7:00 pm San Antonio v. Carolina 7:30 pm Looks like the final two games of the Spring Season which take place almost simultaneously will determine the champion. San Antonio needs a win and a lot of goals but they have a chance.
This weekend's games are done: Saturday, June 29 Carolina 1-1 Atlanta Ft. Lauderdale 1-4 San Antonio Sunday, June 30 Edmonton 3-1 Minnesota Updated Standings: 1. CAR 11 g.p. 20 pts +6 g.d. 20 g.s. ------------------------------ 2. ATL 11 g.p. 18 pts +2 g.d. 17 g.s. 3. SAS 11 g.p. 17 pts. +2 g.d. 17 g.s. 4. TBY 11 g.p. 15 pts. +1 g.d. 17 g.s. 5. FCE 12 g.p. 14 pts. +1 g.d. 13 g.s. 6. MIN 11 g.p. 14 pts -2 g.d. 18 g.s. 7. FTL 11 g.p. 8 pts. -10 g.d. 10 g.s. Three teams still have a chance to win the Spring Season. Final match-day: Thursday, July 4 Tampa Bay v. Ft. Lauderdale 5:30 pm Minnesota v. Atlanta 7:00 pm San Antonio v. Carolina 7:30 pm
Remember last year when the San Antonio Scorpions and the Carolina Railhawks played against each other. It looks like the Spring season of the NASL will have its "Survival Thursday" much like the Premier League's "Survival Sunday" and to end it on the 4th of July is going to be exciting. This last matchday is very important because not only the winner qualifies for the Soccer Bowl, they also get to host or have home-field advantage in the Soccer Bowl Final.
Cuz in association football your fans will eventually have enough of their players that represent their crest n' city just mail it in and they will show up to your practice to urge better professional display. Such is the connection in society in the people's game. If you have no fans than yes, yes the players can coast.
Scorpions win but it's still not enough to clinch the Spring title because Atlanta won at Minnesota. So that means the Atlanta Silverbacks will host the Soccer Bowl.
Final match-day: Thursday, July 4 Tampa Bay 4-0 Ft. Lauderdale Minnesota 0-3 Atlanta San Antonio 2-0 Carolina Updated Standings: 1. ATL 12 g.p. 21 pts +5 g.d. 20 g.s. ------------------------------ 2. CAR 12 g.p. 20 pts +4 g.d. 20 g.s. 3. SAS 12 g.p. 20 pts. +4 g.d. 19 g.s. 4. TBY 12 g.p. 18 pts. +5 g.d. 21 g.s. 5. FCE 12 g.p. 14 pts. +1 g.d. 13 g.s. 6. MIN 12 g.p. 14 pts -5 g.d. 18 g.s. 7. FTL 12 g.p. 8 pts. -14 g.d. 10 g.s. The Fall Season starts on August 3. The NY Cosmos begin play bringing the team total to 8 for this season.