Re: Re: Re: Re: QUESTION FOR CHIVAS -MX FANS or even rdl or futbol de primera pls chime in: My bad. My guess is they will be booed until the first goal. Sachin
Thanks for the info JMMUSA8. I was thinking it was Colorado that had a non-AEG/Hunt owner, but looking at the MLS website for the team, http://www.coloradorapids.com/site/goal.asp?cid=30 AEG is listed as the owner/operator. Hopefully MLS will have some time in the off-season to refresh their websites... I say Kraft is solid in NE cause he has been and seems to remain in it for the long haul. Whether or not its RK or his son. By the way, teams are actually owned/operated and run by "The Hunt Family", not Lamar these days. Maybe "The Kraft Family" would be the best way to say it, too. I know the Riders are somewhat disatisfied with the ownership, but also grudgingly thankful they have one. Personally, I find Gillette a freakin canyon for soccer, with no noise or atmoshere. But at least it is a new state of the art canyon, uhh... stadium. I do agree with the general sentiment that desicions are not made stricktly based on what is good for the Revs or their fans, tho. So with the small level of interest and energy shown by Kraft outside of keeping its franchise plodding along as an off-NFL-season stadium tenant, and Kroenke just joining in at Colorado, I stand by my opinion that MLS has 2 owners, Anshutz and Hunt. They both operate multiple teams, they both are in it for the long haul, they both have helped out or taken over from other owners. Kraft is solid, but doing nothing, and Kroenke is unproven (but likely to turn out like Kraft with thier strong hold on the sports franchises and stadiums in a specific geographical area, and not much interest in what goes on elsewhere). MLS3, you forget to put the 'NaNa, Na-NaNa' at the end of your last post. You must be a real force in the debates around the monkey bars down at the school playground. But hey, thanks for listening. But this thread is about ChivasUSA joining the league... Do you guys agree that the extra owner is a step forward? That everything from both Vergara and MLS points to them abiding by the rules the other teams follow?
Its funny how much Garber will bend to let Vergara into the league. I remember that Garber wants a city to have presold season tickets (a nice number of them too), a soccer stadium either built or plans for one, and an investor/operator. Chivas USA has 2 of those, but doesn't have the most important one. In order for MLS to succeed, they need to get out of the NFL stadiums and into their own. You're going to do that with owners like Vergara who will house his team in Qualcom. I think the only way I and the rest of MLS will be happy is if Chivas USA plays by the rules (3 SIs, none of this "you must speak spanish" bullcrap), have a stadium built, and has nothing to do with Chivas of Mexico. But say, which they probably will, Chivas USA is strongly linked with its mother club, and they got players going back and forth with 50¢ transfer fees, can New England have that kind of deal with Liverpool. I'd love to see Owen rip the league up with Twellman next to him. Only an MLS fan can dream.
I'd be upset to see $0.50 transfer fees. But a strong relationship with Chivas? Thats thier business, and another reason to revile and hate them, in the healthy my-team-against-your-team sporting rivalry context. I do expect that a couple Chivas players will be sold to MLS and allocated to Chivas USA right off the bat, to link up the teams in the minds of fans. I expect that to be done completely in accordance with MLS rules with no favoritism. I expect Rochester (or whoever the other expansion team is) to get a similar deal, but their marketing plan might call for English or Turkish players. With ManU loving its US tour so much, maybe you will see more English teams involved in the US. ManU has a deal with the Yankees, so why not the MetroStars? As a JMM man I'd expect you wanted an Everton connection at NE... It is unfortunate that Chivas won't be moving into a SSS right off. I wouldn't want to see them at Qualcomm. I suspect they couldn't fill it, football capacity is listed as 70K. Even if they turned into the mexican national team, 70K is a lot of people week in and week out. But, I do expect they could instantly lead the league in attendance if they succedd in flavoring and selling the team correctly. Another reason for healthy loathing. Take this a little farther. Maybe after a year at Qualcomm Vergara and the league see that they can regularly seat 40K, or 20K, or 32K, whatever. They then know what size SSS to build. It would be a disaster for them to build a 28K seater and find it is sold out for every game with thousands waiting for a ticket. Going into the new market, they are smart to see what kind of fan base they get. Another step. Say after a year at Qualcomm they find that the worst element of the mexican fans dominates the crowds. Urine throwing, fighting, debris on the field, families scared to attend. Maybe they decide that they could try it in Houston and see how the crowds are... Let me say that I have seen the fans of numerous other nations, including the USA, throwing debris at players. I'm not saying thats what all or most Mexican fans do, just that it is done and has been a point of discussion on BS when mulling over ChivasUSA.