I am from Buffalo and go to a Rhinos game every year. If they went to MLS, I would get season tickets. I don't think I am alone on this. Also, Rochester is an important part of the Bills season ticket base. I am afraid that if Rochester does not get one of the next couple expansion teams, they never will.
If you are a fan of soccer in the United States, you want to watch MLS live, in person every weekend. It's the best possible option. Yeah it's a bigger financial investment (some people call that a risk), but you get what you pay for. The window for Rochester's opportunity to be the Green Bay of MLS is quickly closing. If the financial risk isn't taken in the next couple of years the chance won't ever be there again.
To add to that, companies in Syracuse and Buffalo would buy corporate suites at PTP if the Rhinos were in MLS, because it would be the only "Major League" sport in Western NY in the summer. One issue that a lot of people in large cities don't understand is that it takes 1 hour to drive 60 miles here and 70 minutes to drive 70 miles. Most people in Chicagoland, the NY Metro area, Boston, LA, Houston, etc have no problem at all with a 1 hour commute. Most people in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse also see no problem with the 1hr commute and work in one of the other cities. I'm sure many people make over a 1 hour commute to get to Metros, Fire or Galaxy games. Why shouldn't people in WNY do the same to see those teams play the Rhinos every weekend?
You're absolutely correct. See I look at it like this DG is a B-lister who would like to think he's an A-Lister cuz he sneaks into their events from time to time. Rochester is MLS's backup girlfriend, sitting by the phone waiting for DG to make his booty call after having a bad date with Houston or SanJose. Unless Rochester can come up with the $15million to get implants and a face lift, DG won't consider sneaking her into the one or two A-list events he actually gets invited to. I just don't understand how you can have such contempt for the people living 1/2 mile to your left, but display such affection for the team located in the midst of these same people. That said, I think Rochester and a NYC team would have a great rivalry due to the in state politics. Rochester would love beating NYC in every category possible and NYC would hate losing to it's ugly step sister. Unfortunately NYC doesn't have a team. Exactly. Ya know I don't think Leverkusen or Auxerre really compare to the remoteness of Rochester. Leverkusen is 20min train ride to Koln and Dortmund, remember LD lived in Koln last time around. A better comparison to Leverkusen would be if the DuPont family decided they wanted the "Philly" expansion team and they wanted to build a stadium in Wilmington, DE. Auxerre is only as far from Paris as Poughkeepsie is from NYC. Maybe it's far and remote from the Parisian's point of view, but for someone living in Auxerre, Paris is a commutable distance. Green Bay is really the only good comparison.
http://photobucket.com/albums/v704/dominionroc/ Updated photos of PAETEC Park...taken Friday, April 29,2005. The last section of the stadium being assembled will have a double deck...with corporate suites in between. Stadium should finished sometime in August 2005.