Join NowBEAT ENGLAND
Fans to Garber: MLS needs to be more unfair and unstable
The last time Don Garber sounded so satisfied in an interview, it was when the nation's sports commissioners were hauled before Congress to mealymouth about steroids. Garber told anyone who would listen how clean MLS was. (This was before Abel Xavier was signed, and before Conway and Parke were caught...but the embarrassment factor of Conway and Parke can be measured in the microangstroms compared to, say, Manny Ramirez or Roger Clemens.)
This week, he's giving financial advice to the world's great soccer leagues.
Garber's status as a deadpan P.T. Barnum is highly underrated. I'm just glad he's using his powers for good (or, depending on how you feel about MLS, not that much evil). He's still the face of a league that, day in and day out, relies on Phil Anschutz not waking up one day and saying, "You know what, I'm over this whole soccer thing."
And he's going to tell Real Madrid how to chew cheese. Check this out:
The nectarines on this guy!
This is carrier-class trolling, as we all know from our message boards. I could listen to G-14 teams being lectured on "sophistication" and "passion" all week. And all this coming mere weeks after MLS teams spent the summer mooching off Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan.
Just beautiful.
Anyway, the real story of Garber's interview is his reaction to the groundswell of fans nationwide rising up as one and demanding higher wages for better players, inaugurating a new Golden Age of American Soccer. How does Garber feel about such a plan?
Well, okay, no, that was Ron Artest, a couple of days later on a different topic. But read between the lines on this, and tell me if Garber thinks otherwise:
Wow, two totally random American sports logos out of nowhere. Hope that doesn't keep happening.
No, the real F.U. comes when Garber specifically brings up That 70's Team.
To say the least, these assertions are not generally accepted. Cf., every NASL discussion since October 1995.
I believe that while the Cosmos weren't a failure, the many teams that tried to be the Cosmos absolutely were. The Los Angeles Aztecs are remembered far too fondly, as are the Philadelphia Fury and the Detroit Express and all the Cosmos wannabes. The Aztecs signed Best and Cruyff to a team that drew about as well as Crewe Alexandra.
Now, that doesn't mean that HAS to happen. Let's say Red builds an igloo mansion and starts driving around in a gold-plated dogsled, or the Green family struts around in diamond-studded Birkenstocks and buys satin sheets for their spotted owls. That doesn't mean that the other MLS teams HAVE to run themselves into the ground. To paraphrase the late, great Ted Knight, the world needs ditch diggers, too.
Except....no one's gonna pay money to watch Danny Noonan dig a ditch. And since it's a good question whether people will pay to watch a successful soccer team, it's completely understandable if it's taken for granted that people won't go watch a bad one. The Pittsburgh Pirates have over a hundred years of tradition to act as a heat shield for their incompetence. The Kansas City Wizards...not so much.
I've giggled enough at Garber trolling the world, now let me quote the part I agree with.
It's not necessarily a given that spending money is a guarantee of success.
The Minnesota Twins made the playoffs this year. But spending money sure is a good indicator. Five of the other seven baseball playoff teams have salaries over $100 million...and it took an extra game to put the Twins there instead of a sixth. (And it ain't like the Cardinals or Rockies are poor teams, either.)
Even if it's not a 1:1 correlation between spending and success (and in MLS, it's not close to that), you still can't afford to tell MLS fans that their team isn't in a position to compete.
Now, maybe tomorrow morning Phil Anschutz wakes up and says, "You know what - the CONCACAF Champions League matters after all. Let's Manchester City those chumps," and then Don Garber will give an interview or two about how MLS can handle Gilded Age football financing after all. That's looking extremely unlikely, though. MLS, for the foreseeable future, is the anti-NASL. If Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Portland wish otherwise, they've got a lot of work to do.
(Do what in other leagues would qualify as the smallest of small markets really want this? Or are they just assuming that Los Angeles and New York will spend foolishly forever? Meh, it's plausible.)
This week, he's giving financial advice to the world's great soccer leagues.
Garber's status as a deadpan P.T. Barnum is highly underrated. I'm just glad he's using his powers for good (or, depending on how you feel about MLS, not that much evil). He's still the face of a league that, day in and day out, relies on Phil Anschutz not waking up one day and saying, "You know what, I'm over this whole soccer thing."
And he's going to tell Real Madrid how to chew cheese. Check this out:
Quote:
"I hope to present some of the experiences we have had in the MLS and in other (U.S.) leagues as perhaps, if not blueprint, a guide as European football starts looking at financial fair play," Garber said in a telephone interview ahead of the "Leaders in Football" conference. "That is the key driver to the stability that exists in our major leagues -- and there is tremendous stability in American sport.
"I'm not so sure that same stability exists in football around the world."
....
"We tend to be very sophisticated about the business of sport and that sophistication has led to great success," Garber said. "The rest of the world tries to look at it to get a better understanding of sport, particularly as European football continues to (grapple) with the wealth gap. We still remain a niche sport and we have to make sure we are managing our business to be financially viable and long-term success is the key goal -- that may or may not be the same objective that exists in Spain.
