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The Gilded Age of MLS - Don Garber edition
Posted 01 Oct 2008 at 08:18 PM by Dan Loney
MLS fans' never-ending war against our arch-enemy, Major League Soccer, suffered yet another setback yesterday. This time, it was at the hands of former Barcelona Dragons marketing guru Don Garber, whom Luis Arroyave interviewed from the deck of his pleasure yacht, the Freaking Obvious.
My research assistant, Mr. Google, informs me that in the past couple of years or so the many critics of MLS have called out for/cried out for/screamed out for the league to align with the FIFA calendar. Not just idiots, either. Grant Wahl, Ridge Mahoney, Nick Green, Chris Klein, John Carver....okay, one idiot.
MLS fans and pundits demanding alignment with the FIFA calendar (file photo)
Garber has been trying polite variations of "tell it to the finger" for a while now - maybe this latest version will stick:
MLS player demanding alignment with the FIFA calendar (file photo)
It's worse than this, actually. The Saturday game where Toronto had to suit up Rick Titus? 19,863 announced attendance. That Beckham-Blanco game ESPN advertised that had neither?
And the premise, once again, is that Major League Soccer should leave money - a LOT of money - on the table, so that quality of play doesn't suffer. But until the money the league makes is linked to quality of play, that premise is going to be met with...well, read what Garber said. Polite dismissal.
I'm sure MLS is more than willing to meet us halfway, and not schedule games Wednesday nights on FIFA weeks, unless they need to make up a game. Oh, that's not halfway? Gosh, you're right. That's not real fair. Maybe you should get forty million bucks or so, buy an MLS team, and then your opinion will matter. Can we please stop being children about this?
The business model fails on the field once in a while, but it hasn't actually failed as a business model. It would be interesting to see how many New England season ticket holders fail to renew as a result of the Joe Public debacle. As a rough estimate, I'd say mid-to-high single digits.
Now, I cried a salty tear when the Commissioner said this:
The thought of watering down the US Open Cup makes me a sad panda. But let's face it, MLS teams enter the USOC pretty much out of the goodness of their hearts. It's up to the USSF to make that wonderful competition a little bit less of a pain in the ass. Yes, winning is something that DC United should justifiably be proud of. But if it's going to be used as an excuse for poor results, or missing the playoffs*, then the thrill of USOC victory better burn a lot more brightly than it has. Pride in the Consolation Cup only goes so far.
And sending only bad MLS teams into the tournament only benefits the USL. It would be wonderfully ironic to try to solve embarrassment in the Champions Cup by ensuring embarrassment in the Open Cup, though. We wouldn't even have to change any columns or posts, just global search & replace "Joe Public" for "Cleveland City Stars." Oh, we're doing that already? I'm now in favor of this move. Comedy > tradition, every time.
All things being equal, I'm in favor of not having our teams bounced around by Caribbean part-timers. All things are not equal. When you suggest things to people that will cost them money, especially professional capitalists, you must put forward an incentive for them to do so. It's not going to do any good to say that MLS will lose respect (from who?) if said loss can't be quantified.
Yes, when Garber says this:
- he's setting up a straw man. No one is saying that MLS should reconfigure its entire business model. I don't believe roster expansion falls under the heading of a total reconfiguration.
Excuse me, I have just been informed that hundreds of people are saying that MLS should reconfigure its entire business model. Okay, well, that's not going to happen - not until there are serious consequences for being Joe Publicked.
Funny, he's never written me back, the scraggly-faced beagle-molester.
*Which, to be fair, DC fans have resisted doing up to this point, a trend I hope continues
My research assistant, Mr. Google, informs me that in the past couple of years or so the many critics of MLS have called out for/cried out for/screamed out for the league to align with the FIFA calendar. Not just idiots, either. Grant Wahl, Ridge Mahoney, Nick Green, Chris Klein, John Carver....okay, one idiot.
MLS fans and pundits demanding alignment with the FIFA calendar (file photo)
Garber has been trying polite variations of "tell it to the finger" for a while now - maybe this latest version will stick:
Quote:
There are 13 weekends affected by international play and we have a 30 week season," said Garber. "To not play on those dates is impossible.
MLS player demanding alignment with the FIFA calendar (file photo)
Quote:
"We could look at extending it a week or two, but we can't fit those 13 weeks into our schedule while we're playing in this part of the world and have a fan base that disproportionately comes to games on weekends versus during the week. In almost all markets, the difference in attendance is over 50 percent for games played on a Wednesday or Thursday night than a Saturday night."
And the premise, once again, is that Major League Soccer should leave money - a LOT of money - on the table, so that quality of play doesn't suffer. But until the money the league makes is linked to quality of play, that premise is going to be met with...well, read what Garber said. Polite dismissal.
I'm sure MLS is more than willing to meet us halfway, and not schedule games Wednesday nights on FIFA weeks, unless they need to make up a game. Oh, that's not halfway? Gosh, you're right. That's not real fair. Maybe you should get forty million bucks or so, buy an MLS team, and then your opinion will matter. Can we please stop being children about this?
Quote:
We can go to ESPN and have them double their rights fee and go to Chicago Fire fans and have them sell out every game so that our revenue changes and then you can expand your roster. But the reality is we're still a business that's developing. The need to beat teams in the Champions League isn't enough to reconfigure our entire business model.
Now, I cried a salty tear when the Commissioner said this:
Quote:
It could be that different teams go into the Champions League than Superliga and different teams go into the U.S. Open Cup. These are all things we're trying to figure out so that you don't have the same four teams playing in three competitions in addition to the league.
