Originally posted by Femfa The "Working-Class Team"? As opposed to the team of "Los Ricos"? Didnt you send a letter to El Universal demanding to see a picture of the Wiz kids.. Well last week rdl posted a link that had a video of the US players taking a piss. Oh yeah you dont take Grandma and the kindergarden class to a footy match. They dont even pay attention to the game and could give a sh'te if the team loses..
Way to stay on topic VS. The cursing is classy, too. nice touch. And yes, I did send a letter, because I was tired of the rampant speculation. I never got a photo, though it should have been easy to attach one. You certainly never bothered to send it. And when I saw rdl's link on the thread topic weeks later, I DID click on it to see for myself. I got stuck watching a whole show of Mundo Deportivo before i realized they had updated the show and the video was gone. So conclusive proof, for me, at least, on that topic is still missing. Though I think it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. And if you believe that people of different backgrounds enjoying a game together in Los Angeles is Grandma babysitting the kiddies at a game no one cares about - well, you're sad. By the way, other MLS teams hold open tryouts - where unknown talent can impress, regardless of pedigree - Chivas is not being revolutionary in that respect at all.
Re: Re: Chivas to play on Home Depot Center in LA Can you name me one player from the Galaxy that was picked up in an Open Try out. Preferably a player that wasnt in ODP or from a College team.. Thank you
OOOOHHHHH Burn! Conclusive proof that other MLS teams don't HAVE open tryouts is offered by VS asking me to name a Galaxy player that has ascended to the team via one. Well, I can't. The open try outs must not exist, then. For that matter, Chivas USA doesn't have a single player they got via open try-outs. Right, because technically, they don't have a team. Details. Of course, when they have a team, if no open try-out players make it - what will happen to VS's theory of the working class then?
Re: Chivas to take Over the Home Depot Center in LA Yeah, there's a name for those guys who don't come through "Camps, ODP and College crap". They're called "Weekend Recreational Soccer Players". The truth is that in today's competitive sports environment, it's nearly impossible to become a professional player in any sport without the best coaching and competition. Even in Brazil they're starting players in development programs at 8 and 9 years old. The fact that very few player make it onto MLS rosters through open tryouts isn't because they're fixed but because there aren't many players out there good enough. Sure, everyone knows somebody who's really good and "better than the professionals on some teams". Believe me, no team is going to turn down a top notch player willing to play for peanuts, but the truth is they don't exist. Brilliant? Yeah, right. More like selling a line of BS to the yokels.
Originally posted by denver_mugwamp Yeah, there's a name for those guys who don't come through "Camps, ODP and College crap". They're called "Weekend Recreational Soccer Players". These players dont have money to go through that process. And i doubt that in Brazil the poor kids in the Favelas have to pay as much money as kids in the US in order to have a solid oportunity of going pro..
Unfortuately, soccer in the US has some unsettling similarities to tennis and ice skating in that the kids whose parents have money will have an advantage. I read an article once where Landon Donovan's mother talked about how some other kids at camp were just as talented as Landon but that the parents didn't have the money to give their kids the same opportunity. It's a sad but true fact and it's been argued to death in other threads. Freddy Adu might have gained many of his skills on the playground but he came out of the US youth club system. There aren't many Freddy Adus who show up at open tryouts.
Why stop with LA? Why not Chivas Chicago? Chivas New York? Chivas San Jose, er... Fremont, er... Houston?
If the two teams do share the stadium, are we going to be seeing a lot of league match double headers (Galaxy in the first game, Chivas in the second)? I suppose that would save money on costs, and most likely guarantee sell-outs for those nights. I don't think the congestion will be that bad because the teams will play each other 4 times, so that leaves 11 other home games for each team (or 11 extra fixtures) and if they do have double headers here and there, then that number will go down. I could see this being very lucrative for MLS.
Who built home depot center ? We have to remember lot of people participated in building HDC.!!!! I believe lot of Mexican and Latino people did. They have every right to chant their own songs in HDC.!!!!!
I can't see D-Headers. Baseball plays few doubleheaders nowadays for a reason: Money! More Specific Match Dates + More $$$$!!
