oh, HAHA! Seph, I know you live just down the street from me, but didn't know you had a beat on everything I did. But, you did beat me to posting it, so props to you.
I don't think this announcement in and of itself is a bad thing for AC St. Louis. It's been said all along that teams could be added at any time if they met the requirements. All St. Louis needs is to get their ownership situation stabilized and NASL will welcome them back in immediately. Hopefully the successful sanctioning will get the rumored sale there the impetus to go through finally and we'll have 9 teams to start 2011.
The IMS article and the comments below are actually very good. They answer most of the questions posted on this thread so far. The reason this sanctioning is "provisional" likely has to do with two factors: 1) USSF bylaws require them to make this sort of decision in February at their National Council. 2) They're waiting on financial papers and guarantees from San Antonio 2012. I'm glad that this is well on it's way. It's only a matter of time now before sanctioning occurs, and as a result, these teams are now in a much better position than the one they were in last off season, despite what some have said. I hope things turn out well for both USL-PRO and NASL. I'd love to see some of the teams from the two leagues meeting up in pre-season friendlies.
One year ago St Louis soccer fans were happy to have 2 Pro soccer teams to cheer for, now things are really different
Heh, thanks, guys. Yeah, that's good to hear. It's funny that I'm sitting here in my office in Seattle, literally looking out the window at Qwest Field, worrying about what's going to happen at the humble Soccer Park next summer when I won't even be around to see it. You can take the boy out of St. Louis...
Did USL Pro ask for a second division status or not? And what would happen in case USSF changed their mind about NASL?
No, the USL just want to be a D3 league And if the USSF finally would not sanction the NASL as D2, the NASL could still be a D3 league
Atlanta has twice already "taken a year off to get things in order" I'll still believe Atlanta is for real when they actually kick a ball in that first game.
My guess is that they won't. They've been made to look foolish too many times in a World Cup decision year, and whether FIFA cares if D2 in the States goes dark or not, they certainly will care that USSF gives the impression of being ineffectual. If this weren't all but a done deal, USSF wouldn't have given them even provisional status and NASL would not have dropped a press release. Remember, if the team doesn't go, then all the owners are still out the money they've got riding on this season, to say nothing of the fact that they'll look like a bunch of idiots.
Same here. A lot of what I've heard makes me think they're probably serious this time, but you know what they say in Texas: "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, um, you can't get fooled again." So, I'm not entirely going to believe it until they start the season.
hang in there man. st louis should join usl and keep on keeping on. then year after, you and the rhinos can step up to the NASL
If there's going to be a USLPro team from St. Louis, it'd be the Lions. They hold the territorial rights.
Not much. The lifeline they were through basically puts the plan in motion so they can start planning next season. They can draw up a schedule, contract referees for assignment by the USSF/CSA, start booking travel, lining up sponsors, selling season tickets and group plans. Basically, it's on. Some sort of reversal at the February meeting would 1) be pretty unprecedented and 2) not likely to stop the wheels in motion for the 2011 season. Technically, my guess is that they would be officially classified as a D3 league. I expect the February meeting to rubber stamp what has been done. I also expect the NASL to get renewed scrutiny next off-season as we are better able to judge the resolve of the teams involved to continue moving forward given the almost inevitable continuing losses.
I find it hard to believe how this soccer thing in North America is constantly fighting for its survival.
Respuesta: Re: NASL temporary Sanctioned Well it looks like the dust in the D2/D3 mess is pretty much settled, at least for '11. I guess it's time for the Bigsoccer forum setup to reflect the new state of things.
By "soccer" I assume you mean "minor league professional soccer". "Soccer" - the recreational sport, "Soccer" - the national team, "Soccer" - the professional first division men's sport, "Soccer" - the men and women's college sport - are all doing great. In fact, "soccer" is as successful and popular as it has ever been. It's the #1 or #2 youth sport in pretty much every market, The professional teams have invested over $1 Billion in new stadium construction over the last decade. There are 3 TV channels dedicated to the sport, and numerous others that cover a significant number of games. In fact, there is more soccer broadcast on TV in the United States than anywhere else on the globe. I'm also assuming that you fail to recognize the fact that Mexico is in "North America".