FC Wimbledon is relegated to Division 2

Discussion in 'Other Divisions' started by DennisM, Apr 6, 2004.

  1. DoyleG

    DoyleG Member+

    CanPL
    Canada
    Jan 11, 2002
    YEG-->YYJ-->YWG-->YYB
    Club:
    FC Edmonton
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Question on distance: Which is closer to Wimbledon? Selhurst or MK?

    As for the NA angle, some cities never caught on with their teams. LA never seem to give the support to it's two teams so the Radiers moved home (Oakland) while the Rams went to a traditional NFL city (St. Louis). The Cleveland Browns (A traditional team) moved to a traditional city (Baltimore). Some of the cities that lose teams do get them back in the form of expansion franchises.
     
  2. Dune

    Dune Member

    Feb 10, 1999
    Selhurst Park and Plough Lane are both in South London, 8 miles apart. Milton Keynes is not considered a part of Greater London and is 70 miles north of Wimbledon.
     
  3. RichardL

    RichardL BigSoccer Supporter

    May 2, 2001
    Berkshire
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    One thing possibly worth mentioning, with the UK being such a densely populated country (60 million in an area the size, almost exactly, of Alabama) is that while to someone from the US or Canada 70 miles might seem practically next door, in the UK it's practically another world. A couple of times when I was over there it was almost hard to explain that while Reading is only 40 miles from London, it wasn't in any way a suburb of London. It's its own place with the overwhelming majority of people who live in the town working in the town, socialising in the town etc, with London just having some marginal peripheral influence over events. The is no link or affinity between the two places - although curiously on the other side of London, Essex boys from around Southend (or Saa'fend as they call it) practically regard their area as an extension of London's east end.
     
  4. BFC down south

    BFC down south New Member

    Jun 17, 2004
    Thank goodness for that !
     
  5. DixieDean

    DixieDean New Member

    Jun 4, 2004
    Nassau, Bahamas
    I think one of the problems regarding the way that people in the states and the u.k. view "franchizing" is because most u.k. posters don't understand the vagaries of sports in the u.s.a. Most u.s. fans regard professional teams as being "owned" by someone else but there are far more people that support their local college team and this is the team that they consider to be "their team". a good example is that there are 117 (NCAA) division 1 college football (gridiron) teams averaging between 15,000 to 110,000 fans per game, the professional game (NFL) is considered "entertainment" because their real passion is with the collegiate team that they support. Obviously a college team can never move to another city. american colleges also play a huge variety of sports. the college that I support, The Ohio State University, compete in soccer, rugby, basketball, baseball, lacross etc. Most american sports fans abhor the moving of teams from one town to another but our true passion lays with amateur teams from colleges and universities that we live near or attend(ed). Supporting a college team is all about supporting the "club" because the longest any player can play for a given team is a maximum of 5 years due to ncaa amateur rules.
     
  6. PsychedelicCeltic

    PsychedelicCeltic New Member

    Dec 10, 2003
    San Francisco/London

    Perhaps if I grew up in Columbus like you, but I think you're generalising as a whole. I'm attempting to enter UC Berkeley, but I only have the slightest interest in their sports teams.
     
  7. (TxT)

    (TxT) Member+

    Jun 9, 2004
    Tampa, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    That is pretty much true. Here in the USA college teams would be like the equivalent of how football in England works. Like how college teams usually don't go across the country to get players and the fact that a lot of colleges with teams aren't in huge cities but are usually about an hours drive from the big cities. Where I live the Bulldogs are everything to almost everyone that don't live close to Atlanta, most Falcon fans and supporters in the state I'd say live within 1 hour of Atlanta. The rest of the state depending on where you live is either Bulldogs, Clemson (South Carolina), Auburn (Alabama), Tennessee, Florida, or your truely local team like Vldosta State. Like the Falcons the only people that root for Georgia Tech live close Atlanta.

    Now just imagine if your Buckeyes decided to move their stadium, team, and college in general to Akron (about 60 miles). A lot of people who have been growing up in Columbus and going to the games or having parties will be pissed and probably become less interested i the affairs of the team. Now you guys have no way of reperesnting your city in football. That is what it would feel like to a football fan in England. Now I am not saying you don't understand this but I was just using you as an exampla and I hope you don't mind.

    PS: Jason WHite is returning to Oklahoma for his SIXTH season of college ball, pretty f-ed up I think.
     
  8. DixieDean

    DixieDean New Member

    Jun 4, 2004
    Nassau, Bahamas
    I don't mind at all. I think it's a great analogy. Actually, I totally understand. I began supporting Wimbledon FC (from a far obviously) when I watched a bad second or third generation copy of the FA cup final victory in about 1990.

    My point was just that americans dont tend to view the pro teams in the same way as they do college teams, hence what appears to be acceptance of teams moving has more to do with people being more connected to the college teams or a feeling of no control of the pro teams.

    I know that I was rambling a bit but I think your analogy could be an excellent way to explain the situation to fans over here that don't understand why this is such a (terrible) big deal.
     
