Lucho, let me start by saying that we are both after the same thing ultimately - top level pro soccer in South Florida. We obviously have differing views on the specifics of how that might best work. I'm not hispanic, so in no way can I speak for the obviously large community we have here in South Florida. But let me just comment on what I have observed over the years. What I have seen is that a lot of hispanics wear club jerseys from their "home" countries. I see big turnouts for friendlies involving these types of teams or latin Men's National Teams. Let's go back to the Marlins for a second, because one of their problems is the same I think. A large percentage of the baseball fans in South Florida are actually fans of other teams. Heck, since I was old enough to hold a baseball in my hand, I was taught to be a Cubs fan, just like the other men in my family have always been, and just like my son will be. All of these first, second, third generation hispanics come here with the love of their country firmly in hand. We see it everywhere in South Florida, every day. And in those countries, futbol is part of their heritage, their lifeblood, so I assume that it comes here in their hearts as well. Now does this mean that a local pro soccer team won't get their support? Not necessarily of course. But I think it is still an obstacle, just like it is for the Marlins to "convert" fans who have for generations in their families rooted for other teams. Obviously I don't have any hard numbers on this, but it just seems in my observations that the support for an American team would not really be tremendous, no matter where it was, or what it was called. And all of that only addresses one facet of the big picture. I think the greatest obstacle of all would be a stadium. Where do you put it? Where does the funding come from? Short of some billionaire coming in and saying here, here's tons of cash, have at it, there's no way it's getting done. The city and county are already learning some lessons from the Marlins situation, and once it opens, it'll only get worse. Look, the Marlins made a mistake putting a stadium in downtown Miami. They are alienating a lot of baseball fans in Broward and Palm Beach by doign that. We live away from Miami because we don't want to have to go downtown in a large city. The Fins stadium is about as far south as many of us want to have to go. Ft. Lauderdale has two things going for it. #1 it's centrally located for all three counties. #2 it already has a tradition and foundation for pro soccer that is just sitting there, ready to be put back into operation. If you look at the attendence rankings of teams in leagues with the name Ft. Lauderdale Strikers as compared to teams with a name starting with Miami, I think that is how you can put a measure on the debate and say the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers have been more successful. I don't agree with your demographic makeup of the area, especially to the north for the old Strikers time period. I think this entire area was undergoing a tremendous growth in younger people, people with families at that time. Sure some areas to this day are old fart central (Tamarac for example). But there are plenty of people like me who watched the Strikers as a wide eyed kid, not an old timer. Actually I'd disagree with that statement even more. Most people my grandparents age or older have never, and still don't give a rat's arse about soccer. It just doesn't have history in this country that touches that generation.
Let's juxtapose these two points. The baseball comparison is well taken, but soccer is different. Because of soccer's "new kid on the block" status in the U.S., we won't have 3rd generation DC United, Chicago Fire or LA Galaxy fans to fend off or convert. I grew up a Kansas City Royals fan (Amos Otis, Freddi Patek, Frank White, Cookie Rojas, George Brett, etc) and a Kansas City Chiefs fan (Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Ed Podolak, Jan Stenerud, Otis Taylor, Buch Buchanan, etc). But having moved to Miami as a kid, I'll take Miami Hurricanes football, baseball or basketball over anything else. The complaint attributed to the Hispanic soccer base is that they are unwilling to pay good money to see 2nd rate soccer. They are accustomed to seeing a better level of play from the home country. My experience in attending several tournaments at the Orange Bowl was that Brasil, Columbia, Bolivia and other national teams drew respectable crowds. It strikes me that better quality soccer with old country fans that bring their kids to see and grow up on the Miami/So. Fla. team is a formula that can work.
I truely believed that Miami soccer fans will not have to wait very long before your see MLS soccer again. The key to Miami's return is David Beckham. There is one year leave on his contact, but I belieive he will be signed to one more year, depending if the Galaxy win MLS Cup this coming season. As everyone knows as a part of his contact with MLS is franchise ownership after his playing career is over. This will make the open window for Beckman's expansion team to be in 2015. Mr. Beckham will not be a part of the return of the Cosmos and his contact excludes him from team ownership in Los Angeles. So, he has shown interest in Miami.He has no intertest in teaming up with Traffic Sports, so he has been looking for other investors, which include Marcelo Claure, without any FC Barcelona involvement. So, once Beckham is awarded the Miami franchise, what do you think will he call them. Since Traffic owns all rights to the Strikers brand, rumor has it that he is in the process of buying the rights to the Fusion FC trademark. Also the 2015 expansion date gives Miami the time needed to complete Marina Stadium. In concludion, if I was a begging man I would put my money on Mr. Beckman and Mr. Claure for the 2015 return of "Miami Fusion FC".
Not too much I can say about this but that long-term, I don't think it would be any more successful then the original Fusion franchise. Even if Beckham was to get involved with an expansion franchise here, and certainly there is no clear evidence of it at this point, that will not be enough. He isn't Dan Marino. Heck, he's not even Jeff Conine when it comes to South Florida. You're grossly over-estimating his value to a possible franchise in THIS area. I'll say it again and again, the ONLY chance of pro soccer working here long term, forr all the reasons we've been discussing in these threads, is Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.
