I believe the Seattle Sounders drew 35-38k to the new stadium this summer in a match with Portland. Those are A-League teams, with decent fan support. Why move in MLS to divide the market? If it's so important for fans to have an MLS team to brag about, instead of an A-League team, merge the leagues and form 2 divisions, with relegation. MLS will have the national foot print it wants, and A-League cities will become MLS cities over night. The only stipulation should be a stadium that holds at least 10k with a field that meets FIFA specifications. Of course, The Deuce will still show but one match a week on Soccer Saturday Only different financial structures prevent this. It is a big stumbling block, which is too bad. We could be looking at a league with about 30 teams in two divisions. It would cry out for the single table, as teams scramble to avoid the bottom slots, and slug it out for the top of Division 2 and promotion. This is the only way I can imagine promotion-relegation and single tables in the US top flight.
There would be a league, but it would basically be the A League with maybe a little more money invested into it (i.e. slightly higher salaries, better talent, no significant TV contract). Regarding B)., I think you would get more people buying in because the potential losses on one franchise, which you can more easily write off, are easier to handle than your contribution to a 10 team league that's losing money -- at least I think this would be the case. And as for C, unless that can be reversed somehow, pro soccer will never become a true "major league" sport in this country.
Re: Re: My Predictions They've been trying to schedule talks for years. Problem is, the conference room they want to use is currently filled with execs from United Airlines and Reno Air, who are discussing whether to set up a system where every now and then, United would get relegated to a regional business, and Reno Air would get to be one of the top two airlines in the country.
How can you rephrase a quote? What exactly did he say? If you don't know the words, don't put it in quotes.
Re: Re: Re: Re: My Predictions I am sick and tired of those God damn scientists saying dolphins are smarter than us!! What the hell?? How many times have you seen dolphins driving around on land in water filled capsules? Oh, you think they've never seen us in blah blah blah? Well, WHAT ABOUT MOTHER ************ING SUMBARINES!!!! Dolphins don't have cities, cars, they don't even have their own god damn mother ************ing piece of ************ language. Maybe there is a genius dolphin that is barely smarter than a super retarded guy, but that's it. So to all you scientists out there.... SHUT THE ************ UP!!!
Not sure about that: Florida is a sports deathtrap. Think of this: 1. The World Hockey Association launches with teams in some NHL markets, and then announces a team in Florida: the Miami Screaming Eagles. That franchise never plays a single game. 2. The ABA had a team in Miami, the Floridians. Aside from the bikini-clad ballgirls, nothing much to see. Dreadful crowds signaled the end of that team. 3. The USFL has not 1, but 3 teams in Florida -- Bandits, Renegades, Bulls. The USFL antitrust settlement for $3 is split among the three. 4. St. Petersburg builds a large domed facility to get any antsy pro teams to move down there; Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners amongst the candidates. Eventually becomes the most cavernous ice hockey arena in the history of the world, then re-done in plastic grass to host the woeful (39 1/2 games back) Tampa Bay Devil Rays. 5. Joe Robbie builds a large outdoor stadium to host his Dolphins, a potential baseball team, and perhaps some World Cup soccer games in 1994. He didn't get the latter. 6. What JR did get were Wayne Huizenga's Florida Marlins, who did a pump-and-dump when he bought players, won a world series, then tried to sell the team after letting the talent go away. 7. Marlins and Devil Rays were amongst the first rumored "contraction" teams in 2000. 8. Actual contraction occurs in MLS in 2001; Fusion and Mutiny gone. 9. Orlando Tempest of WUSA never plays a game in Florida; team relocates in Chapel Hill and renamed Courage. Wins WUSA title in 2002. Orlandans unconcerned. 10. XFL debuts in 2001 with a team in Orlando, the Rage. It and league go under. 11. TODAY, it was announced that Raymond James Stadium is losing its insurance. What the phuck is going on in Jeb Bush's state??? Are people eating chads???
