Talk about why we don't want an MLS team and loving our club on a local level without insane MLS aspirations.
Not really. It takes the focus away from building realistic soccer parks and gives people unrealistic hopes.
Which lower division team hasn't built a soccer stadium because they thought they might get into MLS? Or has built one that is not realistic?
They waste money on feasibility studies and a lot of time on empty hopes. MLS hopes are just the most draining conversations with people. You hear it more than actual discussion on the games at times.
I too think we are at a point where the talk of MLS for any start up will need to be tempered. The MLS Club is getting full. There are already too many cities pushing those hopes than will likely get into the Club. I don't get on soap box about Pro/Rel but it sure would be nice to have teams started, grown organically, be successful and then be rewarded for doing a good job by moving up. Those that suck at managing the team or aren't supported by the community end up moving down. Seems so much better than Richie Rich buying into the Club, using stereotypical copycat marketing to hype their investment toy.
Awesome idea for a thread. So many owners trying to drum up interest in their clubs by feigning MLS aspirations, IMO.
In the context of being ready to seriously be considered expansion candidates up to the #28; Oklahoma City, Tulsa (I'm Sooner born and bred, so that pains me to say), Charlotte, Louisville and that was my first impression of Cincinnati but there might be something there. "Feigning aspirations" was probably harsh. Maybe some of these organizations have long term visions of getting in. Maybe a more accurate description is "dropping the name MLS" to drum up interest, for now.
I don't know them all as intimately as others here, but most of the clubs you mentioned seem legitimately interested in going for MLS. Now some, none, all of them may be incapable, underfunded or unprepared to do so. But read the interviews, talk to fans from each of those markets. There is genuine interest to pursue that. Many of them sound exactly like SacRep and Orlando did. 10 years ago+ I was on BS right here saying Orlando should go for pro soccer and was laughed out of here by many posters (well not really). Yet it took the right leadership and right club to make it happen, and look at it now. With all that said, I see the value in appreciating what you have and not trying to sell snake oil. Look at Rochester.
I seriously doubt any of these aformentioned teams will rebel and defect to the NASL in the midst of the USL's push to Div 2. However, it would really shake things up, the Div2 push relies on the better run independent clubs of he USL. Some clubs -Louisville comes to mind- have begun posting material with a *#^$ MLS tone akin to what DCFC did recently on twitter. I'm not holding my breath for any of this to start happening, I just think it would be interesting to see.
As I stated recently in another thread I think the approach MLS has can be counter productive for some cities and ownership groups and it becomes more evident that some of the fan bases are opposed to MLS for whatever reason. At the end of the day every city isn't going to get an MLS franchise but I also feel we have yet to see the final version of the soccer pyrimid in North America. There is simply too much fluidity and too much potential within so many mid-level markets in the 21st century to simply write off any investor or community aspirations. And I don't see there being a city waiting in a 10 year que to gain entry into a league when there is still other avenues developing for growth of the game in North America.