2018 MLS Cup broadcast scores historic audience ratings https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/12/09/2018-mls-cup-broadcast-scores-historic-audience-ratings Atlanta United's MLS Cup triumph ends city's long spell of sporting heartbreak http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...-ends-citys-long-spell-of-sporting-heartbreak Could one call have changed Portland's fate? | Instant Replay https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/12/09/could-one-call-have-changed-portlands-fate-instant-replay For MLS, Atlanta United's Success Has Become Soccer's Long-Awaited Gold Standard https://www.forbes.com/sites/mike-b...cers-long-awaited-gold-standard/#273c71035963 FC Cincinnati soccer team to hold groundbreaking for stadium https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article222890665.html Zac MacMath, Maxi Urriti among trades during half-day MLS window http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...rriti-among-trades-during-half-day-mls-window FC Dallas trade forward Maxi Urruti to the Montreal Impact https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/12/09/fc-dallas-trade-forward-maxi-urruti-montreal-impact Chicago Fire Soccer Club Acquires Forward Fabian Herbers https://www.chicago-fire.com/post/2...e-soccer-club-acquires-forward-fabian-herbers Pity Martinez confirms he is leaving River Plate to join Atlanta United https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...rget-pity-martinez-leave-river-plate-end-year Orlando City sends Victor ‘PC’ Giro to Vancouver in exchange for third-round SuperDraft pick https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/orlando-city-sc/orlando-city-pc-trade/ FC Cincinnati Acquires Goalkeeper Spencer Richey https://www.fccincinnati.com/post/2018/12/09/fc-cincinnati-acquires-goalkeeper-spencer-richey Vancouver Whitecaps FC trade for Maxime Crepeau and Victor "PC" Giro https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...ps-fc-trade-maxime-crepeau-and-victor-pc-giro Atlanta United’s Andrew Carleton was suspended for MLS Cup https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/atlanta-united-fc/atlanta-united-andrew-carleton-suspended-mls-cup/ Ibrahimovic to stay with LA Galaxy, AC Milan’s Leonardo says https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/st...ith-la-galaxy-ac-milan-s-leonardo-says-120918 Tottenham pushing back on solidarity payment claim for DeAndre Yedlin http://www.espn.com/soccer/tottenha...n-solidarity-payment-claim-for-deandre-yedlin
This had to be the most painful tweet this guy has ever made: Viewership for #MLSCup was higher in English than any Premier League match this season in US. Big breakthrough for #MLS . More (anecdotal): Atlanta has transformed MLS' image to many people I talk to who previously scoffed at the league and looked down upon it. #MLSCupPlayoffs— Kartik Krishnaiyer 🇺🇦🌻⚽️ (@kkfla737) December 10, 2018
LOL...that must have been excruciating for him. But for once his point is well taken. Atlanta United has gotten the attention of the Eurosnobs and Haters. I have a good friend that is German American. He LOVES football and still travels to Germany regularly and attends Bundesliga matches. But it's taken him a long time to warm up to MLS. And ATL certainly got his attention. But he sort of poo poo'd it as a one off. He lives in Michigan and had never been to an MLS match. I told him he needed to see what this league is becoming and talked him into meeting me in Kansas City this summer to attend the SKC vs TFC match. He was blown away by the whole experience. The stadium, the new training center, all of it. He is now a hard core MLS fan...how's that for anecdotal?
I think this demonstrates exactly why MLS will continue expansion where it makes sense. There are a lot of people who have not yet experienced a game. Watching on TV is one thing, but actually being in the stadium is a completely different and better experience. Soccer as a sport, is much better live in person, in the stadium, then it is on TV or a computer screen.
This sort of phenomena will unfortunately give Eurosnobbery more juice too. Increased MLS popularity will make comparing league quality a more common discussion. But barring unforeseen society-altering events, American soccer, IMO, is set to blow up into something even more amazing over the next 5-10 years. Outside of general sports participation numbers, what area of the US game is not looking up? There's crazy potential. And if things go right, MLS will have both benefited from and generated much of that success. Bring on FC Cinci, Inter Miami, the new Crew, CCL, St. Louis, better ratings, the improvement of facilities, the maturation of academies, more star players. Even with regard to the USMNT/MLS connection, I'm excited to turn the page on the last chapter and get really into the new one.
With World Cup 2026 coming, if the next 8 years are anything what the last 8 brought, barring some type of (old and new) NASL collapse, soccer can very well challenge to be one of the top 3 sports in North America. CFL/NFL and MLB will always be tops but it could definitely challenge the NBA and NHL.
Breaking: Hearing reports Sigi Schmid is in the hospital. Sounds serious. Have only partial confirmation at this point. No confirmed details on his condition other that it’s serious. Watch @GalaxyPodcast for updates— Kevin Baxter 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@kbaxter11) December 10, 2018
I'll get in on the anecdotal train. My cousin is a big soccer fan. Was stationed in Italy for a number of years and has been to dozens of game in Europe. Was always down on MLS. My cousin was recently restationed to Annapolis. This summer I was on a work trip to DC and convinced him to come out to a game with me at Audi Field. A week later he was calling me about DC United games and is now a fan. If people just gave this league a chance there would be hundreds of thousands of converted fans (if not millions).
Baseball is actually dying a slow death. Their average fan age is BY FAR the oldest in the 4 major sports. Young people simply aren't taking to the game. The NBA is still growing. NFL is king, NBA is second. I can see MLS catching a passing the NHL in popularity. But really, just being mentioned in the same breath as those 4 sports would be a quantum leap forward for the league.
This is hilarious when you consider that it was a team that was created out of nothing last week and plays on a plastic surface in Someone Else's Stadium. So much for "authenticity," I guess.
I resemble that remark! The thing is, there are plenty of people who still come out with the "MLS is crap" line, and depending on where you live, you might be right. I live in the Boston area, and it's really hard to get people excited about the Revs. Although my brother did finally come to a few games this year and is up for it again just because of the good times at the tailgates. I used to play with a bunch of Brits and Irish guys who gave the Revs a try, but never came back. They were convinced that the whole league was like that, but I got them to watch the Toronto-Montreal eastern final a couple of years ago, and one of them said it was everything the Prem was and more. It really was a great game with a fantastic atmosphere, and now there are a lot of places like that around the country. Unfortunately, my area is not one of them.
Neither is mine. To be honest, thats the big reason why everyone that thinks MLS could break into the 3rd or 4th pro sports league in the next decade is being wildly unrealistic. I'm not sure if its even doable in the next 20 years. The gap between the "haves" and "have nots" organizations in MLS is pretty enormous. It's much bigger than in the NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL. You go to a game in any market in those leagues, the quality of your gameday experience is going to be relatively consistent. The difference between going to a Miami Marlins game versus a Boston Red Sox game, for example, has a lot more in common as an experience than going to an FC Dallas game versus a Seattle Sounders game. It's not like thats an isolated example either. It's one thing if a local team is bad, but it's another when ownership can't even be bothered to provide a match day product/presentation that is honestly barely above AA baseball. The league needs to do a lot more to lift the product in struggling markets before anyone could seriously think we're anything beyond the perennial #5 league.
LOL! I wonder how much energy he expended wracking his brains trying to figure out a way to get the fake Cosmos a mention in that tweet.
If DC United’s multiple championships over the last 22 years didn’t end DC’s trophy drought, according to the media, then Atlanta is still on the clock. Thx, Jay!