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: My Predictions How many times have you seen dolphins going to war? Fighting each other over whose God is "better"? Poisoning their envionment? How many dolphins have "snapped" and killed others needlessly? Abducted and/or molested children? How many dolphins die of stress or other related illnesses? Look, I am no peace and love guy...I don't even necessarily disagree with you. But if you're going to rant and rave, using lots of exclamation points and deleted expletives, then maybe a little perspective is in order. Did you not see the smiley? Geez...breathe, already.
You haven't been to Houston in the summer have you? It makes DC look like Juneau. But if we can play soccer in Dallas in August you can play in Houston in August. But for God sakes, play the games at night. And people, I cannot stress this enough, please turn on your sarcasm detectors before someone gets hurt.
If you're talking about Ted Leonsis (principal owner of the Capitals), he said it in an online interview with the Washington Post not to long after AEG took over. He said he loved the team but the business structure of the league was not acceptable to him. Dave
Yea, that's what I remembered. Thanks for the (bad) memory/fact. Again, I didn't say this proved anything, but it was one example of a potential investor being turned away by the league business structure.
The Bandits and Bulls actually led the USFL in attendance at least one year each. Denver had the other one, I believe. And the Bandits were, I believe, the only (or one of the very few) USFL teams to make money. He also assumed room temperature not long thereafter. This must be part of the curse, too!
First off, whenever the Falcons make the playoffs, they sell out their home games, unlike Miami. Secondly, we haven't had a team move or fold since the Atlanta Flames, unlike Miami has and still might again with the Marlins. Heck, when Atlanta had the Atlanta Knights in the IHL, they drew around 13,000 a game! Too much is made of the Braves attendance, they do well on the weekends, on the weekdays, it is difficult to fight an hour long drive out to the burbs to get your family and come back to Turner Field. Plus, you are neglecting the fact that around 75% of Atlanta's population is transplants. They root for other teams in other cities, and the Atlanta teams, save for the Braves, have not given them any reason to change that. Would you stop rooting for the Redskins (or whoever) if you moved to St. Louis?? Would you put as much time and money into going to Rams or Cardinals games as you would Orioles or Skins?? No...that is the problem. With soccer, you have a different situation...no lifelong loyalties, a young league, a sport that is very popular in this area, an area that produced 2 World Cup nats... Another problem is stadium location, people are afraid to go to the GA Dome or Phillips Arena because it is in a shady part of town. The business men have tried to prop up downtown for so long, when suburban stadiums would have yielded better attendance, parking, etc. However, you see the results of the new Falcons owner trying to make it safer and more fun to go to Falcons games, they had 50,000+ for home preseason games for a team that was 7-9 last year. Anyway, a Northeasterner like you, who has longstanding franchises like the Washington Redskins, Orioles, etc. can't possibly understand or relate to what Atlanta is like, you expect it to be just like where you are, and it isn't. Now that I think about it though, the Wizards and Caps haven't exactly drawn great (only in the Jordan season), and the Washington Senators moved from DC...twice, Baltimore couldn't keep an storied franchise like the Colts!! So, let's see, that is 3 DC/Baltimore teams that have moved out of that area (if you don't count the Bullets switching from BAL to DC, and the Stars moving from BAL to Philly in the USFL) to Atlanta's 1 (which was actually well supported). If that is part of your ignorant criteria, then DCU needs to get the hell out of that market full of apathetic sports fans. Hell, why don't we just put MLS franchises in cities where other sports are supported well, I can see it now... Green Bay United, Cleveland Rangers, Sacramento Strikers, Utah Saints, great idea....But, if we are going to do that, we need to get the Crew out of that Crap sports town in C-Bus...they only care about Ohio State.
In all seriousness, the most ideal scenario for MLS expansion to Houston would involve getting Bob McNair on board and having the team play home games at Reliant Stadium. Yeah, it's a huge NFL stadium, but like Hunt in Kansas City and Kraft in New England, McNair would control all the revenue streams at Reliant, it's got a wide natural grass field, and most importantly, it's a retractable roof stadium with air conditioning. So if Houston were having one of its August 100-degree days with 80-90% humidity, the fans watching the MLS team play would do so in 72-degree comfort.
