yeah, it's completely crazy to pine after a guy who brought us 6 trophies and a soccer stadium. Have fun at the white party.
lighten up Francis. I was just poking a little fun because the only time you post anymore is to complain about stadium location. Oh well.
Couple of quick points. The "MLS Snobbery" thing was a joke. Hence the little smiley face. As far as FIFA corruption, strap yourself in. If you support any part of soccer in America, then just wait for Sunil to go down in corruption flames with the rest of them. He has been incredibly invisible these days, hasn't he? I don't support leagues, I support clubs. As I have said on this subject a few times, a new Chicago club is welcome to my support, if they earn it by building the right way. I'm just having fun with the possibilities behind a potential "new Sting" right now, but at this point, it is nothing more than a concept. Bringing Peter on board gives it much more potential in my mind. As far as a "ridiculous push to be considered a first division league," call me an old softy, but I was a fan of the AFL. You are too young to remember, but a ridiculous owner named Lamar Hunt started an American football league with the ridiculous notion of being the top league in this country. The Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos, Bengals, Patriots, Jets, Dolphins . . . are all the result of his "ridiculous" vision. I have always thought that the best way to grow any sport is from the ground up. MLS went against that model. The league was very contrived and would have died on the vine if not for the commitment of Uncle Phil, Lamar and Bob Kraft. It was propped up and kept on life support for several years. Don't get me wrong. I do love MLS and I think they, and Don Garber, have done a fantastic job in growing a league, but that doesn't mean it wasn't contrived. NASL has much more of a grass roots feel to it. Clubs do come and go. Just heard that the Silverbacks are dead, in part because of the Traffic Sports thing you referenced. Good. My completely uneducated guess is that you will eventually have some consolidation of the top leagues. Right now, it is simply MLS cherry picking the top performing teams like Minnesota United, likely to be followed by Indy and San Antonio. From the USL side, MLS already plucked Seattle, Portland and Vancouver (was that technically the A-League at that point? I don't remember), and Sacramento is sure to follow. None of this bothers me in the least. If done right, I will be Sting until I or they die. After following soccer in America all of these years, I wouldn't predict this, but I wouldn't bet against it either -- looking back 20 years from now, the Sting could be Chicago's team in the top league in the country or it could be one of two teams, or it could be dead and buried again. The Fire? I suspect it will be something. I think you lot will limp along for another 6-7 years until the new TV deal is within sight and Hauptman can begin valuing his asset based on that new deal. That will be the one that will jump the value closer to the half billion to billion range. This is a chance at a properly run club in the City of Chicago. I'm comfortable letting it all unfold and I am not concerned with the league.
I doubt it, Cosmos has money and the brand is better known, yet even low budget Red Bull (resent LB) still draws way more. Don't underestimate MLSsnobs that would never support lower D soccer.
The Sting tho? Not feelin that. I think MLS should take a hint, and collapse the Fire. Work with The Sting and NASL to bring em to MLS as the rebranded Fire. New logo, new ownership, Wilt, etc. Dreamland, maybe?
Repped for use of "MLSsnobs!" I think I should trademark this. I'm not sure if the Cosmos have the money that you think they have, and frankly, I don't know much about the money backing the Sting revival, so stay tuned. I did hear something interesting on Soccer Morning with Jason Davis this morning. I normally don't think much of his show, but I had the radio on at the beginning and he referenced a conversation that he had with PW this morning. I don't know if it were taped or not, and I wasn't in the car for much longer, so more may have been said than this. But what I did hear was something along the lines of, "if you expect the Sting to play in SF or in some small HS stadium, then you don't understand the plan. The plan is for a stadium within the City of Chicago, to be built and that can hold as many as 20,000. So, he obviously got that from Peter. Can that happen? It does seem pie in the sky, however, you look at what he was able to build in a city like Indianapolis in just two years, and you have to wonder why he couldn't build something similar in a City that is four times the size? Especially if he can get permission to build in a good location and if the venture really does have money behind it.
Well Wilt did leave before Indy11 secured their stadium, someone posted the I11 stadium funding request and the numbers did not seem to add up (on how stadium taxes would pay for the bonds). I hope that I am wrong and they can build a nice (hopefully smaller than 20K) stadium with in city limits, but just like I do not play the lotto, I would not put money on it happening.
You can listen to his interview with PW from today: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/soccer-morning/id633517363?mt=2
So did the Cosmos, 2X NASL champs in 2.5 years and a bigger name DP than the Fire (Raul). It is just that very few people pay attention to the NASL unfortunately.
and knowing the Indiana legislature, eventually they'll come up with something. Not what IN111 is asking for, but something they can work with.
Ding, ding, ding. Of course, my greatest soccer support memories involve a little D3 team in San Francisco that punched way, way above its weight and had no one paying attention other than a little group of 50 really dedicated fans and a few hundred others that would show for games. So, if they are run properly, I will be in hog heaven even if no one pays attention. If I lived in NY, I don't know that I wouldn't follow the Cosmos over NYCFC (I would be one of those Hudson River Snobs that wouldn't support Red Bull, however).
Considering the COSMOS play in Uniondale. I will take the attendance as it is. You realize that MLS had the worst ratings for a MLS CUP in a long time. Also note that the original Oil Barron,before CFG, Lamar Hunt put a team in Dallas called Dallas Texans to compete directly against the Cowboys. This has been done before. The ABA vs NBA is also a good comparison. The MLS is a young league to think it's not going to have competition is just being naive.
The way that MLS is picking off the well capitalized teams in the NASL and USL, I can see three scenarios for the Sting. 1. Somewhere down the line, the Sting becomes the second Chicago MLS franchise. 2. If the NASL survives, the Sting stay in the NASL as a well run and supported D2 club. 3. If the NASL does not survive, the team will either disappear or move to the USL because it is run well. Personally, I would hate to see #1 happening. I used to and still love the Fire, but I cannot support it any longer the way Hauptman runs the damn thing. I would hate to see the competition because the Fire will lose if Hauptman is still in charge with Wilt at the Sting. I think the Fire will end up being like the Cubs and I don't want to wish that upon those that continue to support the Fire. I think what I would like to see is the Sting folks buying out Hauptman and turning the Sting into the USL side. That would be a win-win for everyone involved.
A follow up on Sal's derogatory NASL post. I will admit that I didn't follow the league closely, but I spent a few minutes looking over the three new teams this year, and I got to admit, there are really interesting things going on in this league. Even if some are just PR stunts, at least they are fun. Miami FC, I kind of thought of as a joke, but look at their web page: http://www.miamifc.com/home They have their shit together way, way more than Beckham and his group. Paolo Maldini as an owner. Alessandro Nesta is the head coach. Of course, it is unclear if they have a stadium yet. Puerto Rico FC is owned by Carmelo Anthony. Not a co-owner. The owner. How awesome is that. Then, Rayo OKC (perhaps the worst name in sports) is owned by the Rayo Vallecano owner and a local who has several health care businesses. Good stuff.