I am just praying that this is a horrible rumor, if this guy is so committed to MLS why can't he just move to another hispanic heavy city like San Diego, Houston, or San Antonio, and build a new SSS, market the hell out of the team and build it up from there just like every other MLS team?? In Houston he wouldnt even have to build his own stadium he can share the team with the owner or the Texans and play in that stadium rent free or at least try. When people here that there are 12 teams in MLS and that they are only in 11 cities it isn't expanding the leagues footprint anymore then just having 10 teams in 10 cities. This wont grow the market in LA it will kill it one way or the other. MLS isnt' a big enough league to have two teams in one city. Either the Galaxy or Chivas will survive with the other team eventually folding. Pleassseee put the team somewhere else like you should have been doing all along, if you like LA so much try to buy it and their stadium outright. If you didnt then it's your own fault for not being their at the begeing and purchasing the team. You were too late, you lost, now move on to option number 2.
THIS IS PROOF THAT MLS BOSSES READ BIGSOCCER BECAUSE I AM THE ONE THAT CAME UP WITH THE IDEA! (ill dig up my thread where I suggest having chivas at the HDC/galaxy at san diego) is this good for mls? I do think that mls should be expanding to different cities and not having more than 1 team on the same stadium, but you have to remember that the HDC cost a lot of money to build. double the money for Uncle Phil and the HDC. Then a year or 2 from now you can move the Galaxy (once nobody starts going to their games)
Because the overhead of building an entirely new stadium is tremendous. Because the name brand recognition for a metropolitan area of 16 million ppl that is home to 1/4 the Mexicans in the US, is quite capable of sustaining 2 teams. The LA basin has more Mexicans than any city in Mexico except the capital. It can handle 2 teams. Oh my GOD it will grow the league's stature. It will garner attention in every market w/ a lot of Meso-Americans. It's free press. It's like reliving '96 w/ all the curiousity seekers, except this time we now have a league that truly is D1, still a cut below MFL, but decent nonetheless. We never garnered the attention of a lot of fans b/c the level wasn't there. I think they'll be surprised. Let me just point out, btw, that I think Baby Jesus II's signing will bring out a wider variety of fans and he will definitely have the attention of the media and fans. next to Freddy, this looks like a bit of a gimmick. But the name brand is sooooo powerful that I think it might work.
Given our recent nuptials, I regret to pick our first fight, oh dearest Muggie, but off come the gloves... Actually, the sad truth is that politics unfortunately come into play in the development of too many elite athletes in many sports, including footie. B/c the stakes are so high, you've gotta come from a certain coach or have some connections. Or you've got to be willing to kiss ass. This is not universal, but it happens far too frequently, even in minor, non-revenue sports. I played w/ a stellar goalie who refused to kiss ass. Guys less talented and savvy made it farther than he did. There was one kid that the Powers That Be determined was going to The Bomb. Although athletically talented, homie never delivered in the clutch but moved right up through the system. Of course, eventually he fell by the wayside, but not after far too many Agoos-esque bombs. Am told that in Costa Rica, the same phenomenon exists of wealthy upper-middle class parents sending their kids to the camps/schools and those guys always make it through. The added component is that they all come from "the right families", which is an attitude all too pervasive in some countries. Like i said, it's not universal and you've got to have the talent to back it up, but it's not so cut and dry.
Hujjebbba WHAAAA??????? "He can share a team with the owner and play in that stadium rent free" Holy Crap, how old are you? Is that your business plan for the MLS? This wont grow the market in LA it will kill it one way or the other. MLS isnt' a big enough league to have two teams in one city. Either the Galaxy or Chivas will survive with the other team eventually folding. Okay, I understand you're from Oklahoma, and want a team - that's totally cool. But you know what? Having one team per 800 hundren square miles does NOTHING for the MLS. Let me tell you something. I live in the Bay Area, and have lots of sports fanatics for friends. They have never HEARD of the Earthquakes (although they are aware of a soccer team here). Look at Miami and Tampa Bay. That's your goddamn footprint. And like Carlos said, Carson is located in such an area that it takes about 1 hour for close to 10 million people to get to it. With that you have a team (Chivas de Guadalajara) that is HUGELY SUPPORTED HERE. Hang out in Griffith park on a Sunday. I would say in shear numbers, we have more MFL fans in LA than NHL. You know all your Eurosnob friends who prance around in their Arsenal jerseys at the pub and argue about whether Zidane is over-hyped? These Chivas fans are BORN AND RAISED soccer fans. They may not ALL translate to ticket sales, and not all Mexicans may like Chivas. But get 17 to 20K in the seats without harming Galaxy numbers? It's in the bag. And Carlos? I think Veracruz is the second largest, LA is third.
