Eric Wynalda's "Howard Beale moment": FSC employees rant against MLS at the NSCAA Convention

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by xbhaskarx, Jan 13, 2012.

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  1. SYoshonis

    SYoshonis Member+

    Jun 8, 2000
    Lafayette, Louisiana
    Club:
    Michigan Bucks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Fixed for accuracy. But hey, not everybody can engage in honest debate.
     
  2. sccaflagger74

    sccaflagger74 Member

    Apr 24, 2005
    Media, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't object to either the current schedule or an August-May schedule but one thing I do like about having no games in summer is that it would open up more time for other family events. In my bachelor days I would not have cared about the number of weekends taken up by soccer, but now with kids I would not object to having more flexibility to schedule time for camping, beach weekends, road trips, etc.
     
  3. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Isn't MLS the only soccer league? If that's the goal, the rest of the world should be copying us.
     
  4. Jamooky

    Jamooky Member+

    Mar 24, 2006
    Cleveland, OH USA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This whole "rest of the world" myth needs to be squashed, you know. As if the rest of the world does things exactly the same, and we're the only exception.
     
  5. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It all comes back to
     
  6. lala1174

    lala1174 Member

    May 11, 2008
    Las Vegas
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Really? What 5 weeks would those be?
     
  7. asoc

    asoc Member+

    Sep 28, 2007
    Tacoma
    How would a league transition their league schedule anyways?
    Just shut the league down from December until August/September?
    Create a short season that lasts 5 months?

    I am of the opinion of don't fix what isn't broken.

    The league is currently making huge strides imo. It is now at 19 teams and the league will be getting a NY2 at some point. There are other markets that are serious about getting into MLS as well.

    Attendance is on the rise in a down economy.

    There is a reason why there are multiple transfer windows and the player market is big enough where you can find quality MLS level players to come to this league in any transfer window.

    Be patient. Things are looking good for the league. There has to be more kids watching and paying attention to MLS than there were 10 years ago. Wait 10 years and see how many are watching and growing up with the league. I know 10 years seems like a long time, but it really isn't when you are looking at the long term growth of the league.

    Where was the league heading into the 2002 season?

    Entering 2012 we have 19 teams with the league expected to increase its average attendance AGAIN.

    What will 2022 look like if things continue to improve at the rate they have been?
     
  8. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have always wondered about this...

    NO GAS IN THE CAR
     
  9. Arisrules

    Arisrules Member

    Feb 19, 2000
    Washington, DC
    No I'm serious. I forget who it was, but there was one game in New York where several players had sunstrokes or suffered from the heat. It was pretty ridiculous actually.

    And it does impact play. That's just fact. It results in a more sloppy game, that is less crisp, and in my opinion, much less enjoyable.
     
  10. Klogon

    Klogon Member

    Aug 12, 2004
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    I think one of the concerns is that growth will slow and it'll level out.
     
  11. ElJefe

    ElJefe Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 16, 1999
    Colorful Colorado
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Interesting. And yet, this has not happened in the 250 night games (give or take) that have been played at the Cotton Bowl, Dragon Stadium, and Pizza Hut Park since 1996.

    I'd like to see your definition of "fact," because it appears to correspond with my definition of "opinion."

    I've seen countless crappy games played in warmer temperatures. I've seen countless great games played in warmer temperatures. To be honest, I've seen a lot less correlation with temperature than with the competence of the teams involved.
     
  12. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That was because some genius decided to have a game at noon on a Wednesday in the middle of summer on artificial turf. Don't need to restructure the entire season to avoid things like that.
     
  13. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    The players suffered from sunstrokes during the night game in New York you attended? At what hour was the sun out at night in New York where these sunstrokes took place?

    Also, these are extremely well-conditioned athletes. I remember the Union's PPL Park opener in 2010 when they played Seattle and the field temperature was over 110 degrees. I don't recall anyone dogging it or passing out. If a player can't take the heat, believe me, they'll cut that guy, and find someone who will.
     
  14. 4door

    4door Member+

    Mar 7, 2006
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Russia is doing it this year. They started in March of 2011 and are going to play through the spring of 2012.

    I'm not crazy about a schedule shift, but I'm surprised that Wynalda didn't bring up indoor facilities for winter games. Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver all in theory have temporary places they can play with roofs. The trick would be scheduling it so you don't play home games in the winter in midwest/northeast. As more teams in the south are added, it would make it in theory easier to do.