Im sorry smoke and mirriors, the strikers were not successful, they were moved to another city. Look Miami Fusion FC when they played they played in a closed league, they never were involved in Concacaf Competition, CCL was not there, neither was stupid liga, and many other competitions like pan pacific, etc. etc. If Miami Fusion was to come back now they would be more succesful, because of the players they have now, the sizxe of the league, they are more of a real league, when fusion played back in they day they were in a league of 10 teams and 8 go to play-offs who is going to watch a league where all the team make it into the post season, with baclwards clock and penalty shoot out every game. Cmon now man, if Miami gets a team more people have respect for the league now, back then it was a joke, a team in Miami now would be succesful. I understand you like the strikers and such but ft. lauderdale in MLS, anybody outside of florida wont know where or what that city (ft. laudy) is about.
They only moved to Minnesota(the Robbie family's hometown) because the NASL played an indoor season and no decent indoor venue existed in South Florida at the time. The league itself folded the very next year. They were a success on the field and at the gate. They went from the bottom of the league, hovering at around 3,000 per game, in Miami to instantly the top half when they moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1977, remaining there until the league folded. Then Tim Robbie brought the team back in D2 in 1988, when there was no D1, and that team lasted, drawing good D2 crowds, until 1995 when excitement for the new D1, MLS, killed a lot of the support for D2 teams. Would it matter? Broward County is bigger or comparable in size to the metro areas of Columbus, Portland, Kansas City and Salt Lake City. It's not as recognized as "Miami" is nationwide for sure, but it's big enough that people have heard of it, and certainly big enough to warrant having a team that plays there called "Fort Lauderdale" as opposed to "Miami", as in the case of the Fusion. The Philadelphia Union play in Chester, not Philadelphia. FC Dallas in Frisco, not Dallas. The New York Red Bulls play in Harrison, not NY. But those are quite small suburbs and obviously they are marketing themselves with the bigger name. But Fort Lauderdale can stand on it's own and it's marketable, ESPECIALLY when it comes to soccer and the history of the Strikers here. Just as people have learned about "smaller" markets in other sports like Portland, Green Bay or Calgary, they would know soon enough about Fort Lauderdale. And taking that one example, Green Bay, Wisconsin is the 268th biggest city in the US, but it has an NFL team, and nearby Milwaukee(26th) doesn't, because the support is fantastic there. But people in Milwaukee can still deal with supporting the Packers. For the current NASL Strikers and with any luck, someday MLS Strikers, it would be nice if Miami(42nd biggest city) fans could swallow their pride and do the same for a Fort Lauderdale(126th) team. Can MLS work in Miami? Sure, but it's a big risk and it will have to be done 110% right. History clearly suggests that the better support for domestic soccer is in Broward County, under the Strikers name. Any and every team that has had the name Miami attached to it has been a disaster. As much as I would've liked the FCB/Claure bid to have succeeded at the time, that team would've likely been a disaster too. An investor likely to bail at the first sign of struggles in Barça, an erector set stadium with plastic grass at FIU, and no plans whatsoever for a SSS. Hopefully if MLS does come to Miami that trend ends. I'll support just about any effort to bring MLS to South Florida. But if it's going to be another half-assed effort, like Barcelona brought, I sincerely hope it fails because if we get another team and it moves, folds or is disbanded, that'll be the last chance we get in MLS. A "Barça USA" or "Boca Juniors Miami" is doomed to fail because within the great Latin fan base South Florida has, there are far more people that don't like or hate any one team than there are are people who support it.
Lucho, instead of us continuing to go back and forth, make sure you really read drsoflafan's post well. It says all you really need to know about this debate. History shows the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers HAVE been successful, and any pro soccer team named Miami has not. I just don't see the things you mentioned (CONCACAF champions league, or what percentage of MLS teams make the playoffs) being any sort of complete turn around factors.
I don't like the idea of naming a team Fort Landerdale, it must be Miami, so about: <script src='http://img820.imageshack.us/shareable/?i=miamistrikersfc.jpg&p=tl' type='text/javascript'></script><noscript></noscript>
It "must" be Miami? What if a new MLS team does decide to return to Lockhart? Then, just like the Fusion and briefly Miami FC, it would make absolutely no sense and insults the fans from Fort Lauderdale(who have shown strong support in the past and are most likely to actually attend games since it's so close). "South Florida" would be better, but that's stupid too. If it's gonna be a Miami-branded team, then they better play in Miami. The Miami Fusion and Miami FC playing in Fort Lauderdale only pissed off fans in both Miami AND Fort Lauderdale. Either pick one or the other and go with it. They'd still pull fans from all around South Florida but doing something stupid like naming a Fort Lauderdale based team "Miami" just alienates everyone. Why the Fusion did it after losing the Orange Bowl and then spending a good amount of money making Lockhart their home is beyond me. They should've been the Strikers once they settled on Lockhart, but even Fort Lauderdale Fusion would've been better than the misleading "Miami" name. Also, where did you get that logo? I designed that two years ago as an idea for a Miami FC rebrand(long before they decided to move to Fort Lauderdale and eventually use the Strikers name), only with the year "2006" in place of where the "FC" is on the one you posted.