  9. Atouk

    Atouk BigSoccer Supporter

    DC United
    Apr 16, 2001
    Arlington, VA
    Club:
    Queens Park Rangers FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think your statement vastly underrates the passion many fans have for NFL teams. Many NFL fans consider college football a nice day out, but care about college football in a way similar to the way college fans care about high school football -- it's a feeder to the "real thing."

    Also, NFL television ratings are massive and the country does not stop for NCAA football or basketball title games like it does for the Super Bowl.

    Often, college sports are bigger in states or areas that don't have pro sports. Places like Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas have college sports as their main passion because they have no other kind (other than occasional minor league sports). Much of the East Coast more closely follows professional teams because cities are often both larger and closer together, making professional sports more accessable. College football in that region pales in comparison to the passions held for the Eagles, Giants, Redskins, etc.

    Likewise, college sports had a long time to earn loyalties in other parts of the country. Thus, the south is generally more of a college sports territory. Before television and the expansion of professional sports beyond the east coast and the large midwest cities, college was the highest level people could expect to see in person, and thus, at all.

    I assume this accounts for the fact that more recently developed college programs like Miami, although very good, don't have the same wide base of support that the Miami Dolphins NFL team has (look at some of Miami's attendance figures for less interesting matchups). That said, the hardcore Cowboys or Saints fans are as rabid as Texas or LSU fans, even though those college programs had a "head start" of generations.

    Anyway, while I don't entirely disagree with what you say, I think that statement is too general to accurately convey the US sports scene or the relative places of college and professional sports within it, while being a bit biased in favor of college sports.

    I also think it doesn't really consider the impact of baseball (or basketball or hockey, for that matter) as sports with extensive schedules in the professional ranks (162 for baseball, 82 for the other two) that are well followed in cities and their surrounding regions for 6 months of the year. The college varieties of these sports play well less than half as many games through seasons that are half as long. College baseball, while bigger in the south than in much of the country and bigger now than it was 15-20 years ago, is still relatively small and is dwarfed by MLB.

    Anyway, the US sports scene is a complex one. I think you've overstated things a bit there.
     
  10. Short Irish Guy

    Short Irish Guy New Member

    May 1, 2003
    Houston
    My family have been St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football fans for generations. My grandfather actually played a few seasons before World War II at the old Sportsman's Park. I live in Houston now but I still follow the Cardinals with my MLB Extra Innings package on DirecTV. Great service that is!

    When the football Cardinals moved in the middle of the night to Phoenix it really crushed the city. Having the Rams move to town from Los Angeles was nice but they do not have the history in the community dating back more than 60+ years that the old football Cardinals did.

    People in the STL could love the Rams a great deal but I can guarantee if the football Cardinals moved back the love for the Rams would pale in comparison.

    Oh, soccer content...right: D.C. United are fantastic :)
     
  11. RichardL

    RichardL BigSoccer Supporter

    May 2, 2001
    Berkshire
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Well having just seen MK lose 1-0 at home to Glentoran (a mate who is now only Man City away from having been to all 92 grounds suggested going and drove up) I'd say they look a very good bet for a second consecutive drop. They played in red as well, so maybe they've changed their colours. I thought it might have been a ploy to boost sales of an away kit in their club shop, but they didn't appear to have a club shop. They do have the windiest ground in the league though. They could raise money by hiring it out to Boeing to conduct wing aerodynamics experiments.

    A mammoth crowd of about 500 saw this thrilling encounter.
     
  12. sokkerluver

    sokkerluver Red Card

    Jul 22, 2004
    Chicago,Illinois,USA
    It isn't FC Wimbledon they changed their name to Milton Keynes Dons FC. I feel sorry for the fans of that one historic club.
     
  13. Peakite

    Peakite Member

    Mar 27, 2000
    Berkshire
    Club:
    Halifax Town
    It was when the thread was started.
     
  14. sokkerluver

    sokkerluver Red Card

    Jul 22, 2004
    Chicago,Illinois,USA
    That must suck!!
     
  15. adri

    adri Member

    Jul 3, 2004
    Vancouver, Canada
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    well, only about 5 years till' AFC Wimbledon reach the prem:)

    & about 2 years till' MK Dons go into admin. teehee.
     
  16. gothamite

    gothamite New Member

    Feb 12, 2004
    New York City, natch
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Actually, the football Cardinals were only in St. Louis for twenty-eight years, but the point is well taken.

    The Braves were only in Milwaukee for thirteen seasons, but that city still bleeds for them.
     
  17. Short Irish Guy

    Short Irish Guy New Member

    May 1, 2003
    Houston
    I know the football Cardinals started in Chicago but St. Louis embraced them in a way Phoenix never will.
     
  18. Pichi

    Pichi Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 17, 1999
    San Jose, CA
    Club:
    Real Betis
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Yes they still do, I'm originally from Milwaukee and after the Braves left and the Brewers came to Milwaukee my grandmother refused to watch or follow the Brewers and instead would watch TBS to catch the Braves games! Sure the Brewers are major league baseball but they never have attained the caliber or
    following that the Braves did even when they went from playing in two consecutive world series to sub-par baseball.

    AFC Wimbledon All the Way and "Go A's" :D

    Pichi
     

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