And sending only bad MLS teams into the tournament only benefits the USL. It would be wonderfully ironic to try to solve embarrassment in the Champions Cup by ensuring embarrassment in the Open Cup, though. We wouldn't even have to change any columns or posts, just global search & replace "Joe Public" for "Cleveland City Stars." Oh, we're doing that already? I'm now in favor of this move. Comedy > tradition, every time.
All things being equal, I'm in favor of not having our teams bounced around by Caribbean part-timers. All things are not equal. When you suggest things to people that will cost them money, especially professional capitalists, you must put forward an incentive for them to do so. It's not going to do any good to say that MLS will lose respect (from who?) if said loss can't be quantified.
Yes, when Garber says this:
Quote:
The need to beat teams in the Champions League isn't enough to reconfigure our entire business model.
Excuse me, I have just been informed that hundreds of people are saying that MLS should reconfigure its entire business model. Okay, well, that's not going to happen - not until there are serious consequences for being Joe Publicked.
Quote:
"We respond to as many as we can," he said. "Usually when they're respectful, we respond to all of them. Rarely are they respectful."
*Which, to be fair, DC fans have resisted doing up to this point, a trend I hope continues
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Total Comments 15
Comments
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you forgot that idiot trekker, but i digress.
MLS should beat Joe Public anyway. It's sorta like App State beating someone like Michigan. What? Oopps.Posted 01 Oct 2008 at 09:27 PM by dredgfan 
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If your business model is your calendar, then I'm really glad I don't work for Major League Soccer.
Posted 01 Oct 2008 at 11:50 PM by sostoked
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The Australian A-League in it's current formathas been successful in bring the sponsors and the fans to the games. The quality of the competition accross the board was given a huge boost as a result of qualifying for the last World Cup. Since then Australia has been moved into the Asian Confederation from Oceania. Yet Soccer is one of four codes of "Football" played in Australia. AFL (Australian Rules is the national game) is the most popular code, then Rugby League and Rugby Union. Soccer though is growing and is well on the way to becoming the secong most popular sport in football codes. But with only 20 million people in the country it will always be a minor code.
Posted 01 Oct 2008 at 11:59 PM by Talart248
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It continues to be a chicken/egg argument with no resolution unless the owners commit one way or the other:
No money...no quality/depth/attendance/ratings;
No quality/depth/attendance/ratings...no money.Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 12:17 AM by equus
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Doesn't your blog confuse two different issues?
- Respecting international match days when national teams play; and
- MLS teams not putting their best effort into CCL due to fixture congestion.
The second issue has nothing to do with internation match days.Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 12:24 AM by DonJuego
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Maybe it's time for a new commissioner...someone with a vision to up the tempo and get the ball into the box, so to speak.
Maybe we should take this as a sign that we need an upgrade in MLS management...?Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 01:29 AM by brine
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If you have a business model for a soccer league where the game of soccer is a secondary consideration, there's only two options:
a) The interest in soccer in the US is such that this sucker is sinking regardless of the model.
b) You need a new business model.
This league is either going to compete (and all that entails) or it's not. If it's not then I'd appreciate the folks in charge admit it so I can watch something else. Talking about "business models" when a bunch of semi-pros from a tiny country hands you your ass (repeatedly) makes things pretty clear.
Dan's 100% right that New England getting violated by Joe Public at home has zero effect on the league/team's finances. And that's a BIG problem. Fixing that should be job one.Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 02:15 AM by voros
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The "business model" is that league games, the ones that, you know, people buy season tickets and signboards and sponsor "free annoying clappers day" for, matter.
Everything else - not so much.
Last night, DC United, one of the best-supported teams in the league even in crap,pointless games, drew a little over 7,000 people for some game that even I, intrepid boy reporter, had to fight to keep my eyes from glazing over during.
Or maybe that was rain. I dunno.
Point is, when the public assaults the ticket windows in a frenzy to watch their MLS side play a team named after one of the Three Stooges - (personally, I would have picked Shemp, but Joe was OK I guess) - (then again, "Shemp Public" doesn't really have that zing marketers like to see) - then the league will want to improve the caliber of the product for that event. Best foot forward and all that.
But if you believe MLS is going to sink millions more dollars into the hole so they can really show those bastards from Trinidad what's what in front of a crowd that could easily fit into the local bowling alley, then you're badly mistaken.
I'm having trouble seeing why MLS's customers not being bothered when their side gets kicked around the grounds by a bunch of taxi drivers from Port of Spain is a BIG problem. Or even a SMALL problem. Frankly, it's not a problem at all.Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 04:00 AM by Bill Archer
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You also forgot to add Bob Bradley, as a noted proponent of a move to a FIFA-aligned calendar. but Bob, as we all know, knows very little about MLS or American soccer as a whole. as we know, he's been living in a shack in Greenland the past 20 years so anytime he opines on things MLS/American soccer ... it should be roundly dismissed.
Loney, thankfully you didn't do it, but a lot of people fail to acknowledge that there are reasonable people in favor of a schedule change. reasonable people very well versed with the goings on in MLS.Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 04:48 AM by Asprilla9
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Achieving top-to-bottom competitiveness should be more important than installing a top-of-the-table monarchy that can be competitive in international play. Domestic competition has become an afterthought in the top leagues of Europe. MLS, perhaps unintentionally, flies in the face of that. And I'm glad that it does.
Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 07:42 AM by studzup
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