The fact that Hispanics might not come out in droves for someone like Beckham I think is a good thing from a marketing perspective. I'm not saying that Hispanics shouldn't follow the sport. But the Hispanic immigrant community in this country is already familiar with the sport and the game SHOULD (should) sell itself. White folks on the other hand are supposedly much less familiar with the game (not neccessarily true in my experience but thats probably because many of the Whites where I live are immigrants also). So if you want to introduce the game to the 70% of the United States that considers itself White then someone like Beckham is PERFECT. Someone with that much influence and marketing potential ("aww shucks" smile, blonde hair) would do a lot to change the way many White people feel about the game - that it's a sport for Hispanic immigrants. Look at hockey on the other hand - it's seen as a sport for White people plain and simple. Thus 99.9% of the people at the Garden supporting the Rangers on any given night during the hockey season are White. It's got a lot to do with perception.
Re: Re: Other sports magazines? Of course, I understand that. What correlation would a drop of 1,756 names on the rent list have to a decline in total subscribers? I imagine there areother ways to have your name bumped off the list, but that seems like a big drop to chalk it up to people asking off the list.
Agreed. But I get the impression (correct me if I'm wrong) that many latinos don't consider the quality of MLS to be up to snuff. Am I reading that wrong? As for the "rest" of America, the game most definitely does not sell itself to them. Many of them either have preconceived notions about the sport (which you're not going to disabuse them of), or have given it a try and decided they didn't like it (purely anecdotal: it seems like every time someone I know goes to a game for the first time, it's always a 0-0 draw. I know it probably doesn't really happen that often, not enough to call it Tomasch's Law or anything, but it has happened). I think you're right. Beckham's transfer to Real made the front page of the paper in Anchorage, for crying out loud. And he was going from an English team to a Spanish team! There was a good couple of days there where that news story got tremendous play in the US media. I think there would be people in the US who would take notice if he signed with MLS. I just am not convinced it would last very long. And, as mentioned, he'd better play well. Pele was 34 when he played his first game for the Cosmos and just a few weeks shy of 37 when he played his last. He still had something left (obviously). Becks is 28. Cruyff was almost 32. Best was 30 (a hard 30). Francis was only 24. Marsh was 32. Of course, the question is moot, because he's not coming here (not yet, anyway), and that's really the bottom line. If he did come here, it would likely be when he's a bit older and might not quite the world-class player that many might expect, or who could make the things happen that some would be hoping him to.
Telenovellas. Often times, the ones that are in Spanish are subtitled in English on one of the captioning tracks.
Re: Re: Other sports magazines? the new format will have new future, I see the magazine cease operations in the next couple years.
MLS got nothing to do with magazine, I expect and I hope the MLS is here to stay between 83 to 96 we lost a whole generation of players, I know the feeling of not having a pro league. To Soccer American I been a subscribe since 78, they can check my records, I told theme they were going to make a mistake
No you read it right. I was trying to imply that although the game should itself it to certain people, quite simply it is not. I am not sure exactly why. But I think you are right in saying that Hispanic footie fans think the quality is sub-par. Many of these people still have connections to clubs from their home countries. To use an example from what I have seen Celtic, Juventus and possibly Man United each have more hardcore supporters in NYC than the Metros do. Many, if not most, of these people (mostly immigrants or the children of immigrants - or just "eurosnob" types as they're called by some) do not even know MLS exists.
Frank is saying that SoccerAmerica was more successful when it was a weekly newspaper/tabloid sized magazine. The smaller, glossier, bi-weekly magazine has only been around for two or three years. I've lost track of the changeover. Maybe it was around the Olympics. There were an awful lot of covers of Donovan when they made the switch.
Uh-Oh Multiple Choice--Who Said It? A. Phil Woosnam, 1969 B. Howard Samuels, 1983 C. Earl Foreman, 1991 D. Andy Mead, 2003 E. All of the above I don't necessarily disagree with Andy's points about the problems an American FourFourTwo would have here, but this part of his logic sends a shiver up my spine, only because the "wait for the kids" method has proved to be of dubious merit. Has MLS benefited from the fact that many of the adults in the crowd have played soccer, and that the opportunity to play was spurred, in no small part, by the NASL? Absolutely. But the rate of return on the youth investment has been slow. Stated in basic terms, millions play as youths, but thousands watch as adults. In a perfect world, U.S. soccer would get a "big bang": think hockey in 1980. Even then, it took a good 10-12 years or so before the NHL benefitted from the bump. And, lest we forget, it still doesn't do much better than soccer on TV.
Re: Uh-Oh One could argue (as I often do) that there was more than one cause for that -- I would submit that Gretzky also had a great deal to do with the growth of the NHL in that period. Moreso when he got to the Kings and helped the Sun Belt Movement.
Re: Uh-Oh the NHL's bump had far more to do with Wayne Gretzky in LA combined with aggressive US expansion and a new ESPN TV deal than it had to do with the Miracle on Ice.
Not sure what the problem is with teh SA covers lately - but the last 3 or 4 I have got, the covers were ripped off and loose before I pulled it out of the mailbox. They could splurge and go for a stronger cover.
I've had the same problem recently. Of course I've got a saddlestitch stapler, so I can make repairs.
Reading this thread, I find myself thinking of the ideas in Malcolm Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point," and wondering where a magazine like SA fits in. Basically (for those who haven't read it) there are three essential groups that are key in transforming ideas, products, etc., to a point of critical mass. 1.Connectors: personalities who bring people together. 2.Mavens: people who gather and like to pass knowledge. 3.Salesmen: people adept at persuading the unenlightened-closing the deal. There are two key sub-group, that he calls "early adapters" and "innovators" that lie at the start of the process. I think SA falls in the "early adaptor" group. These are people who embrace the the ideas of innovators, tweaking them to fit a more mainstream audience. Lamar Hunt falls into this category as well. What has changed (as several have noted) is the role of the internet. It really has usurped the potential for SA to be a true Maven. Big Soccer seems to really have that role. I think Phil Anschutz shows the potential of being both an Early Adapter and Salesmen. But the sport is still in need of influential Mavens and Connectors.
SA's website is deeper than I thought I didn't realize that Soccer America's website had a message board http://www.socceramerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
Same with mine. That's funny. Though the current college issue cover seems strong enough. The current issue is great though; I really got into it last night. Mahoney on MLS expansion, Gardner on the U-17s, the College review (which I'm trying to pay more attention to to learn about future talent), the letters to the editor (which are always worth a chuckle, however sometimes painful) and the WUSA championship game review all made this an enjoyable read. And I'm only 2/3 of the way through. Count me as a fan.
Re: Re: Uh-Oh TV money was also a major factor. NHL could however sink with its Collective Bargaining Agreement next year.
Cover = Advertising Mine too, the college issue as well. I usually take my copies to leave in some common area (reception areas at doctors, barbershop, student union); this only works with an issue in good shape. The cover is thus advertising for the magazine itself. As I haven't had a cover to speak of in two months (and the subsequent pages have been damaged), I've not shared anywhere else.
Re: Re: Re: Uh-Oh Everybody says that. But then, everybody said a baseball strike was inevitable, too. The NHL isn't going to go under - they're not going to stop playing major league professional hockey in North America (I mean, they may have a stoppage, but it's not going to go away). They could definitely do with a contraction, though. And some realistic spending on salaries.