"If we don't manage our business very conservatively there is a fear we can go out of business and I'm not so sure they are faced with those issues in other parts of the world. The issue really is: Is it fair? That fairness is what drives the passion of sport. I think it's really smart for European football to start thinking about that."
"I'm not so sure that same stability exists in football around the world."
....
"We tend to be very sophisticated about the business of sport and that sophistication has led to great success," Garber said. "The rest of the world tries to look at it to get a better understanding of sport, particularly as European football continues to (grapple) with the wealth gap. We still remain a niche sport and we have to make sure we are managing our business to be financially viable and long-term success is the key goal -- that may or may not be the same objective that exists in Spain.
"If we don't manage our business very conservatively there is a fear we can go out of business and I'm not so sure they are faced with those issues in other parts of the world. The issue really is: Is it fair? That fairness is what drives the passion of sport. I think it's really smart for European football to start thinking about that."
This is carrier-class trolling, as we all know from our message boards. I could listen to G-14 teams being lectured on "sophistication" and "passion" all week. And all this coming mere weeks after MLS teams spent the summer mooching off Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by what Garber might as well have said, while he was at it
We're very knowledgeable in how to market cartoon mice, and I think that's something Disney might look at closely.
Anyway, the real story of Garber's interview is his reaction to the groundswell of fans nationwide rising up as one and demanding higher wages for better players, inaugurating a new Golden Age of American Soccer. How does Garber feel about such a plan?
Quote:
Suck a c*ck.
Quote:
"I am just astounded how quickly teams can turn their fortunes around by spending more money," Garber said. "I question overall on a global basis whether that makes economic sense, but in those countries the relationship those teams have with the governments, the corporate community and the banking community is just so different that I think they are playing by different rules."
Wow, two totally random American sports logos out of nowhere. Hope that doesn't keep happening.
No, the real F.U. comes when Garber specifically brings up That 70's Team.
Quote:
"As a person who manages a sports league who is very focused on ensuring that we remain financially viable so we remain in business that's not a system that could work here," Garber said. "It would clearly create an arms race of spending that would clearly put MLS out of business as it did with the North American Soccer League in the early 80s.
"When the New York Cosmos spent 10 or 20 times as much as any other team and they had the best players in the world (including Pele) that was certainly not good for the development of football in America."
"When the New York Cosmos spent 10 or 20 times as much as any other team and they had the best players in the world (including Pele) that was certainly not good for the development of football in America."
I believe that while the Cosmos weren't a failure, the many teams that tried to be the Cosmos absolutely were. The Los Angeles Aztecs are remembered far too fondly, as are the Philadelphia Fury and the Detroit Express and all the Cosmos wannabes. The Aztecs signed Best and Cruyff to a team that drew about as well as Crewe Alexandra.
Now, that doesn't mean that HAS to happen. Let's say Red builds an igloo mansion and starts driving around in a gold-plated dogsled, or the Green family struts around in diamond-studded Birkenstocks and buys satin sheets for their spotted owls. That doesn't mean that the other MLS teams HAVE to run themselves into the ground. To paraphrase the late, great Ted Knight, the world needs ditch diggers, too.
Except....no one's gonna pay money to watch Danny Noonan dig a ditch. And since it's a good question whether people will pay to watch a successful soccer team, it's completely understandable if it's taken for granted that people won't go watch a bad one. The Pittsburgh Pirates have over a hundred years of tradition to act as a heat shield for their incompetence. The Kansas City Wizards...not so much.
I've giggled enough at Garber trolling the world, now let me quote the part I agree with.
Quote:
"We believe to our core that every fan wants to believe that when the season starts they have the tools, the capability, the resources to compete so they can dream about their team winning a championship," Garber said.
....
"People use their wealth and resources to create a balance of opportunities ... we are only as strong as our weakest part as opposed to our most successful team."
....
"People use their wealth and resources to create a balance of opportunities ... we are only as strong as our weakest part as opposed to our most successful team."
The Minnesota Twins made the playoffs this year. But spending money sure is a good indicator. Five of the other seven baseball playoff teams have salaries over $100 million...and it took an extra game to put the Twins there instead of a sixth. (And it ain't like the Cardinals or Rockies are poor teams, either.)
Even if it's not a 1:1 correlation between spending and success (and in MLS, it's not close to that), you still can't afford to tell MLS fans that their team isn't in a position to compete.
Now, maybe tomorrow morning Phil Anschutz wakes up and says, "You know what - the CONCACAF Champions League matters after all. Let's Manchester City those chumps," and then Don Garber will give an interview or two about how MLS can handle Gilded Age football financing after all. That's looking extremely unlikely, though. MLS, for the foreseeable future, is the anti-NASL. If Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Portland wish otherwise, they've got a lot of work to do.
