Are we on the same f-ing level as the those sports teams!?! Those fans aren't going anywhere! We are a very young league still trying to grow. You must constantly juggle the criticism with promotion. Some people fail to grasp that basic of business development. Hey our product sucks, don't you want to spend money on it?!?
No but those leagues grew while being criticized. You said it was impossible. If you haven't noticed, fans are starting to leave some of those leagues. While viewership is still high, it is not what it once was. Whether you are trying to grow or not, a league should not be above criticism. MLS has had plenty of missteps, one of them is blackballing anyone who says anything bad. Never said anything like this. The league and fed have created a 25 year bubble around themselves and now it is popping. Perhaps the bubble shouldn't have been made.
Why is it arrogance for him to say he thinks we will qualify? Canada hadn't won a game against the US for 30 years. Their roster wasn't better than the US's. It was reasonable to be confident, though I don't know that anyone was claiming it was a sure thing.
Qualifying doesn't start for some time. There's plenty of time for 3G to turn things around or for the Fed to find another coach. Another 'arrogance' bit was Twellman calling the players arrogant for the way they'd played. They played, or attempt to play, the way coach wanted them to.
1- You are literally making up history now. I have a degree in history. The Big four leagues in America developed when the world was infinitely larger and in isolation. They were no National teams for those teams or foreign leagues to compete against. I mean look up when the NFL was 25 or the NBA. Totally different challenge in a totally different world. If you notice attendance is down for many different reasons. For the NFL it is political activity but most go down to a much better viewer experience at home. 2 - MLS has messed up along the way but their task is very unique and the criticism should reflect the situation. I have been on BS and other places to know there are loads of reactionaries. And people that dont want to balance the tough act of recruiting fans while educating them and still getting people who already know the game. Very few sports have that juggle and the league's starting up are not trying to educate a fan base. 3 - The federation deas made mistakes but part of the bubble is that the MNT is every soccer fans fav club so it is delicate. However, I will agree there points where criticism was needed and avoided but it was also very divided. This is a rare moment when we are all in agreement.