haha you are calling other people whiney. The email basically is like oh btw DC United is totally cool with this.... it is chill. There is no way that anyone would want to put a new team in Baltimore. Whatever fan wrote this is truly moronic. And this is besides the fact that the league would never allow a team so close to DC and Philly.
The only truly moronic things in this thread are contained in your posts. As others have pointed out, the precedent is there and it's laughing in your face.
What precedent? In a sport that get 100 times more attention then soccer? Or how about a city that could self contain 3 or 4 teams. NY and LA are the only soccer markets capable of having two teams.
The problem is that expansion is a different baby than relocation, so all the relatively big D2+ teams that have been pegged as potential expansion slots (San Antonio, Orlando, NY2) aren't going to take on the Revs. While I think the email is unlikely to be true, I'm sure that Baltimore Revolution (y'know, Star Spangled Banner...it works) is far, far more likely than the San Antonio Revolution
You ignored the point I was making. Boston would instantly become the #1 TV market without an MLS team. If you think the league would be OK with that, you're nuts. It's my understanding that the e-mail was sent to a number of media outlets. The e-mailer clearly wants larger media outlets to pick this up. Even if I accepted the idea that "no one" cares, that shouldn't be confused with "no one will notice". You think there aren't people in the local media with axes to grind that wouldn't something like this against the Krafts at every turn? Then they'd want people to watch the game on TV, woudln't they? Seriously? If only 100,000 people are watching as it is, do you think DCU would be OK with that number dropping to 75,000? [/QUOTE]Who says this would only be made as a power play anyways? Even that blog post and email doesn't suggest that.[/quote] Stop putting words in my mouth. I never suggested it would be made ONLY as a power play. That said, this line: "This will also put pressure (maybe) on local officials to help with a stadium initiative" ...would suggest that someone thinks this would put pressure on a local municipality to build a stadium. It's laughable.
I didn't ignore the point at all. I'm simply stating that the league would not care, because they have no presence in this market anyways, even with a team. Regardless, how would that even hurt ticket sales? Almost all the people who populate Gillette every other Saturday in the summer do so because it's something to entertain the kids. They don't give a rats ass if there is an article in the globe saying the team is moving. Hell, those same people will probably drive down to Gillette the next season assuming the team was playing, and when they realized they weren't, they would go play minigolf instead. No one cares, and no one will notice. This team is completely anonymous. The only small amount of exposure they have is of negative association. This whole franchise is a complete and utter joke. If people had axes to grind, they could probably find a litany of other things that people would actually want to read about. You told me no one watches on TV...which they don't Considering the league and broadcast partner gets most of the TV revenue anyways...I'm sure they don't care. I didn't put words in your mouth. The only way your scenario even works is if it is THE reason why they would move. Of all of the reasons, it is probably near or at the very bottom of the table. So to cherry pick that part of the email, for any reason, is almost as pointless an argument as you could possibly make on this subject.
Who says this would only be made as a power play anyways? Even that blog post and email doesn't suggest that.[/quote] Stop putting words in my mouth. I never suggested it would be made ONLY as a power play. That said, this line: "This will also put pressure (maybe) on local officials to help with a stadium initiative" ...would suggest that someone thinks this would put pressure on a local municipality to build a stadium. It's laughable.[/quote] Some revs fans are nuts. This email is a joke.
Yeah, precedent in a sport where TV markets actually matter. hahaha You are digging your own grave with this argument. It's great.
This story isn't completely implausible, but I'm not inclined to take it at face value. I'm a skeptic at heart, and therefore I'm not only skeptical about the chatter that comes out of our front office re: issues such as the SSS, I'm also skeptical about chatter that supposedly comes from an anonymous employee. And for what it is worth RE: attendance at the Milan game, that had more to do with the fact that they were playing Olimpia than anything else. If it had been Cruzeiro as originally announced, the attendance would have been much higher.
hahahahaaha THEY PLAYED AC MILAN! You know, 7 time European Champions. One of the biggest clubs in the world. hhahahahaha they should be able to play your sons U-6 team and draw 40K. The excuse making for this franchise has really become hilarious. They are a complete and utter joke. They can't even get eggs from the golden goose.
Well of course. But then again, most teams wouldn't organize a game against someone who was also playing a game the next day.
The reason I find this fairly credible is that under Garber MLS has consistently shown that they're willing to take a step backwards in order to clear the way to take several steps forward in a new direction. The argument that MLS wouldn't sacrifice some purported advantage New England (media market size, existing fan culture, etc.) in order to position themselves for the possibility of something better down the line (a solid, respected, well-supported, exciting club, somewhere else, in place of the Revs) is shortsighted. There is no linear upgrade from Kraft/Foxboro/Revolution to New Owner/Baltimore/New Team - but the latter opens up paths to success that the former can not (that we know of) attain. Garber's the mayor who wants a nice neighborhood. The Revs are a tenement on a decent corner being neglected by its owner. If he can broker a deal to knock down the blight, redirect city resources towards supporting development down the block with a more committed ownership, and re-zone the promising parcel to be something better in time, it makes sense that he'd go for it.
I am not talking about TV markets. The MLS would never let a deal like this go through in the geographic area, but keep telling yourself whatever you want KO.
As a neutral, having two NYC teams, Philly, Baltimore and DC all within driving distance of each other would be spectacular. If DC gets a downtown stadium, they will fill it up themselves and with VA folks, the contingent they lose that would drive in from Baltimore wouldn't be significant. The death blow to future MLS soccer in the Boston area is the 10-year guarantee to Kraft. If Kraft won't pay to keep the Revs on an even keel with the rest of the league now, imagine what he would be thinking when NYC2 comes along. Four words to remember here: Kraft's Cheapness Won't Change He could get the free land, build the stadium, and would still put a product on the field that couldn't compete with the upper half of MLS. Only new ownership would make putting a competitive team on the field a priority. Why, for the love of God, won't Kraft just cash out to the highest bidder, pocket the profits for his beloved Patriots, and move on?