In the Arena Football League. Nashville and Austin are ceasing operations, while Las Vegas is moving to Cleveland. Makes me realize how far we have come since our own, now ancient, team foldings. Life is looking good for the MLS!
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving It's also worth considering how much it hurts for fans when their teams move or fold. Therefore, anyone on this board who advocates such a thing should get kicked in the genitals, studs up, preferably with golf shoes. - Paul
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving I know several people who were diehard Whalers fan, and one was even at their last game. Some wounds never heal.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving I agree that moving a team is a horrible thing, but had you actually understood the point that I was trying to make, which was that the AFL is unstable, even though they have more teams than us and are partially owned by ESPN, you might not look so brash. That = good things for MLS. Its sad to say but there is competition between different sports and their leagues for survival.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving yeah, loosing a team is terrible, they can make up for it though by bringing back the mutiny
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving No. It was in the other forum. I posted, then it was moved to this forum.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving I know why the Fusion failed, but why did the Mutiny fail? It's sad, the Mutiny were my second favorite team. Didn't they used to be successful?
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving This really doesn't tell the whole story. Nashville is keeping its history ala the Earthquakes with the presumption that they will return. Austin is a league switch to AF2. As for Las Vegas I don't think anyone who follows the AFL thought that team would survive as long as they did in the LV market after thier move from New Jersey. Again not a black and white as it seems. Go back through the history of the AFL and throughout its 20 year history each season has seen expansion, contraction, and/or suspension or teams. It's more of a status quo thing if anything. PS: Go Sabercats
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving what's arena football? whatever that is MLS is more popular than arena football? cool.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving It would make great YouTube footage if somone decided to move Celtic or Rangers from Glasgow. I guess our moving of ball clubs in U.S. sporting culture speaks to our core capitalistic mindset. The Gordon Geecko philosophy of serving a waiting city some other city's sloppy seconds. Unfortunately for us, there is always that lingering chance that one day the team you love might not answer the door. Even a team that moved to become your team can move on. The Chicago Cardinals were the first pro gridiron team and they have moved twice. Perhaps not all U.S. team's supporters have to sweat it. Red Wings, Eagles, Yankees of course but still...the difference to how other soccer nations view it and to see their reaction if even breathed by their FO would make outstanding highlights of rich dudes being beat on, pissed on and then hung out to dry.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving They were owned and managed by the league. Their attendance was also sub-par. I believe Glazer (who now owns ManU) was interested in purchasing the team, but that deal fell through.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving I think it was controversial enough when Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes, even though the club were a sinking ship at the time. American clubs have moved in the most shameful of circumstances, #1 case in point, the Brooklyn Dodgers. They were beloved by their fans like few other teams were, but the owner saw greener pastures out in La-la land. It was a very successful club too, which had no moral right to move, but they did. It just eats me up every time I think about it, too, even though I have no connection to Brooklyn. That was a travesty. The USA is different than Europe in that most sports clubs are "franchises" rather than true "clubs". The Green Bay Packers may be one of the few that could be considered true clubs, because they are owned by the fans. Well, okay, I don't know if being owned by the fans = club status, but one thing's for sure, they aint ever moving.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving You're being way to harsh. 1) The US is far more mobile and homogeneous than Europe. People don't have as strong of regional loyalties. 2) A lot of the US lives far away from Major League teams, so moving one does not matter as much. 3) American sports have been dominated by broadcast media since the 20's, so you can follow your team wherever it moves to. 4) The bread and circuses principle is much less engrained in the US than in the rest of the world.
Nobody actually really gives a damn about the Kats. The Predators are a whole 'nother story. They don't hurt for fans-- what they hurt for is corporate support, and the executives at the major Nashville-based corporations only care about the Titans, and pay incredible, Giants Stadium-amounts of money for their boxes. Losing the Preds will break some hearts. They draw significantly more fans than the allegedly beloved Whalers did. There's a lesson in this for MLS: I think it's that the NFL will suck the air out of any room except a hyperbaric chamber.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving I disagree with most of what you wrote, but this, particularly, is batshit crazy. If a significant fraction of DC United fans have stated here that they would give up on the team if they move to Maryland, how much DC-area support would the team have if they became St. Louis United?
I don't see how two arena league teams folding would have any MLS implications. The two leagues aren't competing for the same fan base. I'd also argue that arena league football is even more of a niche than MLS.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving Like the other guy said, poor attendence, never had the corporate sponsorship, and they had an embezzlement scandal one year. So they took a lot of blows and never got going.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving The Red Wings were an expansion team, but were made out of the remnants of the WHL Victoria Cougars; hence the original name Detroit Cougars. The Eagles were the Pottstown Firebirds (or something like that), and the Yankees were initially the 1901 Baltimore Orioles. Given that the Yanks were at one point threatening to move to New Jersey, and the Eagles were once damn close to moving to Phoenix, we can conclude that NO team is safe, and the fans are powerless. Sad but true.
Re: 2 teams fold, 1 is moving The AFL team in Vegas stunk on ice. Never had decent players, never had a winning season, and never showed signs that they were building the team up to try and improve. Attendance reflected that.