and hopefully MLS HQ is working on improving that situation, not that is has a quick or easy solution.
The day MLS moves to a Fall-spring schedule is the day I start thinking there may be something to the "Garber is an NFL mole dedicated to destroying soccer in the US" conspiracy theory. Moving to a fall-spring schedule is insanely idiotic and would more likely than not drive the league into the ground, or at least into perpetual minor-league status.
Just curious, but is there any other league on the planet, at last one of consequence, that plays when the playing surface is frozen solid? Because that's what you'd have in several MLS cities, and for a helluva lot more than a month most winters.
insanely idoitic? please explain how switching the MLS schedule, at some point in the next 4-12 years or whenever, from the current spring-fall alignment to a more Fifa-friendly fall-spring with a winter break schedule would "more likely than not drive the league into the ground, or at least into perpetual minor-league status." Because I happen to think a new schedule that ran from fall-spring would actually help the league and would appreciate hearing the views of those who think such a move would actually be non-beneficial. I can understand people wanting to keep the status quo, and wanting to avoid the cold months for play, but I don't get how a change to avoiding the hot months would be ruinous for the league.
no, but i am aware of northern country leagues that have long/extended winter breaks and/or postpone games when the surface is frozen. i am also just curious, but is there any other league on the planet, at last one of consequence, that plays when the playing surface is above 100 degrees? it's a complicated problem that US has with being a geographically big country with seasonally extreme weather, but MLS can and should be working on getting the most beneficial schedule within the calendar, and I do see MLS HQ making the decision at some point to try out a fall-spring schedule.
Soccer is the #1 sport in all of those countries (or at worse a very close #2 behind hockey), none of those leagues have to compete with the juggernauts that are the NFL and college football.
with an MLS winter break (during NCAA bowl season and the NFL playoffs) and only the non-vital opening months part of the MLS season going up against other fall sports, i think both of the "ruinous" items you listed would actually not be so bad for the league. or at least not as bad as the current schedule that has sweltering games in the summer and competes directly with the WC and other continental competitions. MLS has competed with the NFL and NCAA football for the last 10 years (there's no real way to avoid it), and changing the schedule to fall-spring wouldn't really change that fact.
I agree with you about taking a break for the WC every 4 years but other than that the schedule is fine as it is. And just how long is the winter break going to be that it'll cover the entire bowl season and NFL playoffs?? It'd have to be at least 6 weeks, stretching from mid-December to early February. And as for "sweltering temperatures", that is easily fixed by playing more mid-summer games at night. Night in Dallas or Houston during August is hot but not unbearably hot. High noon in Boston in February is still fvcking cold.
actually there are a few other problems with the current schedule: it doesn't break for Fifa dates in WCQ years, it runs concurrently with MLB which has loads of tradition, the transfer periods are off/awkward from other leagues which may want to become more active in acquiring MLS players, the MLS season ends has NFL and NCAA football are starting up. right, both systems have their weather problems, but if you're going to have a league schedule that changes every 4th year to accomodate the WC, it just makes more long-term sense IMHO to have a set schedule that never has to be altered fundamentally. and a fall-spring schedule (the school year schedule if you will) would accomplish that. yes, i would be for a 6, or even 8-week, winter break. i'm not saying the fall-spring option is the only and best solution, but I could see the league trying it at some point to see if it is a workable solution that is an improvement on the schedule of the first 10 seasons. i'm sure something can be worked out where there are no scheduled games in cold-weather cities during Feb.
The NHL takes a break every 4 years for the Olympics--not that the NHL is an example of a well-run league, but their problems have nothing at all to do with taking a break. The fall-spring schedule competes with the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football, and college basketball, while the spring-fall schedule competes really only with MLB. And the spring-fall schedule might "have weather problems". The fall-spring schedule doesn't "have weather problems", it is a complete no-go because of weather.
So tell me, what's the real difference between the current schedule, tweaked a bit down the line when virtually all MLS clubs have their own stadia (which would allow for far better scheduling and, quite possibly, not playing during FIFA match days) and a fall-spring season with a loooong winter break? I mean, I just can't see MLS being able to play December-February in much of the country. And if you can't play then, you're pretty much forced to start your "fall" schedule in the late summer and extend your "spring" season ending into the early summer.
I thought it had to due with scheduling issues, i.e. MLS needs to use the satdiums when they are available.
MLS is not the only spring-fall league, what about Austria, All of Scandanavia, the Baltics, Russia and some others. In these places the field is turned to ice for Bandy (soccer field hockey) and racing motorcycles with long spikes on the tires for traction.
The only real problem with the current MLS schedule is the overlap between league matches and National Team events / World Cups, etc. If MLS would simply look ahead during the years where these conflicts take place, all you have to do is start the season a couple weeks earlier (deal with the weather; it's only a couple matches), end the season a couple weeks later, and allow for gaps in the schedule so the league can go dark on these days. Look -- I couldn't care less what the rest of the world does. Soccer isn't everyone's first choice here the way it is everywhere else. Stadium issues come into play. And weather matters more here, because fans won't support soccer in extreme conditions here (yet). Especially if the games are taking place at the same time as college football, NFL games, college basketball, NBA games, and NHL games. Changing the schedule to match the FIFA calendar might ease conflicts with international competitions, but it would kill attendance. And if nobody's in the stands, you don't have a league. Period. The changes MLS needs to make involve the number of teams, the number of stadiums, eventually, the single-entity concept. LEAVE THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE LEAGUE ALONE. Stop trying to change the schedule so we can be like places where the sporting landscape is entirely different. Stop trying to change the playoff format every other week. Stop whining about the fact that we don't have a single table, or promotion/relegation. MLS is never going to gain any credibility (or respect) if things as basic as these are constantly being changed every time we turn around. By the way, I also find it funny that lot of the same people who want to go to the fall/spring schedule to fall in line with the rest of the world, are the ones that want to abolish ties, or not award points for ties, or change the points system despite the rest of the world.
thought it was worth mentioning here that the field at the new Bridgeview Stadium is heated and has an anti-frost system build-in, according to this post: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7138976&postcount=10
A winter schedule would absolutley affect attendance. Much fewer youth league tie-ins, for example. People who won't sit in the freezing cold for a sport they are only lukewarm about the sport - and the 100 degree counter only applies for the odd ESPN daytime broadcast, not every game. And a loss of fans like me who live a long way from MLS markets - well, I'll still be a fan, but not attend games any longer. I wouldn't be able to plan my vacations around MLS games like I have for years now. Is demand for tickets such that MLS can handle lower attendances? Or are people stumping for a winter calendar convinced that attendances would not suffer?
no one wants to play matches in the winter. i just think MLS might at some point try to have a set schedule that avoids the summer continental competitions and is more functional with the transfer periods of other leagues. currently, there are no MLS games in most of Nov, and all of Dec, Jan, Feb, March. with a fall-spring schedule with a 6-8 week winter break, the months (roughly speaking) that wouldn't have MLS games would be Jan, Feb, June, July, and part of Dec. a fall-spring schedule could approximately eliminate June and July from the season, and add in Dec and March. this may not seem like a great idea, but i think there is a lot of opposition to it that is lacking sufficient analysis. with a schedule that heavily concentrated the Dec and March matches in the warmer markets (and at venues with heated fields, see Bridgeview construction), i don't think regular season attendance would take a significan hit, should MLS opt to change it's season alignment. attendance woes are currently visible during the playoffs especially. and i'd think more fans would likely attend playoff games in May and June, than they currently do in the Oct/Nov.