Sacramento will become the 29th MLS franchise. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...ay-major-soccer-announcement-coming-next-week
I really hope Chicago is good next year and brings in someone that will attract the latino crowd there. Otherwise its going to be UGLY watching those games. Will feel like MLS 1.0 again.
They need to create a "Giordano's zone". Free deep dish pizza for every game! Limit to 1 straw per game, of course...
Parking around Soldier Field is super expensive though so it’s probably a wash. But Soldier Field is somewhat accessible by train.
In somewhat Utah-related news (if you squint really hard), Dave Romney, distant relative of Mitt Romney, traded to Nashville.
Bit surprised by this one https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/11/08/nycfc-head-coach-dome-torrent-mutually-agree-part-ways
Yeah, I guess rumors of Garth having worn out his welcome in Seattle were premature. Anyway, don't let this get out, but.......rumor has it that a long-time RSL supporter, whose name I can't reveal but whose initials are El-ahrairah, is numero uno on the short list for the new RSL GM. Just a rumor that the voices in my head told me I heard the other day. I thought you all would like to know.
Although RSL didn't play in the MLS final, Utah still had a connection. While I was watching the game yesterday, the announcers mentioned that the head referee, Allen Chapman, is from Salt Lake City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Chapman I don't know if he is a Utah native or he moved here from somewhere else, but I find it interesting that he chose to live here in Utah instead of some other, larger city. He must have some big time Delta frequent flyer miles.
A fan question I have pondered on many occasions: Who do you root for when your team is eliminated? I have boiled it down in my mind to 2 options: the team that knocked out your team, or every team except the team that knocked out your team. The reasoning is (speaking in fan-addled-brain mode) you vote for the team that knocked out your team because if only we could have overcome that single hurdle we would have won it all! Or, anyone but the team that beat us should win because that team is a bunch of whining, flopping cheating, unsportsmanlike losers who don6deserve any validation for their behavior and antics. What say you?
I've had similar thoughts as I found myself confused because I was somewhat rooting for Seattle. I don't typically follow the root for the team that beat you because this it is based on faulty logic and I find that most people that subscribe to this are trying to validate a undeserving team. It is the same fan that claims BYU is better than UofU at football because BYU beat USC. Stupid. I also don't typically wish for bad things toward the team that beat mine. At least not because they beat my team. I propose a 3rd ideology. I have a general like/disdain for each team and i root for whoever is higher on the list. Typically it is based on how I feel about the city the team comes from, from a sports perspective, ie LA teams always get docked points. But also based on the attitude of those associated with the team, coaches, players, fans, etc. All that being said. I tried to decided who I was rooting for and it turned out I just didn't care enough to even turn the game on...
I tend to just stop watching altogether. Once my team is out, I have very little interest afterwards. I checked the LA highlights since I figured it'd be a crazy game, and that was it. Notable exception tends to be the world cup, when I'll watch some games that I think might be interesting, as well as the finals. Last year was a small exception when I was hoping the Golden Knights would win the Stanley Cup their first season. Would've been a pretty historic achievement.
I didn't watch any of the other playoff games outside of RSL but I did watch the final yesterday. For the most part Toronto was the better team until the "own goal" jump started Seattle sadly. For me if it's not RSL I root for the team from the east. Seeing teams like Seattle, Portland, LA anything putting more stars over their crest kinda burns me to no end.
I rarely actively root for another team. If there’s a feel good story or other factor that makes for a temporary emotional bond I will. Otherwise, I’m like user @goobx1 . I don’t want a West team winning it. And, like user @DrownedElf I almost never watch playoff games in which RSL is not a participant.
I spent nine seasons as a general fan of MLS before RSL started to play, watching pretty much all of the games with a rooting interest simply in hopefully seeing good games. It is getting harder now to connect with the league as a whole - there were between 8 and 10 teams from 1996-2004 (8 in 1996 and 97, 10 from 1998 to 2001, and then 8 again from 2002 until we joined) - but there are enough match-ups I enjoy that I still watch multiple games each weekend.
I agree with everything you said except I watched the final up to the point that Seattle scored the second goal and then I turned it off. I don't really have time to sit down and watch a sporting event unless I have some attachment to one or both of the teams. That's why I don't watch EPL games or Champions League or baseball or basketball. About the most I will watch will be a game while I eat and that's all. Once I'm done eating, I turn the TV off. What I wish MLS did is what the NFL does with the NFL Redzone. Redzone just shows you the highlights of all the games on Sunday as they happen, so you don't have to watch a specific game if you don't want to or can't. Unfortuantely, my stupid cable company dropped NFL redzone for my cable package. Italy does this same thing on Sundays during soccer season but they have kind of a cheesy Sabato Gigante show along with the soccer. Whenever there is a goal, they go to the game. Unfortunately, Italian Serie A games are on Sky or Pay per view, so the RAI and Mediaset go to a couple of celebrities sitting in the stands who tell you who scored because they can't show you the action.