http://levyashin.blogspot.com/2007/09/thunder-to-join-mls.html Thanks to Josh at Throughball.com for this bit of news. It looks like the Thunder are on the verge of new ownership. The new owners are not only looking to build the team their own stadium but to bring the team into Major League Soccer. It makes sense for the stadium and being an expansion team in the MLS to go along together. Why spend money on a soccer specific stadium if you're not going to play in the top tier of US soccer? The question is who exactly are these new owners and will they really be able to secure the funding and get the politicians on board to get it done?
Well, as we currently got around 12 cities trying to join MLS they need something special to stick out...
this'd be fantastic... but i won't hold my breath just yet. however, if it translates into a better thunder team in the short run, then i'll be quite thrilled.
But just think if they got to play the Rapids while still there. It would be the Jimmy - Dick showdown.
There is a world outside of nostalgia for the NASL. The Thunder have played three times as long and won more silverware than the Kicks ever did. They've had a bad spell lately, but it's the Thunder who have tradition on their side. Plus, that logo (minus the kid) looks like it was ripped straight from the airbrushing on a 1974 Ford Econoline with Quadrophonic sound.
Speaking of soccer tradition: Buzz Lagos, the long-time coach of the Thunder, is practically a Minnesota soccer institution all to himself. His son, Manny Lagos, MLS and US National team player, is now the Thunder's Director of Operations. The Thunder have been going strong since 1990, and it is their new owner who is talking about MLS. - Paul
And averaged 3, 4 or even 5 times less in attendance. Every year top pro soccer was played in Minnesota, they were always among the league leaders. Contrary to the status quo, I really believe the MLS would benefit a great deal to try and recapture some of that NASL tradition and atmosphere. In Seattle, Minnesota as well as other venues. Minnesota Kicks 23121 Minnesota Kicks 32775 Minnesota Kicks 30928 Minnesota Kicks 24580 Minnesota Kicks 18279 Minnesota Kicks 16605 Minnesota Strikers 14263
I don't buy into the "we had great numbers in the NASL days" argument at all. Just look at the number you used Falvo. During a few years their attendance drops by half. Great attendance numbers for the NASL were a flash in the pan. One step beyond that is the implication that it is the name that somehow attracts the fans. There is a lot that goes into selling tickets. There's marketing, selling tickets to individuals, selling tickets to corporations and other all those other things. Fans don't just show up at at the gate on their own no matter what name the team has. The Minnesota Thunder have been around for nearly 20 years. I'd love to see them make the step up into the MLS WITH THE SAME NAME. I wouldn't complain it but I don't think there is much to be gained from doing so.
Actually, attendance dropped only the year before the team folded. From 1976-1980, the Kicks were the team. Maybe its a different time and era but the fans did show up in Minnesota in those days and there was hardly any marketing, tv or anything else, for that matter as the game for some reason sold itself. Heck the Kicks never even really had any name players as the rest of the league did unless you count 2nd, 3rd division Brits like Steve Litt, Alan Willey & Alan Merrick.
I think a team in MLS would be better served by starting from scratch...ala Toronto. The Toronto Lynx were minor league, and were treated accordingly by Toronto area soccer fans. In my opinion, the same applies to the Thunder. They have a long history of soccer in the Twin Cities and should be given credit for all they have accomplished. They are, however, still a minor league team in the public's eye. That's not meant in any way as an insult, but I think to succeed in a major league town you have to be perceived as a major league organization/operation (see again TFC). Any word on who exactly these new owners are? -On a side note, I always thought there was a missed opportunity for MLS here a few years ago at the height of the Twins contraction/stadium funding bitchfest. People were tired of politicians and billionaires arguing about stadium money and fan interest in the Twins was very low. Imagine the momentum that could have been gained had a group of private investors popped up and built a privately financed soccer stadium right under the noses of both the Twins and the Vikings who were/still are begging for free money from the state. Oh well...
As a long time Kicks fan, I agree. I would be much more interested in starting fresh with a Twin Cities United team than the new and improved MLS Thunder. Either way though, I think an additional sports franchise in the Twin Cities -- MLS or otherwise -- is a difficult proposition. The Twin Cities has a lot of professional teams and Gopher athletics competing for the sports dollar. It's a crowded, competitive marketplace, one where even the Vikings have struggled to sell out this year. It would take an owner with very deep pockets and a strong commitment to succeed, IMO.
are you talking about this team? http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/default.asp?u=TAMPATHUNDER&sport=soccer&t=c&p=home&s=soccer
The Lynx were a shell of a team even for the USL-1. They were poorly run, of course they wouldn't want their MLS team associated with that name even if they could have bought it of their owners. Well run teams at the USL level would have no problem carrying their present names into MLS if they made the move. I'm not sure the Thunder fit into that category though.
That may be, however, Denver pulls it off and we have about 1 million more people in our metro area than they do.
LOL, where are they now? http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:274234 http://soccer.azplayers.com/players/W/Wolfgang-Suhnholz 1977 NASL All-Star Team https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84647 M Wolfgang Suhnholz -- Las Vegas Quicksilvers
Cities like Denver and Salt Lake show that there is now a critical mass of soccer fans most everywhere in the country. I believe that a good ownership group with the right SSS will succeed almost anywhere these days. Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, and Las Vegas could all be great MLS towns. The league has finally figured out that the stadium is the key to turning a profit and the actual city where it's located is not that important. BTW, Minnesota already has one thing--Thunder is already a bad soccer team name circa 1996. All they need for true retro authenticity is the crappy uniforms.
Thunder isn't that bad as a club name, and I'm usually the first one to hate that style of naming. OTOH, Twin Cities FC has a great ring to it. Twin Cities United wins out in my book, though, because I think MLS will have another "united" club, and it works for the Twin Cities perfectly. Of course, that implies that you want the Twin Cities to be united, which I don't know. Do you? What do you think of rival sides, one in MPLS and one in St Paul? That would be kind of cool, too. I love the idea of rivals in a "single" city.
How about you make a new team unite Thunder with the new team and call it St. Paul United. The team name sounds like an English team name. I don't know I think I'd be kind of cool