At only having a 2nd Division team? Or am I missing something. Truth be told I don't go to many Stars games only because I was at school for the past 4 years and I live in Bloomington now, 45mins away from NSC. Which is too long IMO. I don't even drive to Cities to watch the Twins, I park at MoA and take the Light Rail. I'm not knocking the support, I was at the home opener and had a good time, in fact I wish there could have been twice as many people there to make the crowd even louder. But I have to be honest, NSC is just a bad location. There is no good solution though, because no Stadium, at least to my knowledge, in the Metro Area would be better than NSC. Its just that NSC is in a bad location. But returning to me original question, is why does it seem we are content at having only a 2nd Division team. We wouldn't settle for only a 2nd division at other sports, so why in soccer? I would love if we had an MLS team here, look at the crowds in Portland/Seattle. Why can't we do the same here?
I wouldn't say anyone is content but would rather say lots of us see our best chance at getting something more than D2 is to show strong support for our D2 team (hey kinda like Portland did). Also its not hard to see we are closer to losing pro-soccer all together and having only NPSL teams than ever landing an MLS team, so most people are just focused on loving and trying to keep what we got. late edit to add: Yes there are some who are content and the reason those people are content is that they just want a local team to support, go see live, and don't care what league that team is in.
You answered your own question. Because YOU (and your ilk) don't support D-2 soccer. Until you consistently produce real numbers at the gate for the Stars, you'll never be a serious contender for an MLS team. The same is true with south Florida, or any other wannabe MLS market. Portland & Seattle produced respectable numbers while they were in the lower divisions.
Seattle less so (but still better than MN by far), but yeah, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal have all had startlingly high attendance for D2. In the first three instances it translated into even stronger support in MLS; there's no reason to doubt it will be similar in Montreal. Minnesota would have significantly more fans present with an MLS team. If the Stars moved up, though, they would also almost certainly have the worst attendance in the league. Get the crowds, and the promotion might follow. Or it might not.
Gotta love your response. I do support the Stars, however I don't go to many games because the stadium location, like I stated in my post. If you could have been bothered to read the entire post you would have found that out. Then you list Portland and Seattle as examples of respectable numbers for division 2 teams. PGE is smack dab in downtown Portland. Quest Field is smack dab in downtown Seattle and the other place they played at is a lot closer to downtown than NSC is to MSP. And no, you don't NEED respectable numbers in D2 to get a team. Toronto had nowhere near the level Seattle, Portland or Montreal currently do. Not to mention the other cities that didn't even have a D2 team and went straight to MLS.
You're a tool. You're whining about a 45 minute drive, like you said in your post. That's nothing. Get in your car and go to the games. Would you make that same drive for an MLS team? What's the difference? You need to read this: http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2011/...in-minnesota-making-a-commitment-to-the-game/ I listed Portland and Seattle because you listed them in your post. So what if their fields are "smack dab downtown." Get over it. Toronto came into the league without a D2 team. True. But if you'd been paying attention, you'd know that Commissioner Garber has explicitly stated that new teams coming into MLS are being held to a higher standard to prove their viability. MLS is near capacity and any new team has to demonstrate it can pull in big numbers. Your beloved Stars, that you can't be bothered to drive to see, aren't doing that yet. Until then, no MLS for you.
I listed Portland and Seattle's MLS crowds, stating we in Minnesota should be able to replicate it. Once again you fail to read my post. And apparently I'm a tool because I don't go to every single Stars game because its a 65 mile round trip to the games. Please get off your high horse.
I think the excuse of the stadium being in Blaine is very weak. If the team was in say Mora or Walker then I can completely understand the argument. But its not like as if Blaine is a huge distance away. To me personally its the lack of buzz about the team is what's hurting things. Now yes I will give credit where its due in that the team is at least trying to build some buzz this season with stuff like the scarves around the Twin Cities area. But its really hard to get the average person excited about a team that has no games aired on TV, no talk about the team on KFAN, etc. Would I love for there to be an MLS team in Minnesota? Absolutely I would. But the priority for right now is to build a steady fan base for the Stars that can help build a good cause towards moving up to MLS.
It depends on where in the Metro you are. Northern subs its not far at all. If you are in Apple Valley its easily over an hour away, driving straight through downtown too, so traffic will be a mess meaning it could easily reach 1h30mins. Being far away doesn't keep me away, it keeps me from regularly attending. So i guess that can be a "weak" argument as I still go. But ya I agree as well with your second post. I texted my friend saying I was going to the Stars game. He said who? I said the Thunder's new moniker and he was like they are still a team? Granted, he doesn't follow soccer but not knowing there is a team is kinda sad.
