Saw this post on the FB of Miami United: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=261867897299645&id=103083833178053 "Miami United FC is honored to give MUFC naming rights to David Beckham's team, for two reasons. One, the initials MUFC replicate that of Beckham's former club Manchester United FC. And secondly, because "United" in Miami's case, was chosen to celebrate the city's diverse unity." Given that Miami United currently play in the 4th level (NPSL) of USA Soccer, will that make them the first team in the world to achieve Direct "Promotion" from D4 straight to D1? (thereby bettering Orlando's D3-to-D1 rise!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_United_SC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Premier_Soccer_League
Orlando City isn't being "promoted". An MLS expansion team will take the field in 2015 and the D3 team will either fold or relocate.
Of course, the name, logo, head coach, jersey sponsor, and many of the players will jump too, but besides that, yeah its completely separate... This is how promotion works in US/Canada: $$$
Define "many of the players". More that one or two getting appreciable minutes would be unprecedented.
I know what it is. But your playing semantics. Everyone who is involved with OCSC now, at least ownership and front office, will be in the same office running the MLS club. And yes, Heath has said several times that in 2014 they want to bring some up. I realize other USL/NASL teams have said this and did little, its possible they only bring a few too, but maybe they are different. However, its a business maneuver, to say they are separate and completely a new thing. They won't be.
I don't know how it will play out exactly, but they've been pushing to make the team as MLS-ready as possible, including potentially signing MLS-level players for next year to make the jump with them. Might just be all talk, though. We'll have to see how many can or do. I think a few of their current stars could certainly still feature, and prominently. Some pretty decent play, from the several games I saw.
Kind of disappointing if that is going to be the name. It just sounds generic and boring. I kind of wanted them to use the Strikers name but of course NASL has that name. I think MLS should wait to see what happens in Orlando first before they consider expanding to Miami, but that is just my opinion.
Everything seems sensible so far except the proposed name of the team. MLS should resist trying to import names with it's connotation to teams in the EPL and in this case Manchester United. The league's experience with Chivas USA should alert them to the folly of going down this path. It is no good going for a quick fix in Miami and regretting it further down the line. After the problems with the Fusion they need to get it right this time.
What proposed name of the team? This is just some small organization putting itself in the headlines with an "offer".
I hate this argument so much it's utterly stupid and totally legalistic/semantic. The same thing has been trotted out for Seattle/Portland and Montreal. No one thinks Newton Heath LYR and Manchester United are different clubs and no one thinks old Fiorentina/new Fiorentina and old Rangers/new Rangers are different clubs despite being different legal entities. Hell the San Jose Earthquakes are celebrating 40 years of history despite having gone through a number of different legal incarnations.
It's not the merely semantic. It's "by definition". If all words become synonyms, communication breaks down.
that would be like saying you own a mom and pop grocery store, which you sell out to a large grocery corporation who then makes you the manager of the new branch and as is common in the grocery industry, keeps the name of the branch the same as it was when it was an independently owned store for consistency and customer loyalty sake. the truth is all of the lower division teams that have "joined" mls were independently owned business and then the people that owned those business essentially disbanded them and joined a large corporation as shareholders with rights to operate a branch office and the corporation that they were a part of, with their input and guidance, chose to name that branch office such that continuity and brand awareness persisted and these new branch managers even hired some of the people they were familiar with from before when they ran an independent business since they knew their work and were comfortable with them. that is not "being promoted" unless as said above you simply want to do away with all specific meaning to language and invite chaos .... you know like fox news does.