Perhaps, this time they will get it right and put the team at Marina Stadium in Miami. They should have penty of time to complete the stadium, with them probarly not going the league till 2015. As to the logo it came as a dream to me about two weeks ago. Weird huh.
I'm not sure what is so "right" about Marina Stadium. First thing is we go right back to the history that shows a Miami team does not get even average support. Second, Broward and Palm Beach residents for the most part are not going to drive into Miami proper to watch much of anything in the way of sports. Third, and really the thing that trumps everything else - cost. The logistics of making that place viable for pro soccer as well as protectable to some degree from hurricanes would have to be incredible. Anyone who is willing to ante up for an MLS team down here is going to need a reasonably cost effective scenario for a SSS. That Marina thing isn't going to be it.
I'd much rather see the return of the Strikers over the Fusion. MLS needs to get away from these horrible names like Fusion, Clash, Burn, Wiz, Mutiny and go with the history like Rowdies, Strikers, Earthquakes, Sounders, Timbers, and Whitecaps. The names like the Galaxy, Fire, and Union sound much better than their NASL counterparts though, Surf/Wolves, Sting/Mustangs, Fury/Atoms. Ultimately, it's up to the FO, but I'd love to see the Strikers and Rowdies in MLS.
As previously stated about Miami needing Beckham for a chance returning to the MLS, it looks like that opportunity has come and gone. There are reports that the Beckham's are moving to New York. It seems to be a marriage made in haven between the Beckham's and the City. David's life long friend and Manager are involved in getting the New York Cosmos in the MLS, so it looks like they have him on board has the Beckham expansion team. Also Victoria is my busy in the fashion industry. http://www.hollyscoop.com/david-beckham/beckhams-moving-to-new-york-city_26138.aspx As for Florida run at getting an MLS team it may lye in Orlando. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/investors-targeting-mls-club-orlando http://www.reevesarmy.com/?p=122
I really don't take Orlando Seriously. I mean they play D3 soccer in USL and Donner AKA USL loyalist is involved.
With you 100% on that one eclipse. Orlando hasn't even had their first practice in a league that is two divisions below MLS. I have a feeling thta by the time things are done in Orlando, Rawlins will be wishing he had stayed in Austin.
That isnt true, the reason they are moving to new York because Victoria beckham fashion career, becks still living in Hollywood for galaxy, plus he has multiple homes in France and England, why wouldn't he bother having an extra home in south Florida, its funny how mls Miami bashers come running in with any little news to put our hopes down... Well as for those bashers, don garber is coming to south Florida to talk to fans about mls Miami and possibly becks and Claure being investors.... So EF you bashers, I bet when we get a team y'all are going to hate our guts, just cuz we are south floridians!!!!!!
Put tHis in this in your pipe and smoke it: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2...t_moving_to_new_york_despite_reports_rep.html
You know denial usually is the first sign of the true. Your artilce is a nice gossip piece. Time will tell what Beckham does with his expansion team, but all signs point towards the New York Cosmos.
Well we all love to bash South Florida fans because their is such a great support in South Florida for the sport and Miami FC with it's unheard of 1,100 per game average. I would try supporting my D-2 team then you can cry about not being in the MLS. My money is on Orlando for the next Florida MLS team. It doesn't matter if Orlando is currently a D-3 team, it's all about the situation, ownership and the money. Which Miami has none of this at this time. But maybe in another 10 to 15 years. It's not about promotion.
Maybe that's why the MLS combine was moved to Central Broward Park - It's new and "pretty" ( but in crack town). Hope the players and coaches have the blinders on as they drive past the SWAP SHOP. Lockhart is the Dangerfield of soccer - No respect I tell ya!
And the roller coaster continues... http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3353...am-in-secret-talks-to-buy-new-york-cosmos-for NYC2.
"The Red Bulls already play in the capital ?".... Of what?... As for the rest of it: we'll see what we'll see. Everything is up in the air right now. I still have the feeling that a 20 team league is too small. A 24 team MLS might be much better. That way we'll finally get at least 1 team in the southeastern US. Maybe.
Dont worry antique, a 24 team league is inevitable, as for Becks, maybe he has more connections to New York than Miami, hopefully Claure or any investor strike a deal for a franchise in Miami. Becks is getting a team for 25 Million, thats cheap compared to recent prices, if Claure can get him in on Miami, we may have a chance... Im sure there are other investors out there willing to bring a team to Miami, remembe the NFL and NBA want to lockout this year, and if they do, the only pro ssports out there would be MLS, OMG MIAMI NEEDS A TEAM!!!!!!!!!