Now I'm not a fan of all star games in any sport but I realize that its kind of an American sporting tradition to trot out the best players from the league and showcase them. With that being said however there needs to be some changes.I for one (if I was the Don) would decree that the All-Star game would go back to being East vs West. Sure the MLS All-Stars held their own from 05 through 08 when they won four straight but it didn't generate any buzz within the established media elite. Now flash back to the last two all star games against Manchester United, the MLS All Stars lost 5-2 and 4-0. Guys on Around the Horn and PTI discussed that the league must be really bad if not even the best players in the league could beat Manchester United. On the flip side if they would have won, the narrative would be along the lines of I hope an All Star team full of the best of the best could beat a European club. Basically the All-Star game in terms of showcasing MLS talent to a broader audience here in the US is a lose lose situation. That's why the MLS needs to go back to East vs West. This way all of the talent from the league is on the field playing against one another having a little bit of fun and who knows maybe they will throw some flair into the game instead of focusing on the final score. This is a better way to market the league IMO or if you think East vs West is stupid then do the MLS World vs MLS USA like they did one year or any combination but use MLS talent to be the showcase, not a big European club.
You're going to have to cite a source on this one (at least for PTI). As I remember it Wilbon and Tony were very much "Hey, ManU is the best team in the world. This result is meaningless."
ASG is a meaningless side show. Get rid of it. If MLS is at the level of depending on the extra $ from it, then...
I understand why they do it (play popular EPL team). If I were the Don I would get rid of it and then probably get fired right after . What I would like to see for personal reasons is an all star game between MLS all-stars and say all stars from a combined Scandinavian squad or a Japan all stars (or China or Korea). But I have a feeling very few in the USA or the other countries would care about that game.
We are at the point in the League's history where we need that ridiculous side-show. Simply getting rid of it will, ispo facto, have serious negative consequences to the League. You just can't say "get rid of it". You need to replace the things we get from it (international exposure, revenue, etc).
Step 1 - Get rid of the ALL Star game Step 2 - ???? Step 3 - Profits. Come on I did 2/3 of the work, someone else do the rest.
'international exposure' of best of the best MLS getting f7kced by a single club that is not even serious about it during a mid week?
Have you ever played triangle soccer? It's awesome! You're not scored on how many goals you score, but how few you give up. So like, two teams are always competing against 1 but then it makes sense to change alliances and...oh it's so fun
I wonder how much it actually brings in. I haven't watched an NFL all star game in probably over a decade, I haven't watched an MLB all star game in about as long (even though they tried to add meaning to it, the fools...), and I'm not interested in watching the best of our entire league struggle against some English side, and worse, often (or always?) lose. I'm sure there are a lot of people who love it, but I don't see the point.
The game in Houston made truck loads of money, both for the Dynamo and the league. Money can certainly be had if they want, but I don't think they do it for the up-front cash. The exposer in the press, here and abroad, is worth more. Remember, right now it is more important to get our name out there than almost anything else. Once people know we exist, know what we are about, we can hook 'em. Besides, there is a certain cache about saying "Hey, we are playing the UEFA Champions League Winners! Come check us out!" that can't be bought with money.
And that's fair enough. I suppose if the funds and attention are actually getting to the league, then it's worth paying attention to
Do you have some source? How much net they take in after all the expense? Again exposure? Most people show up to see the Euro club, and they witness MLS Best gets crushed and looks crap. Nice image building up. Hey we exist and we suck!
You do realize that the All-Stars actually have a winning record when playing a foreign team, right? FIFA would record it as 5-1-2 (though you could say 5-3 if you wanted to count the PK loss to Everton). Only the last two years, when playing Man U, have the All-Stars actually lost. Call me crazy, but I don't find losing to one of the top couple teams in the world over the last 20 years or so a stain on the reputation.