I've been following the developments of this league, and I figured Dallas would get a team. good news, good news. but I still think it might be better to start with, as Buzz mentioned recently, a women's team for every MLS team. that would link the women's teams automatically with something established and with fancy training facilities that could really cement the USWNT as the best in the world. if you like watching the US lift international trophies, watch the women.
Yea, this ought to go over like a led balloon. Women playing popular sports in America can't get anybody to watch, this is sure to be a short term deal. I did get a laugh out of the comment about post season play being that there is only five teams listed, i guess they will play a round robin tournament at the end of the season to crown a champion.
soccer (even more than basketball, at the youth level) is the closest that team sports come to being gender equal, so I hope it's successful. there are tons of young girls in this country who play soccer, and many become quite good in high school and college. I think something like 40% of the American Youth Soccer Organization players are girls. I think it would be nice if they could dream of going pro just like the boys can. and as my hero Jimmy Buffett frequently yells during his concert covers of "Brown Eyed Girl," "put me on that girls soccer team, I'm ready!"
I will admit that I am ignorant about youth soccer, and somwhat ingorant about soccer at every other level, so I hope your right and I am wrong. I have just been used to seeing womens sports being very boring with little athletic ability on display. On the same subject, do other countries have womens soccer leagues?
most EPL teams have a women's team attached to them, so for example there's a "Ladies Blackburn Rovers." I'm honestly not sure if they compete in a single table or if it's divided into smaller conferences like the reserve teams are.
I don't know why every sports related thing in this country insists on starting big. Just dooms marginal sports to failure. Why can't the women set up a regional semi-pro/amateur leagues and try to build an audience that may eventually justify a national fully professional league? If the nation wouldn't support a national league right after all the momentum of the World Cup in the country I can't imagine how this time will be any different. If not fantastically worse. Anyway, makes me appreciate not only the deep pockets of the MLS founders but their willingness to take some big losses that will probably never be re-couped.
How is this new format "starting big"? Relative to the original league - at least on paper - it sure appears that this is a better business model..... And the big thing I think people forget about WUSA is that it did draw a solid, consistent fanbase. There IS a market for womens professional soccer. It just wasn't at the operating level that WUSA was set up to accomodate. As for losses, I certainly don't know the issues but if I were to guess, I would think that the MLS investment is more along the lines of what AEG is doing for Chivas USA - allowing the use of the facility. Especially in MLS venues, I would imagine that you're not looking at exhorbitant rental fees, etc. But let's go back to the biggest positive to come out of WUSA - there is in fact a solid market for womens professional soccer. Bigger than a "regional/semi-pro league", and with the right support and business plan, big enough to be a full blown womens professional league (as in, big enough to accomodate salaries and budgets that allow people to make it their careers, both on the field and in the box office.) It may or may not be your personal cup of tea, but it doesn't have to be. Of course, as a fan of a sport that has had to struggle against negative impressions and expectations, one would think that fans of mens soccer would at least be somewhat sympathetic and theoretically supportive of womens soccer....
Of the womens sports, womens soccer (at least to me) is the one that translates the most in terms of watchability/athleticism. If you watch the technical ability of the players - especially if you compare it to what the average rec player can do - it is quite impressive.
I agree. I think you could put a women's team in every city where MLS has an SSS. Based on MLS organization and viability, these teams should be linked to the MLS team in that city, such as FC Dallas Ladies. By doing this, you follow the club concept (youth teams - boys and girls; professional teams - men and women). In addition, you increase brand awareness by having two professional teams with the same name in the same city. You also increase your fan base for both teams. It is more likely that an FC Dallas fan will attend the women's games if they're part of the same organization. At the very least, fans can wear the same jersey to support both teams. Based on this model, the league should have put teams in Colorado and Columbus instead of D.C. and St. Louis. The league could then focus on expansion in New York, Toronto, and possibly Salt Lake (if there is a market for the women's game there). As other SSS are built (such as D.C.), the league could then look into expanding into those markets.
This would be great, but it would depend on their being interested and viable ownership groups in every current MLS market.......and what are the odds of that actually happening?
As long as it doesn't take any publicity or fans away from FCD, good luck to the ladies I'll come out and watch once a month or so.
I'm rooting for this to suceed but I already think they have set things up for failure!! I think they need to treat this similar to the pdl league. Have regional teams play each other where you can use a car or bus to get to games. Making cross country flights to games that will have a few thousand in attendance is already putting you in the red. Or at least have MLS women teams that can ride the coat-tales of the men. Heck having a double-header for mls games would certainly increase ticket sales.
I agree. The league should stick to the larger markets where interest would be higher. That is why I put the qualifier on a potential Salt Lake team - Columbus may be in the same boat. On a practical matter and with no clue as to the potential operating costs of these teams, I could see current owners supporting a women's team within the organization. It seems like the more events that take place at a team's SSS, the more money for the bottom line. If 3,000 to 5,000 in attendance can prove profitable, why not add a women's team to the mix.
Have any of you ever heard of the W-league?? This exists, run through the USL organization. It's completely amateur, but it does exist. Increase ticket sales for who? The MLS teams? By what factor? Probably would be a much smaller increase than you would think. These WUSA Part 2 (this time it's less personal) teams are going to have to succeed at the gate on their own merits. Otherwise there is little point to the whole thing.
I agree with the last part. If the women's league was linked to MLS, the teams could travel together and the games could be billed as double headers. The women could play the early game followed by the men's game. This format wouldn't occur in every situation because not every MLS team would have a women's team. Also the women's season will be shorter with less teams. But this would solve the problem of travel expenses and may be an interesting marketing tool. [Just thinking out loud - haven't even thought about the logistics of this]
Just playing devil's advocate here, but what exactly is MLS' motivation to help this league survive? The WUSA basically gave MLS the big FU last time around and now they want our help.
Filling dates at SSS's....cross promoting to female fans......combined marketing efforts. Part of being a good businessperson is having a short memory and not holding grudges. To ignore a viable opportunity simply because the partner once called you a jerk, but is now coming to you for help, isn't smart.
Well, this is the only womens pro league that will be having a team in Dallas. The WNBA won't be coming to Dallas anytime soon.
Still playing devil's advocate here, do you really think that there are many fans that would come out to the women's games that haven't been out to an FCD game? Unless we're getting a decent amount of money to have PHP be used, then I don't see how this new team benefits MLS/FCD that much.
I think so. I think youth girls' teams/players would be in attendance. These girls idolized the women's national team, but don't seem to connect to the men's side. Don't believe me - watch any televised USWNT game and tell me who they show in the stands - screaming girls. In this scenario, we get the girls to come to the women's games and their dads to become fans of the men's team.
I would imagine that you'll have some - but limited - crossover in terms of up-front populations. With cross-promotion, you could make both populations stronger. I have some people now who tell me "I don't care what it is, if it is at PHP and is soccer, sign me up." While it isn't a high percentage, it is a percentage nonetheless. Getting the synergy from those two parts of both populations would strengthen both up front, then you have the over-time cross-promotion. It also adds to the list of things we can sell sponsorships to, etc. And Adam said it right - more dates for the venue. The key, obviously, is what the cost-benefits are. You're right about the economics of it having to be right, and I'm sure that is being worked on as we speak, and that they feel confident they have it right this time. As far as the past history with WUSA and MLS, I would guess that they have found a way to get over that now as this is something that has been in the works for a number of years.