But if UWS can form a "Southwest Division in 2018," I meant to say... jumping the gun a little bit! LOL
Well, since WPSL was the only other semi-competitive league as of just last week, that kinda was the intention, but I wasn't just suggesting to try pulling over current WPSL teams. I had mentioned earlier I would love to see teams initially join WPSL to get their feet wet, as it were, before coming up to UWS. I guess now with WUPSL on the table, (though, yikes,) that would be another option for teams to get their feet wet before joining UWS. In terms of the current WPSL teams, I was certainly hoping for those affiliated with other sides or at least were W-League 2015 teams would eventually come over - between the affiliated teams and the small number of qualified independent teams, there's a division or two's worth of teams that would make sense to take the step up.
That would be a Mid-South division, not a Southwest division. A. Dufresne was talking about a CA/AZ division.
Interesting... I haven't met anyone who doesn't consider CA Southwestern, unless they're picky enough to consider West as different than Southwest, in which case they've always pushed TX and OK into their own region (the "Southern Plains") as well. CA is easier to group with NV/AZ than it is with OR/WA. Most states associated withe Southwest consider themselves Westerners in a general sense, with the exceptions of TX and OK which are more likely to call themselves Southern instead of Western. Geographically speaking, the Southwestern arid climate stretches from SoCal to West Texas and Southern Nevada to Southwestern CO. Oklahoma is rarely included. Nat Geo has used several definitions of the Southwest, but none of them include parts of TX or OK without already including at least some of CA. TX also has a cultural heritage much different than that seen in the rest of the broader Southwest.
I guess socal has such a strong and urban based culture that I don't see it as southwestern, which implies more rural and frontier like. Texas and Oklahoma transition from southern to western, hence southwestern (along with NM, AZ, and usually CO) Cowboy country
I think you're focused far too much on SF, LA, and SD, and forgetting about large areas like the Inland Empire, the San Joaquin Valley, the Great Basin, the Mojave Desert, etc. Remember, it's a BIG state. Also, TX and OK are NOT Western like NM and AZ are - they have Central and Southern vibes, not Western vibes. (My dad's entire side of the family is scattered across TX and OK, while half of my mom's is in CA.) Also, they're majority plains states, not desert states. "Cowboy Culture" =/= Southwest.
The only connection I can find is that Reggie Rivas was the initial coach for the Strikers in 2011. Not sure if Rivas coached them in 2012 or not, but Tracey Kevins (who now works for the Seattle Reign Academy) was their coach from 2013 until they merged with the Pali Blues. I can't find any connection between Neal Bird or The Archer Travel Group (who are listed as the remainder of the ownership group with Rivas) and the Strikers. Rivas and Bird are involved with the Crescenta Valley Soccer Club though, so I guess they're not completely new, but they don't appear to have anything higher than a Girls U19 team, so I'm not sure what experience they will have with marketing and operations of a UWS level team.
My father side of the family is in CA, my folks and in laws are in west Texas Texas is its own thing with southwest flavors out west: more Texas than south or southwest California may also have southwest vibes but more west and socal than southwest Oklahoma is midwest south and southwest The 2 Colorado UWS teams would do better with Oklahoma and Texas teams, no? There are wpsl teams already here Maybe New Mexico as well to have 3 teams on I25 and 3+ teams along I35