Certainly true when we're talking about 8 year old kids. There was never a useful point in bringing them up, and that whole discussion wound up as a rabbit hole. (I would guess the reason why soccer at that level hasn't grown is not the recession but that in the demos they've traditionally pulled from, they are just more or less 'maxed out.' We hit a point where are all the kids in the suburbs (the ones likely to be officially registered) that were realistically going to play soccer were doing so. But regardless, the participation rate in recreational soccer has little to do with the pros, yes.) Using HS varsity students instead is still a relatively weak measure of the raw player pool, but it's the only one we've got. Traveling select team participation would be a lot better, and I suspect those numbers would tell a somewhat similar story, but they don't publish them, so we'll never know for sure. It's the safer bet, though, that the reasonably competitive part of the soccer dynamic has been steadily growing, even as the recreational part has stagnated. The claim that the talent was being diluted was yours, and the burden of proof for it is also yours. There's not a shred of evidence that's been presented for it that I can see, and most of the evidence seems to swing the other way. The idea that there aren't many more minutes going to American players than there were 5 or 10 years ago would be a major dent in the claim, since they're the only ones that can reasonably be 'diluted'--MLS can't even begin to scratch the overall pool of international talent. Sniping at the value of that evidence does less than nothing to prove the alternative claim--after a while, it implicitly argues that there is no such evidence.
Orlando City SC is a club - first (an independent organization). Orlando City SC owns a franchise in USL Pro which gives them the right to use the USL Pro name and represent the league in the territory of Orlando. Orlando City SC has a men's first team that currently plays and represents them and the franchise (territory) in the USL Pro. Orlando City SC recently bought a franchise in MLS to represent a similarly defined territory in Orlando. This gives Orlando City SC the right to use the MLS name (and its branding) in the city of Orlando. Orlando City SC owns several intellectual properties including the concept of a men's first team named Orlando City SC. In 2015, the Orlando City SC will officially field a team in MLS - that team will be the men's first team. Orlando City SC will certainly have a few new players by then, but all those players will still represent the same entity of the men's first team. Meanwhile, in 2015, if Orlando City SC continues the franchise in USL Pro they will likely place a reserves team (a men's second team) to represent that territory for the league. If Orlando City decides to terminate the franchise territory in Orlando for USL Pro and place a second team elsewhere, they would need to acquire a new defined franchise (either bought or with the fee waived) in that specific area (let's say Louisville) to represent the USL Pro.
If I were OCSC I would just keep the USL Pro team. You already have the winning structure in place. I was hopeful that when Atlanta gets a MLS team we would use the Silverbacks but they are in NASL so no dice
You mean franchise. As the team (the men's first team) will be moved to MLS. Totally understandable. But as long as the game is played in as many cities at the professional level, all we should care about is enjoying the game in all the leagues. We'll see them in the USOC.
The team that plays in D3 next year will not be the same team that plays in MLS 2015. It just won't. Just like the 2008 Sounders didn't play in MLS in 2009 and the 2010 and Impact didn't play in MLS in 2011. There'll probably be somewhere between 2-5 players that make the transition, but even those will be hard pressed to find minutes. The USLPRO Orlando City FC franchise is a wholely self-contained franchised with the players under contract to Orlando City FC. Any players suiting up for the 2015 MLS team in Orlando will be under contract to Major League Soccer, LLC. Now, it's possible that the nascent MLS organization will have a few players signed to MLS contracts in 2014 and loaned to other MLS teams or even the D3 Orlando City FC team - just like Seattle did in 2008 - but even then history shows that the MLS team will be a completely different beast.
You are partially correct. All the players that are currently on the men's first team in Orlando City SC representing the USL Pro franchise in Orlando may not be the same players representing the MLS franchise in Orlando. However, players (or definition of capacity of players) has nothing to do with the intellectual property of a team (in this case the men's first team). When Orlando City SC plays in MLS, it will be the same exact men's first team as that will be taken over by the OCSC organization. Different players (signed through MLS), but the same representation. Franchise and team are two different things. As for the other clubs and teams (men's first teams) you mentioned - same story.
Don't worry, there will always be individuals that are threatened by teams/organizations/clubs that have a history outside of MLS.
If that's aimed at me, your reading comprehension is pretty bad. If it's not I apologize. I have no problem with team's honoring and embracing both their organizational and civic history. My hockey team and American football teams both rightfully include the team history from their original cities in their media guide. My local soccer club also includes the organizational history from its earlier existence in a different league in theirs. Again, I apologize if this was not directed at me.