NASL adopts Spring/Fall seasons for 2013

I'm not arguing that there is almost certainly a higher expense for making arrangements for travel for a playoff game on short notice then it is booking a regular season away trip 3 - 6 months in advance. What I'm saying is, if the difference between those two amounts is THE main reason for this format, then we have far greater things to worry about with our league then this stupid Honduran schedule set up. Remeber, not all teams make the playoffs, and then only a couple are actually going to be traveling, with fewer traveling each round. EVERY professional sports league in this country faces this "issue." This is an "issue" every team should want to have, because the goal of every team should be to win a championship. If you're not in the playoffs, you have no chance to meet that goal.

Honestly there really shouldn't be anymore to say to account for it than one simple word - budget. You budget for it before the season. If you are fontunate enough to make it to the playoffs and need to use it, you're operating as planned. If not, you either host your playoff games, or you don't make it at all, then you have a budget surplus, something every organization in the world would love to have. So the question becomes, can you afford to budget for it? If the answer yes, this whole discussion is a non-starter. If it's no, then the club seriously needs to rethink the NASL model and whether or not they'd be better served to be playing at a lower (less expensive) level, or perhaps not at all.

Personally I can see the league trying to make it stick in 2014 as well, simply to save face and be able to say, "See? We didn't do it just to accomodate the Cosmos!" By 2015 I fully expect it to be gone if the league has 12 or more teams.

 

You still don't get it. No matter how many times people show you that your "arguments" are stupid and irrelevant, you continue to tweak and regurgitate them.

Mark this down right now - the team that finishes last place in the first "half" season will NOT finish first in the second "half" season. It won't happen. And don't even get me started again on the complete non-factor the "mid-season break" corresponding to the international transfer window would make this possible. Plus, you are wrong, wait for it....again. This format will NOT make more regular season games meaningful. It will make many more regular season games for more teams LESS meaningful since there is no pro/rel and the entire league is playing for one playoff spot. I bet at least one team is eliminated at the halfway point. Two seasons ago NO ONE was eliminated until the final day of the season. This year it was what, two weeks left? Stop saying things that make no sense already.

And once again, take off your Euro perspective glasses and recall the fact that this is America. Here in our country, in our culture, we have playoffs. We root for underdogs. We like a story of the little guy making a run and having a shot no matter how long it is. We need to convert a lot more casual American sports fans to our game in order to keep it growing and sustainable, especially at the lower levels where every single fan through the tunrstiles is important. Having formats and structures they are used to helps with this. Having ones that are completely foreign hurts. It's real simple. This is America. We like playoffs. I challenge you to find anyone who would honestly say the playoffs for this league the last two years were boring or stupid and needed to go in favor of some dumbass format from Guatemala.

 

Well Edmonton had to cut payroll/coaches salaries and they did not make the playoffs, also since it is traffic writing the checks for the playoff travels for a few of the leagues teams (the Min stars specially) maybe it was traffic that pushed for a cheaper way to figure out a champion.

 

Well, even England has playoffs, and unfortunately, my Hull City team will be in them at the rate they are going.

 

And they also crown their Champion after a full round robin competition (Championship League and below).

So the best of both worlds right?


Maybe if the CCL was a massive money maker, Concacaf leagues could do the same, first 2 places after the round robin go straight into the CCL.

Teams 3rd to 10th go to a playoff competition for the final CCL spots


Edit: The rule about only USA teams being able to quality in MLS competition screws the Canadian teams, so maybe not a good idea.

 

Well, this is America and we have our own sports model so deal with it. Lol. Also last time I checked hockey and basketball have their origins in Canada and baseball and football have their origins in England. The only true American sport is lacrosse.

 

I'll wait for you to tell fans of the Mexican league that it's not a real league. Mexico uses playoffs to crown a champion. What do you have to say about that?

 

Well many Mexican/Central American fans will tell you that they are all American (Americas continent) so in that sense WSW would be right, obviously he is totally wrong in so many other levels.

 

There is no doubt in my mind now that the split season was for the Cosmos. I would rather we go back to what we had last year.

 

Playoffs - for MLS this is money and TV ratings, so I'd agree with playoffs existing there. For NASL it isn't, so alternatives are worth considering. The 2 team playoff makes the best sense financially right now.

Instant replay - possibly being instituted around the world and already perfected in rugby, which I'm pretty sure isn't American. I'd agree with rugby-style instant replay on goal/no goal calls.

Running PK's - you mean like the old NASL? They're actually pretty interesting, and involve skills that are native to a striker, rather than mind/guessing games that don't really factor into anything outside of maybe a free kick.

Countdown clock - I think everyone agrees it doesn't belong.

 

The first half of your post is debatable. I can also say that the best overall team over the course of the entire season may not be playing in the championship game.

The second half with this is crap... last time I read American soccer doesn't have running PKs, countdown clock, etc. Tell me what about American soccer is uniquely American.

 

Because there's the possibility that the team that wins the first half will suck or doesn't even try in the 2nd half. Then another team could be the best overall team when the points totals are added up from both halves. Simple really. So yes its possible the best overall team may not make it to the Soccer Bowl.

 

I'm banking on the 2nd and 4th overall teams will make it to the final. Put that down as my prediction and come on now a 8th and 9th seed final is awesome. Underdogs fighting for the championship are always the best stories.

 

I don't think that's really how the season went for either LA or Houston. They were both playing well. I didn't follow Houston's season that much, but I know LA was arguably the best team in the West from July on. The Galaxy didn't merely settle for 4th. They were a good team that went through a rough period for a while. And, even though I don't know the trajectory of Houston's season, I know the East was very tight. The four teams below KC were seperated by just 5 points.

 

Like talking to a rock with you. Yes in the old NASL days soccer was a mess. We did stupid things. But you know what happened over time chief? We started making changes. Over time we learned what could be "americanized" and what couldn't, and found the right formula. And guess what? People are coming back to the sport here. MLS averages more fans per game then the NBA and NHL. Obviously we've got it right for America at this point, and we just need to focus on exposing more fans to the game and getting them hooked. Again, that comes with ease of understanding and things sports fans are already comfortable with. Your second paragraph is nothing more than your usual schtick with your Euro perspective bias firmly in place. That attitude will never work here if we are going to continue growing the game. Maybe someday, if it grows large enough, and is stable enough, MAYBE then we can consider changes that bring the league more in line with the rest of the soccer world. And I don't mean Honduras with assinine split schedules. But we're still a long way from that. So quit whining about the game being "Americanized" in America! Move to Guatemala and enjoy the split season there if you want.

 

Actually, that wouldn't work for WSW. Guatemala does have split season, but it also has playoffs, so he'd still be insulted by the Americanization of soccer there. Argentina would be a better fit for a person looking to emulate NASL's current format, split season with winners of each half season meeting in championship game.

 

Can't forget the Uruguayan and Venezuelan Primera Divisións either. They reach his specifications as well.

 

I don't even want to know what kind of conniption fit he'd throw if he somehow ended up in Brazil. MLS's modifications to the "standard European competition format" pale in comparison to what they've done down there. Heh.