Ways to Make the MLS more popular domestically

Well it was well intended at first to prevent heat deaths, health issues, but like everything it was starting to get abused, so I think now the temperature has to be higher than 50' C before the ref can allow for the break, or something like that.

My only suggestion to make the MLS more popular is to construct a time machine and head forward a good 20-30 years. People are genuinely impatient by nature, but the only true change comes from generational change, not gimmicks or any short term fillips.

Look back at some of the threads as early as 2002; its surreal how different the landscape is to back then. It makes for some very amusing reads as well. I'm sure that in 2022 people will still be asking how we can make the league more popular, but 2012 is going to look bleak compared to 2022.

To put the ball into the net and to prevent the other team from doing the same.

It doesn't matter how many different ways you phrase the question. The point of playing the game is to play the game. Win/Lose/Draw.

No kidding. The proof of this is that it is possible to play the game without keeping score.

Pay more money to the American players, so people will identify with some of the players. Or we can continue to bring in kids from overseas until it's the NASL.

Why pay more for players that are worth less (more often than not) ? That's just stupid business.

Like that ever stopped anyone in this forum...

It's not just stupid business, it's also racist.

Figure out a way to bottle what Portland's got.

Wow that place rocks.

I'm talking about keeping the players who end up in the lesser leagues in Europe by paying them more. Tim Ream might play in Bolton, but, he also made 40k last year. Sure the level is higher, but, we lose players to leagues that aren't the EPL.

People already watch foreign players on TV, why would they watch ones who make 100K play here, when Rooney and Messi are already available on cable?

Name one American player of this caliber who would make some small impact on attendance if he played in MLS instead of overseas?

Why would they watch an American that makes 100K but is two, three, or more levels lower on the skill ladder than a player from any other country ?

Honestly, who is going to tune in to see Bryan Arguez now that he's back from Germany ? How many people, that aren't already soccer geeks, are going to start watching the MLS matches because Diskerud comes back ?

Has Ryan Guy or Jeremiah White boosted the asses in the seats in NE ? Lee Nguyen ? We've got our ultimate test right here. Let's see NE's attendance now that they've got these three Americans back from overseas ... yeah ?

Let me guess, Portland finally started caring when they signed Bendick right ?

Why are they going to tune in to see these guys when Howard and Dempsey are already available on cable ? Hell, I can even watch Altidore, Boyd, Johnson, Boca/Edu with my package.

Especially because they're replacing a Dane, a Argentine, and a Zimbabwean

And, yet people still aren't going to tune in for foreign players making 80k a year, either. People will just continue to watch overseas leagues, while an ever expanding MLS tries to keep up it's quality by playing South Americans no one will ever care about.

People in America will watch Americans play a sport. Pretending everyone in this country cares about globalization isn't going to help change that. There are plenty of quality American players who would do well here, if MLS would just pay them what they're making in other leagues.

But, hey, let MLS compete against foreign leagues while continuing to shrink it's American rosters, if that's what they want to do.

So, you've stated your contention again. "We should have more Americans in the League". You've, in fact, said quite a few more words on the subject. But you haven't really even attempted to answer why that's a good thing.

RyGuy played in Ireland (I don't know which and I'm refusing to let myself be bothered looking it up). He's an American, he played in a mid-low level European first division. What makes you think that the American consumer is going to want to watch him any more than 1. Pat Phelan (who never went to Europe in the first place) or 2. a better foreign player (you indicated paying more for the Americans, so we get an $80k player for $100k; wouldn't fans rather see the $100k player, even if he is from Azerbaijan?)?

Like people don't care about Montero ? or you know the entire Colombian influx being a major marketing point this season (and the last two) as well as a rise in the tide that is helping up the overall level of skill and ability in the league.

People are talking about Blas Perez, Lionard Pajoy, Josue Martinez, and the like signing with the leauge ... not Bendick, Guy, and White. For every Luis Robles that garners even a shred of interest from the American soccer community you've got several Moreno stories that generate more so.

What you are fundamentally either not understanding, or simply don't realize is that our league (while exploding in growth and gaining respect) still isn't visualized has having arrived yet ... in our own hemisphere, let alone globally. "Soccer fan" in America is generally going to look at these returning Americans as failures overseas and our league here as the plan B option, or a lower level that they can compete in. How exactly does that sell the league/teams/clubs/etc to viewers ? How does saying "we should pay Swedish 2nd division washout 100K to stay here or come back" do anything good for our league ?

It's not about country of origin, it's about quality of the player. On a 10 scale for grading, America's 8-10 are good enough to play anywhere in the world. The issue is the drop between our elites and our middle of the pack guys. There aren't very many established football countries that don't run over, around, and through our middle of the pack players. It's these players that you're talking about. There is no reason to pay them more when they aren't any better. These aren't the names that are going to put asses in the seats regardless of what you may think.

