Other Team Discussion Thread Vol. 12: Spoilers Within

We fixed that in 2008 and 2009




... by not making the playoffs

 

Exactly. It's no coincidence that Columbus faded down the stretch. Welcome to the world of Wednesday night CONCACAF matches.

 

But how can you say that the Concalaugh Champions and Friends Group matches aren't the best thing ever! Wednesday night crowds! Obscure opposition! Two a week matches! Foreign travel! What more could you want?

Frankly, I am surprised that anyone cares about that European Champions and Friends event anymore...

 

Assuming that's a reference to the CWC, it's usually the South Americans that win.

 

No, I was referring to the annual European only groups matches that include a bunch of champions and a bunch of "also rans" and "no hopers" from the "big leagues". You know, the one that the Concalaugh Champions and Friends Groups were supposed to model and thereby capture the hearts and minds of everyone in this region so that they paid no more attention to the European version of events...

 

Well, I wouldn't cast it as quite *that* dire. Porto won not too long ago; and both PSV and Fenerbahce have made the semis in recent years.

But really, the situation in the UEFA Champions League ("the chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaampioooooooooonnnnnnns!!!!!!!!") just mirrors the situation in the "big leagues," where before the season starts you know going in that only 3-4 teams have a legitimate chance of winning the league. Meanwhile, the complaint here in MLS is that the constraints on teams prevent them from building both a high-enough talent/ability level, and sufficient depth, to be successful internationally (let alone competitive internationally *and* a threat to win it all domestically).

So, my conclusion is that MLS sucks because of parity, while the big leagues in other countries suck because of the lack of parity.

 

Perhaps I'm not being clear - the issue I have with a "league" called the "Champions League" is that it is made up of mostly non-champions. If you want a champions league, then put only the champions in it. Send all the rest to a non-champions league (call it the "We're Really Good League"). It is those that I called the also-rans and no-hopers such as Chelski, Liverpool, and Arsenal in England...

The Concalaugh Champions and Friends League is even worse. With four teams from Mexico and four from MLS, you have a competition that no one wanted, no one cares about, and doesn't actually help any of the teams. Concacalaugh just doesn't have the demand to account for more than a nice knock out competition. Now we have two group competitions (Superduperpooperliga and CC&FL)...

 

Ah, OK. Yeah, I didn't get that out of what you said.

I presume the decision to go from Cup/elimination bracket to League (years earlier in Europe, of course) in both cases was money. You say that "no one cares about" it, and that seems reasonable; but if it's a consistent money-loser, they'll change it back. Jack Warner cares about his money, after all.

 

But wait.... wasnt that what we had before i CCC aka the concacaf champions cup?

 

At least in the US, "no one cares". But that is true of many things in MLS from playoffs to US Open Cup to non-League tournaments.

I expect that Jack and his friends decided that getting 4 Mexican teams slots would be enough of a money generator. It also seems that the Central American fans will also pay money to see the matches. My guess is that economically, the CC&FL will make money for Concalaugh. TV rights in Mexico will make that happen. Who cares that no one shows up to matches in the US or in the Caribbean...

 

Sure the CCC was an equally meaningless competition in the US but the MLS teams only got invovled at the Quarterfinals. So we'd brush aside (or in the case of NE, lose to) a Caribbean or Central American team and then get waxed in the Semi-Finals against a Mexican team. Four matches, tops. Usually right at the start of the season, so it was over and done before the league really got busy...

 

well, they know that most Americans who watch Euro do not care whether it is a good competition, they only care about watching their specific big 14 team play so they can be seen as cool

 

They didn't drop the coverage, they were out bid by Fox Soccer Channel.

 

You think they are cross promoting in the theory that a rising tide raises all boats?

 

sure the tide does, until it floats them over to the street, then drops suddenly and leaves the boats grounded there

Actually that would be smart of them to think that way, but since they run TV stations, I highly doubt they actually do, they are usually way more cutthroat than that. However, I have noticed the cross-promotion and found it refreshingly strange.

 

In other sports I see this. If you watch NBA on a network broadcast they will promote other NBA games on another network. So FSC & ESPN are cross promoting games? I'm surprised that MLS has enough juice to force them to do that.

 

I don't think it takes a lot for ESPN to cross promote stuff that they're already showing on their network. They do it all the time. Just look at their "Streak for the Cash" game. They could have easily have restricted the contest to events only on ESPN. But they didn't. I think they go on the theory that any attention to sports helps out their network in the long run.

 

Yes, but I sound more manly if I say I ate 8 slices of pizza instead of four...

 

I talked to one of the United staff people at a tailgate before one of the Champions League games who indicated that TV viewership all across the federation is pretty bad for the games and that they draw poorly at the gate everywhere. His guess was that once the TV rights contract is up for renewal the current format will likely disappear.

 

Follow the money

As things are now, CCL may not be a money maker, but SuperLiga is much more of a money maker - It will survive while CCL will fade away

I think CONCACAF will somehow try to approach SUM and MFL to meld the two together - We may be going back to a modified format similar to what we had in the earlier days of MLS when DCUnited and LAGalaxy hosted and won the event - Maybe split the tourney between two or three large Mexican-American MLS cities and then have a quick playoff round - Trouble is, SuperLiga is currently pre-season for MFL - They would want it somehow in their regular season but not close to their playoffs - Same with MLS in America - Somehow more in the regular season but not close to the playoffs

 

Did anyone watch SuperLiga this year? The attendance was down in part because of who was playing, but at least that has a real payout. How much longer do those tv contracts exist?