Orlando, Nashville, Carolinas, etc: Regional Rivalry Discussion

Discussion in 'Atlanta United FC' started by Eleven Bravo, Nov 19, 2017.

  1. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Great news for soccer in the South.

    I've heard ticket sales for the Nashville game have been strong and also expensive. Anyone going?
     
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  2. Gunner

    Gunner Member

    Apr 19, 1999
    Marietta, Ga USA
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  3. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Birmingham Legion FC. Glad to see more southern teams in the league.

    My dream is to have:
    (One, USL just buys out NASL)

    USL1: southern conference
    Atlanta United II
    Nashville II
    Orlando City II
    FC Dallas II
    Houston Dynamo II
    Austin/San Antonio II
    Miami II (Ft Lauderdale Strikers)
    Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Charleston Battery
    Charlotte Independence
    Birmingham Legion
    Raleigh Railhawks
    Jacksonville Armada
    Austin/San Antonio
    Chattanooga FC
    New Orleans

    USL2: southern conference
    Greenville
    Asheville
    Jackson
    Little Rock
    Columbia
    Greensboro
    Winston-Salem
    Virginia Beach
    Memphis
    Waco
    Corpus Christi
    Bradenton
    Wilmington
    Knoxville
     
  4. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    NASL would definitely never sell their image and rights as a league. They are already dead anyway. Last press release was that they will now follow the FIFA calendar beginning play in Fall 18. Did that just as a pathetic way to buy a little more time to get one or two more teams. They are down to all of 6 teams, 2 of which are brand new, and just lost 2 to USL. Shot themselves in the foot with a terrible league GM for 3 years and he killed them with his ineptitude.
     
  5. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Fair, I should have elaborated... by which all the NASL clubs just become USL clubs.
     
  6. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For sure. I'm guessing a few of them will next year if they can survive an entire year off. They couldn't afford to keep staff and a roster doing nothing for a year though. So they'd have to start from scratch again joining USL in 2019 so I wouldn't be too hopeful. USL will be fine without them.

    Once they are dead for good though, another ownership group could choose to start a new club from scratch in those open markets that don't choose to make the switch.

    Either way I'm a bit tired of MLS clubs (ATL included) 'disrespecting' this league by treating it as nothing but a developmental league for young players and not really caring if they win or not. It is what it is right now and for the short term future. Long term I'd like to see a separate league for just MLS academies both for youth and the reserves, but that's probably 10 or so years off.
     
  7. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don’t see it as disrespecting.

    I see the American landscaping needing to be four tiers.

    ————
    First tier: MLS. No pro/rel.

    Second tier: Lower pro and reserve leagues; with a first and second division, and with promotion/relegation between these two divisions.

    Third tier: A national u23 league, focused on clubs in the major college towns and every MLS team with an u21 team. Perhaps eventually more than one division, with pro/rel between them.

    Fourth tier: under 18 youth leagues and academy system.
    ———

    But in discussing the “second tier”, using the model I laid out, if all the reserve teams don’t take it seriously, then they could be relegated down. This inspires some level of competition between them. Moreover, while I’m not a fan of pro/rel with MLS due to the fact that these are in truth, franchises, not local club systems, and inherently more fragile; I do appreciate the merit that pro/rel would have in this second tier of lower pro and reserves, as these are more similar to local club systems. In other words, there’s a world apart between the top tier and the next tier compared to the second and third tiers.
     
  8. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Can we be realistic? I have nothing against pro/rel, but considering it's not even financially an option and wouldn't be for 15-20 years, what's the point in even bringing it up in any actual legitimate discussion about the next 5-10 years?
     
  9. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I’ve said this before, you need to know your destination before you get in the car. Granted, things will happen between here and there where adjustments will need to be made, but a clear picture of where we are heading is optimal.

    That said, please note and reference, I do not advocate, at all, a promotion/relegation system within MLS, whatsoever.

    What I do envision, especially with USL clubs popping up like crazy, the eventual dissolving of NASL, and the creation of D3, that a model of what this lower tier should look like, should be discussed, now.

    That is very realistic, and 5-10 years away is very possible.
     
  10. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Now that's an idea I could get on board with. You're still battling the college game though. NPSL and PDL run short summer seasons and will have to continue to do so. We do have a wealth of soccer talent in the country but that's also because of so many foreigners here on scholarship in college with education visas. You can't compete with their scholarships, that's why they are here and how they got their visa.

    Good problems to have I suppose. Either way it starts with a positive soccer culture that buys tickets to games at all levels, supports their teams in good times and bad and also buying merch.
     
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  11. ATLfirefan

    ATLfirefan Member

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 8, 2005
    Norcross, GA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I strongly believe the Atlanta-Nashville rivalry will be friendly. The standard may be set with the friendly up there in February, but I know most people going aren't going for the "rivalry" aspect and more for the "my team is playing close to me and I want to go to a fun city" aspect.

    I know when Nashville was announced I was immediately happy that we have a team four hours away; I was happier that Nashville is a genuinely good and fun city to visit and the people there are usually nice to visitors.

    The Atlanta-Orlando rivalry got ugly quick, and I'll put that mostly on MLS trying to build a rivalry and Orlando SGs buying into it/being terrible people on the whole. But I think there is no real animosity between the cities of Nashville and Atlanta like there even is with Georgia and Florida/Atlanta and Orlando.

    I, for one, am extremely excited to get at least one road trip a season to Nashville in one or two year's time, and I hope their fans feel the same.

    Basically, I wanna go rage with their fans, beat them on the pitch, and rage afterwards.
     
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  12. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That’s why I wish US soccer would get more organized in its approach.

    (Because i’m a visual learner)

    Four main spheres in the soccer landscape:

    #1 “majors” top end professional soccer > MLS

    #2. “minors” lower and reserve leagues > USL (NASL) and MLS2 and d3.

    #3. 18-23 year old national league

    #4. Under 18 development.

    —————

    For that third sphere/tier; we need a much more coherent plan than what PDL and college soccer offers currently.

    The first step is move ALL mls clubs to field a u21 team, and the compensation is a college scholarship. This may take a few years, but should actually be a natural progression for academy players who are not quite ready for the senior team, or even yet, the reserve team.

    The second step, is start organizing the best successful PDL and NPSL clubs into this structure; similar to how we are seeing USL and MLS cannibalizing NASL.

    The third step is start looking to expand clubs in the major college towns. I would start out in your Clemson’s, Chapel Hill’s, Akron’s, etc that have consistently put out solid college programs.... eventually, start looking to expand in areas that don’t have college programs but are 18-23 hotbeds, your Athens’, Gainesvilles’, Austin’s, etc. the main thing, we need these clubs in towns like Clemson not like Greenwood.

    And, ultimately, structure the season around the college game. So, the season may run January - August. If NCAA isn’t going to work to improve US soccer then we need to work around those challenges.
     
  13. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  14. Gunner

    Gunner Member

    Apr 19, 1999
    Marietta, Ga USA
    With all of the Cincinnati news of late I thought I'd rekindle this topic. First, I'm liking what they're doing so far and it appears their first XI will be competitive out of the gate. They just added a French right back to join Garza and Waston on the back line.

    Anywho, while we wait on Nashville, Cincinnati emerges as a "local" rival. About the same distance away to the north as Orlando is to the South.

    May be prime for an I-75 Cup. If the schedule falls right I can see the FCC away match flush with 5 stripe support
     

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