Why are we more drawn to European soccer than our own?

Yes, they're quite different. Not all MLS cities have harsher winters than Western Europe, of course. But in at least 8 MLS cities it would just be farcical to play a game in January or February. Even first-half of March would be a joke in a couple of places. So basically you're looking at a compulsory 3-month break at which point it only becomes logical to have the season run from Spring to Fall.

 

It didn't stop Montreal and D.C. United from playing CONCACAF Champions League games in March in 2015. Montreal actually played two home games that month (March 3 and 18). Both games had attendances of over 30,000. I'm assuming that's the coldest MLS city. Even the Russian league has a fall to spring season with a break. Nothing wrong with taking a two month break (January-February) and resuming in March. This is just a weak excuse.

 

Well, its a bit long. And more realistically we're talking 2.5 month break. Besides, the question shouldn't be "is the Fall to Spring schedule doable?". It should be "Why do it when Spring to Fall is an available option which doesn't require any prolonged mid-season break?"

Russia had an incentive to switch to a "European calendar" since they have clubs actually partaking in European competitions. What is MLS' incentive?

 

MLS plays league games in March so that wasn't odd. That is as early as most people want to push it. But the northern teams MLS don't host outdoor games then very much.

Montreal is a terrible example since those games were played in the domed stadium up there. Montreal doesn't play any outdoor home games until April.

Russia takes a 3 month break in the winter: December, January, and February.

Have you been outside in Chicago, or Toronto, or even Boston/Columbus/Kansas City/Denver...in December, January and February? And I don't mean walking from a car to a house, I mean sitting for a few hours out in the elements? It is not a weak excuse.

 

Well one of the big incentives would be performing better in the CCL, especially in the knockout rounds. I've heard that if MLS had a traditional season they'd have performed better against Mexican teams last year, when they went 0-4. The other incentive is that they wouldn't be going up against international soccer tournaments in the summer.

I grew up in Chicago so yes. And football fans have no problem doing it. Are soccer fans less able to tolerate the elements than football fans. Besides like I said there could be a two month break (Jan.-Feb.) and games resumed in March.

 

I don't see why it would change anything relating to CCL results. Either way, MLS teams will be going into those CCL quarterfinal matches without having played a competitive match in over two months.

 

And that's only a recent development, beginning only two years ago when every club in the Russian Premier League finally had either subsoil heating or artificial turf. When they first switched to fall-to-spring, the spring portion of the season didn't begin until April, so it was a four-month break.

Thing is, Russia's midseason break is much longer than its offseason break, which I think destroys the integrity of the season by encouraging clubs to make most of their player moves at midseason in order to have time to integrate players.

 

It's not the fans, it's the game. North America is snowier than Europe. And field conditions play a much bigger role in soccer than in American football, because the ball is being played on the ground.

I've seen Champions League and Europa League matches played in Russia and Scandinavia during the winter. They're played mostly at a walking pace to avoid slipping on a frozen pitch, with most of the players wearing snoods that obstruct players' vision. Not a great advertisement for soccer.

 

I don't really get why some fans want MLS to play more games in cold conditions. What does that add to the game? Snow on the field makes gameplay awful, and it just seems cruel to fans in places like Toronto and Chicago to have to sit outside in sub-zero temperatures.

Just not seeing the point in it.

 

The CONCACAF Champions League schedule is made by CONCACAF, not MLS, and a majority of the 24 clubs play in leagues with two seasons per year. If every place in CONCACAF had the same weather at every time of year as Canada and the northern United States have now, I think the CONCACAF Champions League would play at a different time of year.

 

I wonder how many of the teams involved end up making a profit off of the CCL?

 

I assume you've written your paper, but the thread now has a life of its own so here goes...

In the mid/late 1990's I lived in Chicago and was a huge fan of MLS and felt like if I ever missed watching a game on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2, that I'd have put the entire league in jeopardy of folding just like the league I followed from 1978 to 1985... and I felt all non-MLS fans were soccer snobs and europoseurs... well, except for ethnic fans who were closer to the clubs they and their parents grew up with...