This is a brillant idea. I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here, what MLS needs is NOT a national footprint but hot rivalries to draw crowds and keep the fans interested. ***Chivas in LA creates two rivalries-- w/ San Jose and the Galaxy. ***Put teams in media centers: Los Angeles and the New York metro area. Maybe two in New York, another in Philadelphia. Give a team to Rochester, they've earned it. MLS is not the NFL. NFL and franchises MLB franchises can claim their domains and fight to keep rivals out of "their' markets. MLS will gain immensely from having actual derbies. The one team per city is a bit of an anomaly in the soccer world -- I can only think of France as an exception. Just about everywhere else there are healthy intra-city rivalries. That is what we need, intra-city and intra-state rivalries.
few thoughts: 1. Worry about the Chivas having to get a reason to stay in the league. I agree with the posters who said that there is nothing to stop Chivas from runnig a 2-5 year experiment as to whether it is worth staying in the U.S. market. I would like to see them have to get a stronger foothold. 2. I think if they go to LA it won't effect the Galaxy attendance. As a matter of fact, I think any right minded Club America fan or any other MFL team fan that decides to give MLS a look would be drawn more to the Galaxy than to Chivas. Chivas I think would have a harder time branching out with their current approach of, "We are only really interested in Latino-American fans" approach. I know they haven't said that, but it is a vibe that is given off. 3. Any darbies maybe could be held at a different location, but remember this: Instead the home team could up single game ticket prices for that one opponent (baseball does it a lot in certain cities) and raise revenue w/o moving local. That way Chivas and Galaxy could make a lot more off two home games each. Also ticket sales would have to offset rental fees, loss of concessions sales, and parking. Plus you lose the scarcity of tickets concern that helps to draw in season ticket holders. People are influenced by season tickets and their promise of a good ticket for the big games, and season tickets are worth more to a team then a one off game with big attendance. 4. How would HDC turf hold up to 50 games a year on it? That would seem tough. Granted last year was the first year for the field, but it was a huge sand lot. 5. Two teams in a large and diverse enough market is not a problem for fans. LA can handle two teams as long as the teams have some sort of marketing strategy. 6. Double headers are a bad idea. Low revenue. The only time it would make sense is for U.S. Open matches were attendence is through the floor as it is. 7. Could a local telivision station pick up the broadcasting rights for darby games for a price. Seems the two teams might actually get decent advertising money out of this darby if it worked out. 8. Anyone see race riots coming of this? I could, not what LA or MLS needs. Just imagine what a field day Jim Rome would have with that. 9. I don't care where Chivas goes. Lets get the league up to 16 teams in no more than 8 years and then strenghten the league w/o expansion.
Don't forget to pick up tortillas at the store... I don't think we've really had our first fight. It doesn't matter if a kid's parents don't have the money or if he's not the coach's darling, a kid that doesn't get the recognition is going to have a hard time developing in US soccer. I think we both would agree that there needs to be more opportunities for younger players, especially from poor backgrounds. But my point was that there's not a huge pool of players in the US developing "off the radar". In our sport, which requires incredible amounts of skill, a kid who falls behind will probably never catch up.
Veracruz doesn't rank in the top 5. This is from memory: 1. DF 2. Guadalajara 3. Monterrey 4. Tijuana 5. Cancun (!!) I believe this was from the city itself. There are other metro areas that might eclipse Cancun.
50 games? The Galaxy and Chivas USA would combine for a total of about 30 regular season home games. How do you come up with 20 more games?
You're totally right. I was thinking of a Times article that must have been going by State or region, not city. http://www.citypopulation.de/Mexico.html#Stadt_gross It said the LA was third behind DF and Veracruz for Mexicans, and 2 behind Seoul for Koreans.