You're on. Sixer of bottles is the bet, and Frank's status as head coach on opening day 2008 is the only decider.
The Scandinavian leagues have their season roughly the same time as MLS does. Yes, weather is one factor but another factor is the Premiere League. While the Scandinavian clubs have die hard fans, the average fan probably supports an English team MORE. So to get these people out to the stadium the clubs play most of their games when the premiership is off for the season. The Eircom League (in Republic of Ireland) changes their schedule to mimic the Scandinavian leagues to get more people to the stadiums as they have to compete with the leagues in Scotland, England and Gaelic Football. (OK, the situation in Ireland is more complicated then that but…) So MLS having the season it does have should not be a major problem as long as international dates are kept in mind when fixtures are set.
I agree here. MLS not only competes with the NFL, but with the increased coverage the European leagues now have here in the States. It's a different concern, but it's a competitive element within the American soccer fanbase. From a business perspective, I think it's smarter for MLS to keep their calendar as-is, and just accept that there will be conflicts with the international calendar . . . those conflicts will be a bigger deal in some years than in others.
I think the MLS should avoid the NFL like the plague.....The USFL destroyed itself almost immediately when it changed from a spring to a fall schedule.... The real problem is that there are so many options in this country. We have leagues for almost every major sport under the sun. In the UK, a sports fan has Football, Rugby, Cricket and Formula 1...and no real college sports system to speak of....everything else is marginal..... The MLS is a victim of the vast richness of the American sports landscape...but it keeps growing and growing.... I'll be honest, if you would have told me in 1996 that there would still even BE an MLS in 2007, I would have been suprised...and if you told me that they were going to start promoting players to the EPL, Bundesliga and other european leagues, begin attracting real talent from around the world, win friendlies against some of the better teams on the planet, win REAL games against some of the better teams on the continent, and have certain matches attract 50,000+ fans, I would have been shocked! The MLS is going just about as well is it could possibly go....now if we could just get the rest of the teams their Soccer Specific Stadiums the league would be just about exactly where it could ever hope to be in the world of American sports.........it takes time folks....but it's happening...
I like this take, point-for-point. In all the complaints and eurosnobbery, nobody ever credits the strides the league has made in barely 10 years. All the world's top leagues took their time to develop, and in most places they are the only game in town. I have a lot of respect for the guys who have contributed to this growth and to the fans who have had faith in MLS . . . even after seeing the first year's uniforms.
Man...those Tampa Bay and Miami uni's.....yeesh.... The other thing I forgot to address....the state of Soccer television in the US.....back in 1996, Fox Sports World didn't even exist.... To catch EPL matches, I had to go to the local Brit expat bar at about 7-8 am and pay 10-15 bucks to see a few matches and eat some eggs, beans and toast....now there are, what? 4 Soccer networks, and a dedicated sattelite radio channel? Do you guys realize that the heading of this thread mentions a nationally broadcast weekly soccer call in show!? In 1996 that was a fantasy that didn't exist! ESPN shows MLS, USMNT, World Cup and Champions League, Setanta exists, GolTV exists, FSC exists....am I leaving anyone out? Soccer TV ratings are starting to overtake some of the "major" sports TV ratings.... Ten years ago, all this was nonexistant and unthinkable.... Soccer is growing in the US and there is nothing the Jim Rome's (or the Sir Alex Fergesons, who has shown his colors as an america hater with this Beckham crap...) of the world can do about it. America will eventually be a soccer nation....but it will also remain a baseball, football and basketball nation....it just takes time.
If the MLS doesn't switch to a Fall-Winter-Spring schedule, it needs to draw up a schedule that does not interfere with FIFA breaks, especially in World Cup years.
I didn't research all the calenders and FIFA's schedule etc, but can we do a split season..... Say 4 months Sept to Dec (advoid summer heat/hummidity) Take Jan-Feb off for dead of Winter.. Then start up again in March (scheduling the first couple weeks in warm weather cities) 4 months March-June. Off July and August for Hot-Humid etc... If we are all in SSS at some point, scheduling should be easier.. - Another concept= more games on Friday nights? Advoid college football on Saturday and pro football on Sundays? -Or the opposite-- once we go to 16 teams (8 games) 2 Friday, 4 Saturday and 2 sunday... TV double hitters ? or a soccer blitz and all 8 games on Saturday and staggered to have all 3 networks show one game after another- so say a 12noon game one ESPN2, 230pm game on Telefutra and 5pm on FSW (all times ET with 1/2 hour pregame show) and then wrap up show at 730p on Saturday night and the show replayed like EPL on Sunday, mon, tues etc...
Not so thrilled with the Doubleheaders idea, but maybe the split season might work. Just don't do anything stupid like our friends to the south do and have two "championships" per year. That's just lame. A winter break is not all that crazy, hell the Germans take two months off....a good way for nagging injuries to go away too... There are options, its just a matter of finding the one that works best for America...
================= Correction on the double hitter idea.. what I meant was to put the 3 TV games on one after the other...Say someone is watching the first game on ESPN2, they then throw up a short promo to turn over to the next game on Telefutra.. Telefutura then promos to FOX.. idea was to keep people watching soccer all day.. Heck , with college football , in the Pacific time zone, I can start watching football at 8am, almost to 11pm....non-stop, all different changes though. so kind of going with that concept..