Over the past few years, I figured out why I watch and why I pay good money to follow and support the sport of soccer. My support for MLS can no longer be taken for granted, and I've observed many non-ethnic fans I would have previously labeled as soccer snobs and europoseurs and now understand that nothing could be further from the truth... in fact, many of the same local fans I've met who support euro clubs are also part of the local AO chapter.

I (and others) will support our local club(s), but other than that, there are some of us who support an MLS club and a european club equally, and there are those of us who support european clubs exclusively over MLS. Maybe it's because the level of play is higher, maybe it's the traditions of those supporters groups. For me, I got gradually disillusioned with the sad state of the Chicago Fire and didn't really connect with FC Dallas or Sporting KC. And I just don't think for the most part that fans who live more than a three hour drive from the closest MLS team will closely follow that MLS team on TV over the course of a full season that goes from Spring to Summer to Fall until MLS Cup the first week in December.

It's only been the past three years in which I've chosen to closely follow EPL over MLS. Part of it is the passion of local supporters groups I've discovered here in Tulsa, Oklahoma which really never occurred to me would specifically be formed to support clubs other than ManU... there's an Arsenal supporters club and a Chelsea club and bars that open early just to cater to them. My Saturday and Sunday mornings have never been the same... I knew there was a difference in level of play, but it's been the full package that attracted me, in which I see juggernauts pursuing a league title, an underdog winning it, and keeping track of the clubs in danger of relegation... it's been exciting and I'd like to see a comparable dynamic at work someday in the US/Canada.

I no longer feel like "if I missed watching a game on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2, that I'd have put the entire league in danger of folding"... MLS moved the end of the season from early fall to late fall and so when confronted with choices, I'm a big college football fan including watching NCAA games on tv, and I'll also go see local college soccer and also watch the occasional NFL game on tv. But on early Saturday and Sunday mornings, EPL and Bundesliga is a great option, and it's a lotta fun to go to one of several soccer or soccer friendly bars to watch or stay at home to watch on satellite tv, an option currently available to more of us American fans than has ever before been the case...

 

I'm glad I could contribute to a discussion about weather but i'm ready to move on. Just wanted to remind everyone that CCL starts tonight so if you have Univision Deportes tune in and brush up on your Spanish.

 

Leaving aside the weather, in my opinion there are benifits to MLS having a different season. I love going to games on summer nights, in part because I'm there haven't watched an EPL game that morning. I like that MLS starts as the EPL season gets stale (this past season with Leicester was great, but most years, like the year before with Chelsea, the spring becomes a bit of a meaningless parade). I like that the MLS final comes just when the EPL gets predictable (last season excepted) and that it doesn't have to compete with the Champions League final and FA cup final.

Mostly though it is weather. Football is mostly day games, much nicer to watch a game during the day in November or March. Recently, I think it was the Green Bay Packers, had trouble filling up the stadium for a play-off game because it was so cold so football fans are not immune. I dropped my college football season tickets in part because we had too many night games in November last season. It just wasn't fun. The Rapids have been smart about scheduling mostly day games in the spring, but that has TV conflicts of course.

 

Replace the nachos with meat pies and you've described something I've witnessed countless times in England.

You're right though, everyone is different. I went to a Galaxy game with a buddy recently who mainly watches Liga MX.

Though we sat with LARS, he preferred to discuss the game as we watched versus singing and chanting.

While I like to do my share of singing, it was enjoyable having an in-depth discussion.

Meanwhile, my Dad gets as vocal and into it from his armchair as anyone I've seen at a match or a bar (UK or US).

In fact, I've seen the quietest of observers explode with genuine joy at a goal in a way that puts many self-described "die hards" to shame.

 

I just came across this article that talks about Michael Bradley's frustration with the MLS schedule. Here are his own words:

"One of the most frustrating parts of the league in some ways, is the summer," Bradley said after going 90 minutes and registering an assist for Toronto in a 4-1 win over New England Revolution on Saturday. "With Gold Cups, Copa Americas, right in the middle of the season you have to leave for four, five, or six weeks. And obviously this summer for me was made a little worse by the fact that I picked up the injury in the third-place game of the Copa America.

