Guys, with the USL beating the NASL to the most important markets in the state of Oklahoma: (Tulsa and Oklahoma City), can we now determine that the dream of the NASL going there is now but finished and dead? Realistic, how many years of life will you give those USL clubs before they start to fold (2-3 years)?
What has me fuming mad is that the USL-Tulsa had the nerves to incorporate the name Roughnecks... This is so wrong. I'm willing to bet you that the club will fold after 3 years and see the name go down the toilet all because of a gang of incompetent twits from the USL who want to validate their ego by using this name. This name should be treated with respect.
YES indeed!!!! The USL is a mickey-mouse league that has a track record of having the odd 2-3 teams folding after 2-3 years of operation. Their business model is a joke...with exceptions of clubs such as Orlando. The name ROUGHNECKS deserves to be in a strong league such as MLS, and even in the NASL (to a certain degree). On another note, does the USL-Tulsa has the right to use the name ROUGHNECKS? Who owns the name of the team?
Yeah, the nerve. I think you overstate the actual impact/history of the name "Tulsa Roughnecks." Oy. You know what, genius? If "Tulsa Roughnecks" was out there, some other league could have obtained it. If they were, you know, smart and not at all Mickey Mouse. Right. AC St. Louis would never fold after just one year. Crystal Palace Baltimore would never fold after just one year in Division II. The Virginia Cavalry are strong and proof of the strength of the NASL. The Puerto Rico Islanders are still going strong. Viva la NASL. Who doesn't have a rinky-dink playoff format or a Commissioner who can't stop saying stupid shit.
You know what you get when you combine Tulsa and OKC? San Antonio or Orlando, but only one of them. It's like bemoaning another league getting to Jacksonville and Fresno first. Nice places, but really nobody is beating anybody else to anything of great importance by nabbing either location.
Two most important markets? Try ONLY two markets in Oklahoma! lol I'm gonna be Mister Sunshine now, and say that Funk and Prodigal HAVE locked up the state for themselves. They will own (2) USL-Pro franchises (Tulsa and Oklahoma City) And I will go all out and say that they are successful, and it's not just ass-smoke-blowing, and they are able to obtain an MLS franchise. Where will that franchise be? Tulsa? I don't think so. It will be in Oklahoma City. Tulsa will remain in USL, and most likely will be the affiliate for the OKC MLS team. I really want to know, how does that sit with the Tulsa First crowd out there? They brought back your Roughnecks, and put them in the 3rd division, where they will stay. Congrats on that.
Neither OKC group wanted to truly work as partners with Sonny or Dr. Kern. To his credit, Tim Holt has had his eye on partnering with the Drillers for quite a few years, dating all the way back to 2008 when Chuck Lamson owned the ballclub... http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=9963.0 The Hubbard brothers, who now own the Drillers after their father passed away, are majority owners of the USL Pro club, with Funk Jr. as minority owner. If Brad Lund and Jeff Lund had their way, the ownership of a Tulsa NASL club would have been a similar mix as the one you now see with Prodigal and the Drillers. IMHO, both of these efforts have "conflict of interest" written all over them. Both SOS and Prodigal belong to the "OKC First crowd" ..... so, by my count, that's one Goliath down (Lund), and one more to go (Funk Jr)... Before making fancy pronouncements about their stated goal of MLS in OKC, maybe that town can draw over 10k for a soccer game... any game... or maybe they can partner with Aubrey McClendon to move the San Jose Earthquakes to OKC... they wouldn't even have to change the team name... http://www.rollingstone.com/politic...-bubble-the-scam-behind-the-gas-boom-20120301 An email I received from Brad Lund (aka Harold Hill) dated 9/13/2013 We have a local group on the ground in Tulsa attempting to build a soccer specific stadium - they are very aggressive as we speak. It is a strong group of major Tulsa business leader. I am not able to disclose their names yet, but you can trust that your wishes of the Tulsa Roughnecks returning are in very good hands. These are major business leaders. My role is communicating w/ the NASL. The NASL has no interest in adding a second Oklahoma team until they expand West. However, they are very aware of the Roughnecks brand and Tulsa's large soccer fan base. The youth soccer numbers and TV ratings for soccer are staggering. Numbers don't lie. Also, there is not an acceptable venue currently in Tulsa. The NASL no longer will award franchises that will play "football fields". That is why we are working on building a spectacular 10,000 seat stadium in Tulsa, with the ability to upgrade should the MLS opportunity present itself in the next 5-10 years. ..... so yeah, I'll be questioning the motivations of anyone from OKC on why they are soooooooooooo interested in Tulsa. Is it so that one OKC group can win a pissing match with the other one? And what happens when the dust settles and that pissing match is over? In the meantime, I'll be supporting the folks who have Tulsa's best interests at heart and treat our fans like family... Coach Joey http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/R/Ryan.Joe.htm And fearless leader from back in the day... http://newsok.com/former-tulsan-enjoying-pro-soccer-experience/article/2570657
Just got a message from the NASL OKC owners. 1. Press release is on the slate for next Monday "at the latest" 2. New logo/colors will be released. (I'm hoping it is something close to the temporary logo they released. Everyone who saw it liked it.) 3. They are finalizing their new website, FB, Twitter, and instagram social media sites. 4. Working on finalizing one of three, possible venues for 2015 right now. (Let's hope one is Bricktown Ballpark) So; For all those who thought they would slink off into the night, sorry. For all those who thought Tim McLaughlin was the only person who had money in OKC, sorry. For all the energy fanboys who were hoping that they wouldn't have to compete, sorry.
Maybe a "war" will engender some real passion for the game here, instead of just being a "nice way to spend an evening". Who knows? I just know I'm excited about it right now.
History isn't on the side of this scenario, but there always has to be a first time... ...let's hope this is it, and the other, more probable outcome doesn't happen.