I agree with you that eventually MLS could rock the European football apple cart and pay lots of outrageous salaries. But I'm thinking the world's best soccer teams are already making NFL money... From Forbes' reports - top NFL teams by annual revenues (2016 valuations) Dallas Cowboys $700 Million New England Patriots $523 Million Washington Redskins $447 Million San Francisco 49ers $446 Million New York Giants $444 Million New York Jets $423 Million Houston Texans $416 Million Philadelphia Eagles $407 Million Green Bay Packers $391 Million Denver Broncos $387 Million From Forbes' reports - top world soccer teams by annual revenues (2016 valuations) Real Madrid $694 Million Barcelona $675 Million Manchester United $625 Million Paris St Germain $578 Million Bayern Munich $570 Million Manchester City $558 Million Arsenal $524 Million Chelsea $505 Million Liverpool $471 Million Juventus $390 Million From Forbes' reports - top MLS teams by annual revenues (2016 valuations) LA Galaxy $58 Million Seattle Sounders $52 Million Portland Timbers $39 Million Toronto FC $38 Million New York City FC $36 Million Orlando City FC $36 Million Sporting KC $33 Million San Jose Earthquakes $31 Million New England Revolution $27 Million Houston Dynamo $26 Million I look forward to when MLS has NFL money... it just has a ways to go... But with where it is today, it's still my favorite league!
By the time MLS is influential and stealing talent from Europe with mega contracts--we'll be looking back at this present time in MLS history as the time when MLS was "pure" and not so influenced by money. LOL
chicago has made a very bold and significant move- if he stays healthy, bastien's leadersip, drive and skill-set in the MF will make the Fire a playoff contender- chicago is on the way UP
And like it or not - and the oikophobia on Bigsoccer has always been rivaled only by the snobbery- the US is a very attractive place to come to play for slightly aging guys. Assuming we can make the money work, which is becoming more and more realistic. Taxes are low compared to Europe, you can live a high end lifestyle virtually anonymously and it's pretty safe. As I said the dollars have to be there but when it is the US has some serious advantages
Oikophobia--a fear of or rejection of the home, home surroundings. Also used politically to refer to a rejection of western traditional values or culture. *used in MLS discussions to refer to fans' constant sense of inadequacy or shame of their local soccer scene. The feeling that US soccer, MLS and the things associated with them are simply not "good enough."
I wonder how many "real" soccer fans, will now be able to find their way to Bridgeview? It's good when excuses are exposed for what they are, excuses.
Also sometimes used as the explanation for American soccer fans being, well, soccer fans. Basically, or so some will tell you, it's a rejection of traditional American sports- baseball and football in particular - as being too closely identified with their general rejection of the US as a cesspool of turds. Soccer fandom is viewed as a self-identifier: embracing a sport which is popular elsewhere in the world shows what an elite urban sophisticate one is.
Look at all the sophistication in the South East. Atlanta is number one in kit sales, attendance, and the table. But, y'all already knew it.
I doubt Garber could do that or if the other owners would even want that. It could come across as favoritism (would smaller market teams feel equal pressure from on high?) and make the league itself look like a joke. Grain of salt: Atlanta is the new team so everyone has an excuse to go out and buy that first jersey, such as yours truly. Will I be buying one every year? No. So we should expect this to drop closer to the MLS mean in short order. It's a great feat, but I don't want anyone to confuse this as something more than it is.
Forget that nonsense. I love sports, period. The Fire to me are the same as the Brewers, Packers, and Bucks. Very simply, they're my team in that sport. This is why those people who demean soccer AND those soccer fans who insult other sports annoy me equally.
A lot of the (possibly delusional) conjecture is that Nelson Rodriguez was brought in to put a bow on the Fire and get the team ready for a sale. There's a lot of theories about who is even paying for Schweinsteiger.