> What the MLS should do to expand is have a > relegation/promotion system. I agree. We should have a lot more MLS promotion, such as TV ads and newspaper articles. The league should relegate the responsibility for this to the individual teams, assigning money as is needed.
I didn't rephrase the quote, I rephrased who said it from Doug Logan to MLS Commissioner (Who, at the time, was Doug Logan) to get around the comment that Doug Logan isn't in charge any more. The promise was made by the Office of the Commisioner of Major League Soccer.
Re: Re: My Predictions Nope, you're the first person in history to suggest, what is it called?.. .Um ...Promotion/Reglegation in the USA. I'm sure it will provoke some thoughtful comments.
Please elaborate. What exactly is relegation/promotion? Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be the saviour of MLS. Great idea!!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: My Predictions Humans have existed for several millions years, the vast majority of which we had no cities and no cars. Given their physiology, it would be difficult for them to build things even though they are in fact much smarter than you.
I think they should do "nominal promotion." That's where each year, the lower league gets the name of the league above it, and the upper league gets a completely new name that sounds even better. Kind of like when the English decided that it was too plain to have four divisions labeled First, Second, Third, Fourth, so they went with Premier, First, Second and Third. This precise scheme wouldn't work for us, because only the English are so insular as not to know that premier is just French for first. So here's my nominal promotion plan YEAR ONE -- MLS would become Super MLS. -- The A-league could either take on MLS themselves, which would allow Rochester to achieve a long-cherished dream; Or else they could try to convince their fans how much better the soccer was since the league went Double-A. -- The PDL would become the PSL league, in honor of their ambition to one day draw enough fans to start requiring Personal Seat Licenses. Most fans and many players won't even realize the league changed names. YEAR TWO -- SuperMLS becomes UltraMLS, -- WUSA, catching the renaming fever, becomes the Dames League, and cynics dub the championship the D-Cup. -- The former AA-League stands pat after landing a major sponsorship deal with Alcoholics Anonymous -- The PSL, in a burst of hubris that prompts international trade wars, renames itself the English Premiership. YEAR THREE -- MLS decides to take on a name that expresses simply and elegantly its domination of the American soccer scene - meaning they name themselves the A-League. -- Like so many who tried recovery and failed, the former AA-League becomes the Budweiser Enrichment and Excellence Ring, commonly known as the BEER League. -- WUSA is reduced to a single barnstorming team that travels the country playing against boys high school teams. The only team that ever loses to the WUSA all-stars is Kebzach's Springfield Lutheran team, hung over because ... well, I grew up in Springfield, so I ought to know. -- In the one-time PDL, now called the English Premier League, the team from Manchester, New Hampshire, loved by hundreds, hated by thousands, exhausted from the demands of playing the league schedule while most of its players are simultaneously playing in five-a-side coed leagues with their young friends, loses the league title to an upstart team - the Rock Island Arsenal. All the other teams fold.
On Reliant Stadium I won't get into all the pros and cons of Houston for MLS, but I'll tell you about Reliant Stadium. I went to see the Texans play their first game there last weekend, with roof open and the air conditioning on. I was freezing my butt off in there and it was a very uncomfortable, humid, 95 degrees outside. There is no doubt that soccer could be played in that stadium in complete comfort. I'd be curious to know how much the A/C cost to run with cold air just leaking out into the sky. BTW, my eyeball estimate of the soccer width of Reliant is 70-72 yards. Believe me, I sat inside there just fantasizing about opening night of MLS, imagining soccer lines instead of football lines. You lucky bastards in Dallas...
Well, the word around here is that the Seahawks play at home the same week(end) that the Women's Gold Cup games are scheduled. Therefore, off to SAFECO they go.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: My Predictions Aren't you forgetting about the dolphin who jumped into a couple's bedroom apartment window and was arrested for breaking and entering, and some sort of lewdness charge? He later said he, "wanted to watch them sleep." Sicko.