Who said anything about globalization ? This is about quality of player and pay the get for said quality. The country of origin is irrelevant. It just so happens that we're talking about an American league paying American players more ... when the American player sits lower on the ladder than their equivalent from many other countries. The variable is skill, not where they're from.

The pay standard overseas is inflated. Again, flat out stupid business for MLS to compete with that on this level. American flameout #247 gets inflated wages from Finlandia Sokur Klube because that's just the wage scale over there. EVERYONE overpays wages in Europe. How does jumping in that boat do the MLS any good ?

However, back too that ... Americans will watch Americans play a sport. Not so much for "Soccer fan" in America. "Soccer fan" will watch quality soccer. In fact, that's all he'll watch. That's why he watches other leagues and usually has MLS as a 2nd or 3rd choice league. That's why the Mexican Primera is the most popular league in this country.

You keep bringing them up ... but don't mention any names ... so who exactly are these "plenty of American players that would do well here if we'd just pay them" ? ? ?

The league is competing the only way any league can. It is attempting to bring in the best possible talent in regards to the restrictions involved in signing said talent. If it isn't American, that's not on the league. That's on the US Soccer development system (or lack there of).

Manchester United won the EPL last year and were the CL runners-up. Of the 50 squad members they had last year only 19 were English. Of those 19 English players 8 didn't appear in any kind of competitive match for ManU last year. Of the remaining 11 English players 1 only made a solitary sub appearance in a League Cup match, 1 made 2 total appearances and both were outside of the EPL, 1 appeared in a solitary EPL match only, and 1 more had 4 total appearances.

SOOOOO, the 7 English players left ? Oh right .... Owen started 4 and was a sub in 13 matches total .... Wes Brown saw 10 starts and 5 subs ..... and of course you had Rooney, Carrick, Ferdinand, Scholes, and Smalling that actually started and appeared regularly.


Wow, so the best team in England and second best team in the world last year had a grand total of 5 English regulars in their team. The two leading scorers were Bulgarian and Mexican.

The EPL is also the most watched league in the world ..... just saying.

So what exactly is your point about Americans and the American league again ?

I'm not talking about the choir of MLS or American soccer fans. Soccer fans already have tunnel vision when it comes to the sport, as has been noted on bigsoccer time and time again.

I saying that Americans watch themselves, and will continue that tradition until we're no longer a country. You guys want to watch South Americans fill the league up, good for you. People who aren't soccer fans don't care about Montero, or Henry, otherwise there would be viewers on TV reflecting this. If you both are Americans, and never figured this out, then lol.

There is a major difference between England, who actually has a tradition of this sport, and America which is trying to get the population aware that it even has a league.

Even England has people complaining about the 33% of domestic players in EPL, so your rambling point is pretty stupid. EPL has a very long history, which is why people around the globe, including Americans, actually watch it.

And, globalization has every thing to do with this sport, with it's rise in popularity in America, and every thing else. Not sure how anyone can even dismiss that.

Show you're work. I can't think of a single person who prefers Ryan Braun to David Ortiz because "Well, at least Ryan can run for President one day".

Well, no one without a sheet over their head or an armband, that is

Americans watch sports they like, they don't watch sports they are indifferent to or dislike. There is almost nothing but Americans in water polo but you still can't get Americans to watch them.

Riiiight, I must be a racist. American is a race, now? You think by American I mean a bunch of white people playing soccer? Ever noticed how many Hispanics this country has??

F off

Point taken.

But, I think soccer has far more room to grow than water polo. But, we'd clean up in pro marco polo, dammit.


I guess I should admit that I am extremely afraid that MLS will end up like NASL, in both it's furious expansion and decreasing opportunity for Americans.


While it will mean that it will take better American players to break into the line, I am worried the number will drop below the current 55%. I still believe that if we had American stars, even the ambivalent will tune in. Most other sports fans already know Europeans are great at this sport.

Yeah, ok, I, um...didn't call you a racist. This might come as a shock to you, but please, look at my comments. Actually read them, then come back.

...

You back? Ok, great. Now, do you honestly prefer American athletes to non-American athletes just on spec? If you answered Yes, keep reading. If you answered no, then I'm not talking about you, and you have no business being offended. Cool, this is easy.

...

Ok, you're still reading, which means you prefer Americans to non-Americans just because of that. Let me point out now that you're wrong. Nationality is an accident of birth and deciding to like someone less because of which side of an imaginary line their mother was on when they happened to be born is wrong.

Now, I made a not-at-all veiled reference to the Klan and various neo-nazi groups. Are you aware that on top of being racist, they're also sexist, homophobic, anti-semetic, islamophobic and (most pertinent to this discussion) xenophobic?

There are no American stars in soccer. The only 2 who come close to qualifying are Donovan & Dempsey and one of them already plays in MLS. No number of the others playing in the US is going to convince ambivalent soccer fans to watch.

The solution is steady growth. Recruiting non-overpriced Americans and foreigners is the way for MLS to go.

Friedel or Howard maybe.