I've got a persuasive paper due for my English class. So I decided to "persuade" why MLS is a growing league that will eventually will become one of the top leagues in the world. I've got a few basic ideas but would enjoy some input and other suggestions. Thanks in advance.
1. Business model. Anschutz' model of a SSS with tenents (soccer team, concerts, truck shoes, christian assemblies) makes money in ways that conventional stadia (with 50K seats) can't do. This is consistent with the shift from generic all-purpose stadia (of the 60's and 70's) to specialized parks (FedEx field, Camden Yards) that are built to serve a specific audience and sport (rather than handle a bunch of sports--which would mean that a soccer stadium would need to have 50K seats). 2. Areas to grow. If you want to own a sports team, you can either buy an existing one (expensive) or get a new one/new sport. What leagues are likely to grow? Not the NFL or MLB. Hockey is going to contract. NBA--when it expands--will do so outside the USA. So there is renewed interest in stuff like pro volleyball, golf, etc. And soccer is one of the few team sports available for expansion. 3. No saturation--room to expand. It's hard to see other major sports growing (in terms of teams or sponsorship) in this country b/c of saturation. You realistically can't go to a longer season or put more games on TV for the NBA, NFL or Baseball. They're nibbling around the margins or looking for ways to cut costs. But there is no saturation for soccer. There are lots of realistic growth opportunities. It's realistic to see a soccer team in Atlanta or Seattle or NYC (oh, that's right, there is one I guess). But where would you add another NFL team or NBA team? 4. Growth in the base support. Growing hispanic population with some spillover for USA soccer support. More credibilty to hardcore fans in the USA b/c of USMNT success and success of US players overseas. Lots of youth players (which doesn't mean they'll all grow up to be fans--but it does mean soccer is infiltrating the culture more extensively). 5. Internet-media diversification. We all used to watch the big 3 and that is where we got our knews and info. As Beau Dure has pointed out, many major sports outlets just don't get how internet based soccer is--the online communities, reliance on websites for info. This will only grow (and it will spread quickest among the young--those who are the most exposed to soccer anyway).
If you can get a copy of Offside:Soccer & American Exceptionalism by Andrei Markovits & Steven Hellerman you will learn a lot and have a great source.
Go plunder this board: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=779 These threads are just a few that might offer insight. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99532 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93212 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65206 (By the way, this really should be moved from this board. But I'll wait till responses slow here and then move it somewhere else where it might pick up a few more posts.)
because 'eventually' is a really really long time... as in "the human race may have grown a third arm and crawl around on their bellies by then, but eventually MLS will become one of the top leagues in the world."
Good points JoeW. I would add in that the USA is still a country many foreigners find interesting and worth living in. The US is so vast and big that even the most famous celeb soccer players in the world can walk around in relative anonimity. When the league literally has a majority of its teams in its own homes and the league has expanded to a few more cities this league will be one of the best but I wouldn't say the best. I think England will forever be THE place to play simply because the country lives and dies by the sport and the history between the teams and some of its stadiums can't be matched. What the USA will offer when its kicking in all cylinders is a new environment in which to play that the rest of the world will not be accostomed to seeing. We are the new model foreign car in a saturated market that people in other parts of the world will look with interest to see how fast we can go and what milage we get. MLS is what I consider to be in the concept stage still and is on the verge of a relaunching or renaissance that will bloom into a complete product and when we get there it is going to be a beatiful thing. I like watching the baby steps this league is making with the confidence that most hardcore fans have that one day we will be a hell of a league worth watching like the Premiership.
why don't you write to MLS and get some statistics they have collected about the potential market and other growth oriented data. i know they have a lot of that kind of material. they are very open to all kinds of inquires in my experience.
... mod's note ... I think I'll go ahead and move this thread now. I'm going to move it to the Soccer in The USA board because 1) your question isn't just about MLS, and 2) I can't move it to the MLS N&A board and the regular MLS board kind of sucks. The Soccer in The USA board has some good folks on it though, and they might be able to give you another pointer or two.
Here's a good source for you from the Fulham FC site 3/12: http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/displaynews.asp?id=4846
No mention of this book on bigsoccer has ever been allowed to pass without me posting this review that I wrote for a friend's E-zine. http://www.habitsofwaste.wwu.edu/issues/2/iss2art4a.shtml I had to use my bigsoccer screen name since I already had an interview in the same issue, but anyway... here it is. And if you plagiarise off me, tmas, I'll have to kick your butt. Nothing personal. Just business.
http://www.people.ku.edu/~boroboy/futbolero/articlesmr.html this site has a large bibiliography of academic treatments of soccer. might be useful
As an Anglo myself I am honoured you think we live in soccer heaven. I think that the fact the game was born here does make our football culture special and our top league is the most exciting to watch. But I would add some caveats: Football is not as popular as rugby union or rugby league in some parts of England; it has always been a largely working-class game and many private schools to this day don't even play it; Italy breathes football in a way England doesn't with an absolute saturation of soccer coverage in the media (England has no daily football newspapers). Some stadia like Anfield (Liverpool) have a hallowed feel to them but most clubs' new grounds feel identikit and lack the atmosphere of their terraced forebears;architectural shrines like Wembley's twin towers and Arsenal's Highbury are either demolished or soon to be. The Premiership is being strangled by greed with ticket prices having rocketed in recent years and this has priced many fans and children out. I would say Spain's league is probably above ours in quality (though far below in price) and in Real Madrid & Barcelona has clubs whose stadia and importance to their regions are in a different league to England's best. Still, we are the homeland of football and I thank you for praising us so.