It's nice to see at least one high profile player talking about this publicly.

 

I don't think anybody is keeping it a secret. It's common knowledge and a necessary evil, unfortunately.

Weather remains an issue, as does the prospect of competing with the top US sports for viewers.

 

Here's the thing: is it really any different if we go to a schedule like Russia's? Russia's "midseason" break runs approximately from the MLS Cup final to opening day of the next MLS season. And our break simply can't be any shorter, since we also have cities with cold continental climates.

Personally, I think Russia and Denmark make a mockery of the idea of a "season" -- their offseason break is barely a month long, while their midseason break is three months or more. It's much easier for their clubs to integrate new players at midseason than in the offseason. Shouldn't there be more roster continuity at midseason than in the offseason?

 

One. I am not more drawn to euro soccer. I don't watch much broadcast or ondemand soccer. Lots of reasons for this... none of any noteworthy significance. Football for fans... not for TV. Blah blah blah.

Two. MLS is chasing after TV money which leads to exposure and growth. Traveled to London this last winter. Met a young guy working in the media department for Leicester City. We'd gone to a Premiere League match... electric atmosphere... or maybe it was just me... final West Ham v Liverpool match played at Boyeln Grounds. Lots of older folks. Not a lot of young people. Takes a bit of money to attend a match there. We then walked over for a local match for one of the very lowest divisions. Six pounds to get in. BYOB. Terrific. I was probably one of the oldest people there at age 40. All youngsters. Smoke. Banners. Singing. Flags. All positive energy. No hate. Just love. Friends supporting a game at the most basic level. It was incredible. This demographic has been priced out of the Premier League. Went to a local pub after... entire crowd walked over together after the match... the guy from Leicester says to me... the best thing that the MLS had done in the last year or so... was adopt kick-off times that correlate to when everything had wrapped up in Europe and when there was nothing else on TV. Which I took that as... the MLS is trying to carve out a niche market in the UK. 9PM on a Sunday night when nothing else is on. Also take into account that the younger generation of football fans in the UK are disenfranchised by two things... A league dominated by 4-6 perennial favorites and ticket pricing that the average fan can no longer afford. The 30 and younger crowd in the UK are starting to watch the Wild West which is the MLS... where any team can get on a roll and win it all. I'm looking at you 2015 MLS Cup Winners... I AM LOOKING AT YOU. Continuation of my time at the pub... everyone seemed genuinely interested in the MLS... and even more surprisingly... a lot of these young guys wanted to know about the NWSL. Which sadly for them, I only have a passing interest in. Maybe I ran into a crowd of Amerophiles... or things are changing. I think big outside money priced out a generation of kids in the UK as far as their top tier league goes. So kids are looking over to those wacky and zany play-off loving Americans for something new. That's my take anyhow. Just wanted to share my personal experience with you lot.

In 5-10 years... I think the MLS will look dramatically different than it does today.

In 2006... do you think anyone could have pictured where we are today? Not I.

 

That's very surprising!

Interesting though.

 

The most common time for an MLS game is on Saturday at 7:00 P.M. or 7:30 P.M. local. Most weekend games are night games. I don't think MLS has changed their start times "in the last year or so." MLS might be working harder to get fans in England, and it's true that almost all MLS games start after the last Premier League game of the day ends, but neither one of those proves that MLS's start times are different than they were 5 or 10 years ago.

 

They are talking about the nationally televised Sunday games.... hence the next sentence after the part you selectively quoted.

 

Youth soccer games are over. Then parents could take kids to the night games.

When my kids were young are games ended by 5 pm. Then I would take my son to giant stadium to see a Metrostar game. Then after the game ended we would walk to the race track and catch the last 4 races

 

I'd be shocked if these were some how news to anyone... but what the heck. Figured I'd post them in case anyone had missed them late last year.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/...ky-sports-announce-groundbreaking-partnership

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...n-exploit-europes-summertime-football-drought