Detroit Soccer Thread, Part III

So back behind Aubree's, huh?

I'll have to check it out...

 

RIP Detroit Soccer Thread, Part III

 

It's not dead, it's just taking one of its regular hiatuses until something else comes along. I'm sure we'll be talking again about something... somewhere, in a few months.

 

Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do.

 

i think the above post officially makes this thread dead

 

Too blave

 

BTW, speaking of "mostly dead," there are more pics of Tiger Stadium in the "Converting stadiums" thread in the USL forum, as well as a short rehash of what we've talked about here annually for the last five years or so.

 

well since I've been away from bigsoccer for 3 months trying to deal with med school applications, I'd once again throw my support to the Wayne site... but I'd scrap the current stadium and start over. Tear down the current bleachers they have there and build a nice 20k seater. The location is near perfect for accesibility and the area is springing up nicely too... Lofts and other residential development are gradually creeping up Woodward at the moment. Hell get WSU to pony up some money and share the space with the football team... a good facility like that would help in recruiting for a program that basically exists now as a whipping boy for the other GLIAC schools.

oh, and the fact that I'll likely be living in that neighborhood next year might help too...

 

hey guys,

i think the ignition kick off soon.

love
jeff

 

Bwaaahahahahahaha!!!!!

 

something different anyway. it's nearby, so i'll check it out.

 

Tell me what it's like to spend $22 a ticket for indoor soccer and $7 on a beer.

 

well, $20 on a ticket beforehand. my wife is into indoor soccer, and supposedly much of the $ from whatever her source is goes to some charity. whatever. personally, i'd rather be headed to dc for the eastern conf final, but if i'm gonna make it to dallas on the 12th, i gotta limit my travel

 

between the construction on m14 and no traffic management at the arena, the arena was 1/2 empty halfway through the first quarter. in the end, they said it was about a 4000 seat sellout.

having never really watched indoor soccer, i guess i was pleasantly surprised. at such a small venue, you can see everything, and it was all very quick and controlled, especially since longball is not an option in this game. the game was almost exclusively short controlled and often unexpected, even clever passes. play off the boards wasn't too excessive either as far as i could tell.

i guess damarcus beasley's brother jamar is on the ignition. the dude looks and moves just like damarcus, it's uncanny. he scored unassisted on a breakaway where he got around the goalie wide left and shot an oblique goal, again looking alot like damarcus.

all in all, i acually had a lot of fun, but yeah, $20 is too much for a game like this. at $10 a ticket, i'd probably go to alot of games, but at $20, i don't really think so. still, i'm glad i went at least once.

 

Much like he did when he played for parts of several seasons with New England and Chicago in MLS.

 

I might hit up an Ignition game at some point to see Jamar play again, but they're out of their mind charging $20.

 

Interesting trivia: in the article about the Houston Dynamo making the Concacaf Champions Cup, it lists the Detroit Express as playing in the 1983 tournament. Unfortunately, they never actually played in it, listing a forfeit loss, from the year-by-year pull-down list:

http://www.concacaf.com/competitions/champscup/viewArticle.asp?id=3628
USA's Houston Dynamo progress to 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup(tm)
USA clubs at CONCACAF Champions' Cup(tm)
1983 - Detroit Express, New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

http://www.concacaf.com/viewCompetition.asp?id=140
1983 CONCACAF Champions' Cup / Copa de Campeones
Series D
20.3.1983 Independiente (SLV) - Detroit Express (USA) 2:0 Forfeit

 

In a related story...the NASL also thought they were too good for the US Open Cup too.

 

Just like the NHL has thought itself too good for the World Championships, and occasionally the Olympics if the time zone is a bit off.

Pick your sport ;o)

 

I meant...the NASL could have entered teams into the Open Cup and they didn't. The NHL doesn't enter teams into the world championships, to my knowledge (unless there's a world club championship I'm not aware of) -- that WOULD be cool if we had that in hockey...

 

There is a European Club Championship (as the only top clubs outside the NHL are all in Europe), attempts to attract the Stanley Cup winner to a playoff with the ECC winner, like the old Europe vs South America event in soccer, have been unfruitful.

 

Regardless of that, the principle remains the same. Whether club teams are sent to a competition or whether national teams draw off the pool of talent within the league, it still needs league cooperation and shutdown, like the "international weeks" present in the European soccer leagues.

 

That's a damn shame...really is. I would love to see how the NHL would measure up against clubs teams from around Europe.

Even more....I would love to see the teams in the NBA actually back up their claim as "WORLD" champions and take on the champions of europe in a champions league style format. Maybe one day...

 

Looking for contacts at Detroit area soccer clubs (whether indoor or outdoor) to put on some promotions related to the Canadian Grand Prix of Subbuteo which will be held at Patrick O'Ryans in Windsor on March 24/25.