You're being a little ridiculous here. His "ilk"? Really? I was a season ticket holder for the Thunder for 2 years while I was a college student in St. Paul, and even living right on Snelling Ave, I found it hard to get out to games in Blaine. I supported the team through thick and thin, and have continued to do so long after leaving MN, but location is a valid concern--if it weren't, it wouldn't keep coming up. So you don't have a problem with the location. Others do. Your situation doesn't dictate theirs. Many of those people don't have access to cars, can't afford gas, or can't get out of work an hour and a half early to go see a game. I really don't understand why so many supporters get down on people who find it difficult to get out to Blaine. Yeah, that'll get em to the stadium. Instead, try hooking them up with a ride (click here for ride share through the Dark Clouds).
Maybe. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1729232 http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/blog/sports-business/2011/05/vikings-ramsey-county-deal-imminent.html
MLS confirms contact over possible Minnesota expansion: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...rms-contact-over-possible-minnesota-expansion
feh, that's a silly argument. This is a 4 major sports town, and if the Thunder during its run (late 90s to mid 2000s) couldn't average better than 3K a game (which, by A-League standards back then, was pretty durned good) than what chance to the Stars have? That however is absolutely no indication on how well the TC metro would support an MLS franchise - see Kicks, Minnesota during the old NASL days, they were always one of the best supported teams in the league back then, attendance wise. How a city supports a D2 or PDL team has ZERO to do with how they would support a top tier franchise. FTR, Portland wasn't drawing near the numbers you suggest they were before their entrance into MLS.
OK, for the sake of Minn. soccer I hope I'm wrong. But I thought the message Garber gave the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale folks was pretty damn clear: support the D2/D3 team and then we'll see what's up. Maybe his challenge to those fans was not a blanket statement meant for all potential MLS cities, as I assumed? And maybe the Vikings group has a big enough plan ($$) that all this is irrelevant anyway. As far as the Portland numbers go, that's probably besides the point also. There's no was MLS brings in Vancouver & Seattle but leaves out Portland. The animosity between the three groups is what ultimately drives up their numbers and makes them so attractive to the league. Speaking of rivalries, does Minneapolis/St. Paul have a similar rivalry to be exploited? I guess in NFL terms it would be Green Bay? In baseball and basketball would it be Milwaukee? What about Chicago? Toronto? Detroit? Just wondering.
Probably because they were already burned there so he wants to see fans support those teams, then they will trust the market more. True, but Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Toronto all had fairly similar numbers to what Thunder were getting for 3-4 years back in the early 2000s and that was when MLS announce they were getting teams / had programs where you were guaranteed a Season Ticket if you were a Timbers season ticket holder. Also who is Toronto's rival? Vancouver? Why did they have great numbers if their is no animosity in rivals? -Minneapolis's rivals are Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay in NFL. -Chicago, Detorit in baseball and to a lesser extent Cleveland and Royals, but not really they are just in our division. Milwaukee could be considered a rival since we play them every year in cross league play as they used to be in our division, but they aren't as much as Chicago / Detroit. In NBA its weird, because we are in the West and Detroit / Chicago are in the East, so really there are no rivals but if I had to say one it would be the Lakers because it was the Minneapolis Lakers. But we are so bad right now most teams just roll us over. In NHL it is basically the same as the NBA, Detroit and Chicago are in the East. Probably Denver would be a good rival, but I don't know as much for the Wild. Chicago and Detroit are our natural rivals as they are the other big cities on in the Great Lakes Regions that aren't way out East. I hate the ChiSox and Tigers as much if not more than I hate the Yankees.
The Twins and T-Wolves don't really have any geographical rivals. The Vikings have Green Bay and to a lesser extent Chicago, but that's about it. The sort of obvious hope would be for a Minnesota MLS team to develop some kind of rivalry with Chicago, but that sort of thing doesn't always materialize. People don't start disliking a different team just cause they're nearby, they start disliking a team because of in-game antics or a string of wins/losses that actually mean something.
hey everyone, the dark clouds are doing things to drum up support! not just for the stars, but for professional soccer in minnesota. but mostly for the stars, since that's the pro team. we want to see the popularity and awareness of the pro game expand. here's what we've been doing. -expanded presence on the web (esp facebook and twitter), and http://www.mls4mn.com. -trivia saturday mornings at the local in conjunction with epl matches -provide free ticket and beer to people attending their first stars match -enhance the game day experience at the stadium -organize rideshare opportunities http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=205676448434547815218.0004a1d831273ce454e33&t=h&ll=45.016274,-93.228004&spn=0.27971,0.240944&source=embed these are the first steps. there are numerous individuals doing what they can to help the group however they can. the number of people sitting in the east stand has increased every home game. people are choosing to use the rideshare. first time friends are coming with regular supporters. if you are not content with what you have, then do something to change it. if you are not coming to games, that makes a big statement about the change you are willing to accept.