always club over country. there are way too many friendlies on the international scale., and most of the time, the coaching staff is testing players and tactics for ACTUAL matches.
I've just never had the emotional response (well, since the age of 13-14) to a club match as to a meaningful national team match. There's always another club match featuring whatever mercenaries happen to have your city's name on their chest at the moment. YMMV.
club friendlies < national team friendlies < club matches = meaningful intl matches. but since there are so many friendlies, it might look like i skew more towards club.
Had the same issue yesterday. FC Tucson was facing the reigning US Open Cup Champions, KC, in Tucson, in a meaningless friendly. Kickoff was 6 PM. But at 7:15 PM, the US faced Canada in a meaningless friendly in Houston. We easily could have had about 40 Pricks at the match to help support FC Tucson. Instead, we only had 15. I tried convincing them "Hey, the Canada match is meaningless, you just saw them play on Saturday, this is FC Tucson's first match of the season, the match was scheduled three weeks before the USMNT match, and we're facing the reigning US Open Cup Champions." & yet they still chose to watch a game on tv over watching a game in person. Hell, they all could have watched the first half of the FC Tucson match, and then gone to the bar to watch the USMNT, but no; they decided to watch the game that ended 0-0 instead of watching a Division 4 squad tie an MLS squad. Maybe this is why I'm no longer an AO member. Oh well, what are you going to do? We should have a better turnout for the FC Tucson/Timbers match next week.
Having watched both games, no not really. That said I'd choose the game in person over the TV game the majority of the time.
This is America only so no UEFA Champions League, Premier League, El Clasico, etc.... World Cup Confederations Cup World Cup hex Gold Cup that matters World Cup qualifying group stage MLS Cup Gold Cup that doesn't matter US A-team friendly MLS playoffs Olympics (men) Champions League US B-team friendly MLS regular season Womens World Cup Olympics (women) U-20 World Cup U-17 World Cup US Open Cup US C-team friendly (January camp) U-23/20/17 qualifying NASL or USL final Nike friendlies, Milk Cup, and other int'l youth tournaments College Cup USWNT friendly MLS friendly vs European club US training camp scrimmages MLS preseason NASL/USL games NWSL games MLS combine College soccer academy whatever that thing is called AYSO
Yeah, I tried to convince them. I think the cold weather also played a factor, but still, how often will you be able to watch an FC Tucson match in freezing cold weather? Once a year at most.
Uh, yes he did! The FC Tucson supporters are known as the "Cactus Pricks". Kinda like me calling my fellow supporters SOB's, cause we are!
I want to say club but if Canada ever got to the World Cup again I'd probably cry. That wouldn't happen even if the Caps won the Club World Cup.
Earlier in the thread someone said clubs were nothing but mercenaries, but when I look at Canada's national team - with members born in a number of countries - and Canada's non-national team - Bunbury in USA, de Guzman in Netherlands, Hargreaves in England - I guess I feel like the trend with national teams is a form of mercenary assemblages. And I'm not critical: these players have a small window to make money, and FIFA/clubs make tons, so players need to position themselves in the market for maximum exposure. Which brings me to FIFA - at least when I support the Whitecaps I know my money is going to the owners and players with indirect benefits to my community; with international football the kelptocrats that run FIFA are robbing the clubs of players to pocket more money. I don't want to support that. More locally - Canada MNT doesn't play in Vancouver. Lastly, as a Cascadian, I don't get that excited about Canada anymore. I'm British Columbian first, Cascadian second - Canada is becoming less and less meaningful to me as an identity. That is not a usual view, I grant you, but it's one of three reasons, so I gave it. =)