    In the end the biggest issue would be TV/sponsorships. It would be the only reason to switch. If for some reason TV/sponsors are willing to pay a lot more money for MLS playoffs in the spring instead of the winter..then we should consider it. If there is no more money in it for MLS, then it shouldn't be done.
     
  15. ElJefe

    ElJefe Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 16, 1999
    Colorful Colorado
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This surely amuses everyone who remembers the weather the week leading up to Super Bow XLV.
     
  16. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When I hear Wynalda talk, I think "this guy talks just like a billionaire CEO."
     
  17. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    He does. He talks out of ass because he's out of touch with the common man/fan.
     
  18. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    Yeah, Russia "made the league schedule shift." (One ~15-month season to make the transition seems like a reasonable approach.)

    And they were awarded hosting duties for the World Cup in 2018.

    Just sayin'. (not that agreeing to move their top domestic league out off the summer window is what clinched that country's winning bid with Fifa, but I'm guessing it didn't hinder their overall presentation.)

    Here's some discussion of this news when it was first announced back in Sept 2010.

    https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1541821

     
  19. OleGunnar20

    OleGunnar20 Member+

    Dec 7, 2009
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    yes. but the RPL isn't driven mostly by attendance ... it is a oil oligarch driven league ...

    unlike MLS which derives most of it's revenue from actually butts in seats .... so if MLS does something stupid like play games in february (or not play games in Jun/Jul when they have sunny days and no competition except the ever fading baseball) or do something totally foreign to American/Canadian fans like take a giant 2 month break in the middle of the season then there are fewer butts in seats thus fewer dollars.

    it isn't going to happen and nor should it. there are plenty of thing i dislike about how MLS is structured and run but pro/rel and the summer schedule are not two of them. wynalda is a preening bloviating jack-ass who thinks 4 years playing for German drech makes him some sort of soccer guru.

    the reason you can't get a job eric isn't because you are some ostracized secret genius ... it is because you don't know what the f**k you're talking about and everybody knows you're full of sh*t.
     
  20. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Edit: ^ that was the full comment at the time I started to write my response, the rest was edited in later.
    ===

    Let's look at four possible explanations for why the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were awarded to Russia and Qatar:

    1. Bribery and corruption played a major role and certain countries (England, United States, etc.) didn't play ball.

    2. Eastern Europe / Middle East have never held a World Cup before.

    3. Eastern Europe / Middle East both have plenty of rich dudes who are starting to pump major money into the sport domestically and abroad (eg. Chelsea, Man City, etc.).

    4. "Let's award Russia the World Cup because it is held in the summer and they changed their league schedule... but then let's award Qatar the World Cup even though it's so hot there during the summer that it may have to be held in the winter, and we may have to alter the schedules of European competitions around it."

    You're really going with explanation #4?
    :rolleyes:
     
  21. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    I'm not going with four on its own. I'm noting that four didn't harm the otherwise strong and worthwhile case/bid that Russia had.
     
  22. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
  23. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    Keeping in mind that this thread was started with (among other "crazy" comments) the idea that MLS could start seasons in the early fall (or even late-summer), then take a 2-month winter break from around mid-Dec to mid-Feb, and conclude its seasons in late spring.

    Also keeping in mind that MLS is playing from March 10 - Dec 1 in 2012 (and three teams are starting CCL QF play on March 7), the roughly five new/different weeks that MLS would need to use to make this switch would be from about Dec 2-15 and from about Feb 15 to March 7.

    Not ideal. But it is not completely crazy or undoable for MLS, if they indeed ever did think that such a move could/would help their overall business. (is playing in June and early July ideal for MLS?)
     
  24. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    Russia switched the calendar so they could be better prepared to play Champions League matches. That was the real reason why they did it. The league felt that they had a better chance of going further in the competition if they played the same schedule as the bigger European leagues. That's all. Yes, it's money driven, but it's driven by the Champions League payouts, not because of game day money generated.
     
  25. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's a little more than that. It's been demonstrated that when MLS teams host a bunch of games in a row, attendance suffers. So if, for example, the Fire are on the road 4 straight weeks in the winter, that just means their home matches will be stuffed into a smaller window. I think it's a good idea for MLS to push its season opener back far enough that the Fire and Columbus and so on start the season with 2 road games, with the warm weather teams hosting 2 in a row.

    But not 3 in a row.
    He does come across alot like Donald Trump, now that you mention it.

    That's not a compliment, by the way. :D
     

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