(Do what in other leagues would qualify as the smallest of small markets really want this? Or are they just assuming that Los Angeles and New York will spend foolishly forever? Meh, it's plausible.)
Share
Post a Comment
Total Comments 24
Comments
-
Garber said "the MLS"? Aww, come on...Posted 07 Oct 2009 at 09:08 PM by Blackbox 
-
This was great Loney. Good article on CNN/SI too. What type of forum does Garber have in Europe? The article doesn't make it clear. Is he speaking in front of some sort of audience?
I think it is clear that MLS is doing all it can to mimic the NFL's financial structure. That's understandable given Garber's background .. as well as the other options (MLB? Nah. NBA? No thanks). But what remains to be seen is, can the NFL style of socialism work for soccer in the U.S.? It can work in the NFL, because the NFL has no competitors, and the NFL doesn't have to compete to get the world's top players. I wonder if those same tenets can work for MLS, a league that has mondo competition, and brings a squirt gun to the AK-47 fight that is world competition for top class players.
I have great admiration for the way Garber has helped steward in this era of growth in MLS (and the owners, who of course tell Garber what to do). This philosophy has helped MLS go from nothing to near financial viability, and helped the league get enough strength to not get sunk by a recession ... but I wonder what the plan is to achieve that "next level."
Because reading Garber's quotes, he sounds so smitten with himself, it almost looks like he thinks he can put this baby on auto-pilot for the rest of time. I have to imagine that at some point, MLS will need to establish a new philosophy to usher in a new era (or continue the growth on a different scale).Posted 07 Oct 2009 at 09:20 PM by Asprilla9
-
and he said "football" when referring to association football, several times.Quote:Originally Posted by Blackbox
Garber said "the MLS"? Aww, come on...
Glenn Davis just had several aneurysms.Posted 07 Oct 2009 at 09:22 PM by Asprilla9
-
Garber's "smarter plan" is to try to talk the Euro leagues into putting in some sort of salary restraints--knowing damn well they'll never venture anywhere near MLS territory--because they're industry trend-setters, and if the top guys limit salaries, most everyone else will follow, making players cheaper.
If you have to puff yourself up beyond recognition, so be it.Posted 07 Oct 2009 at 09:49 PM by Stan Collins 
-
OK, Dan.
But the real debate is between fans of the MLS who believe that "the MLS" should bow down and kiss the status quo right in the sphincter, while pretending to be mightily put out that Uncle Phil has terribly hurt the team of the blogger in question, the team which is now competing for the Supporters' Shield, by "nutpunching" said side for harboring one David Beckham, vs. people who think MLS should make prudent upgrades within the same model.
This is the reasonable debate. The righteous indignation against the people who want to go to a Cosmos model, and the the Cosmos were the biggest of the big failures, not a solitary success, is pointless. Nobody with any sense is following that model or supporting it. The wealthy Americans who are are now going broke in the EPL.Posted 08 Oct 2009 at 12:23 AM by Mateofelipe
-
i just wanted to point out that this is actually just one sentence. and it's a hell of one, too.Quote:Originally Posted by Mateofelipe
But the real debate is between fans of the MLS who believe that "the MLS" should bow down and kiss the status quo right in the sphincter, while pretending to be mightily put out that Uncle Phil has terribly hurt the team of the blogger in question, the team which is now competing for the Supporters' Shield, by "nutpunching" said side for harboring one David Beckham, vs. people who think MLS should make prudent upgrades within the same model.
Posted 08 Oct 2009 at 03:28 AM by Asprilla9
-
Well, a lot of MLS fans seem pretty unstable.
Is that the same thing?Posted 08 Oct 2009 at 06:44 AM by Bill Archer
-
And some of them are bloggers.Quote:Originally Posted by Bill Archer
Well, a lot of MLS fans seem pretty unstable.
Posted 08 Oct 2009 at 09:23 AM by CLEATS
-
Asprilla - by noticing the punctuation of the post you quoted, you successfully reminded me of one of my favorite Shakespeare/acting mentors. All I can say is thanks and thanks [and ever thanks].Quote:Originally Posted by Asprilla9
i just wanted to point out that this is actually just one sentence. and it's a hell of one, too.Posted 08 Oct 2009 at 10:55 AM by sprovi
-
I like this blog. It told me nothing I didn't already know. In fact, it didn't say much of anything at all. But it said it so well. It was enjoyable to read, as always.
In Garber's defense, MLS does know something about financial responsibility - and perhaps more than any other league in the world. And he wasn't lecturing Spain on how to brand. He was lecturing Spain on how to achieve parity and financial responsibility.
The one problem with his argument of "sustainability" and "what's good for sports in a country" is that it's an international market. If La Liga adopted a salary cap of $2.3 million per team next year, there would be a mass exodus of all their talent. And that wouldn't be good for their league either.Posted 08 Oct 2009 at 01:23 PM by woodlands
|
Post a Comment
|
Total Trackbacks 0
