I don't know if this has been debated for a zillion times or not as a relative newbie, but does anyone here see MLS moving to the international schedule at some point in the semi-distant future so we can compete in the Copa Americas and such? I obviously know doing so will hurt revenue, so I'm not proposing we do it this year. But at some point, once revenue stabilizes, is this something we should try?
No,no,no, NEVER.Don't know where you are located but playing outdoor soccer in Chicago December-February will not draw.
I expected this guy to get flamed for this thread the instant I saw the title, and when I saw that Segroves was the first to respond, I feared for the worst. Then he comes up with a very tactful, intelligent and straightforward response. Wow...
MLS can keep the current schedule in my opinion, but the season should start one month earlier (play March games in the warmer South). There should also be a break in the summer for tournaments involving the national team (such as the World Cup, Copa America etc). This would accomplish several things: - MLS teams would have a better chance in the Champions Cup - The long offseason would be shortened. - MLS teams wouldn't lose their players for crucial season games.
I agree on starting in March. The weather may not be great in some cities, but even starting in early April is a bit of a crap shoot as well. During non-WC and Copa America years, they could simply go by the FIFA schedule as to not conflict with qualifiers/friendlies. It just doesn't seem right that teams have to lose players high quality players.
Mike used to be like this before he discovered the pleasures of the MLS Rivalries forum. He was never the same. Some people blame Ted Cikowski, I blame it on Hans.
They could take a semi-break for Copa America, but still keep the teams playing. The trick would be to schedule a more inclusive Open Cup during that time frame, with more lower-level teams and MLS joining at the round of 32. Play the games at the lower-seeded team's home, provided it's a FIFA-sanctioned field. If a game is played at an MLS stadium, they could have viewing parties with the Copa America match shown on the big screen. If you really need your US and South American internationals in order to beat the Mid-Michigan Bucks, well, you aren't going very far in this tournament anyway. If the schedule is tight, the easiest way to solve that is to have a Wednesday night game every week, so that six games are played over the span of 5 weeks. Teams would only have to do a double week every 4-5 weeks, and would only have a couple of Wednesday home games a year. Tom
I don't want MLS to change schedule. The current schedule matches well with the weather across the entire country and with the youth soccer schedule in the US. I don't think the schedule should keep the US National team out of Copa America, just use more Euro based players or let the backups play. That happens during the World Cup.
Yes, the Fusion and Mutiny could play more home games at the beginning of the season. No wait... Actually, this isn't a half-bad idea. It might not be a complete month earlier, possible only 2 1/2 or 3 weeks. And the league would have to plan for about half the geames to be postponed. I know in Denver there are some beautiul, sunny days in March. But in 2003 we had a 24" blizzard which shut down everything. So it would be a crap shoot but do-able.
Now being a native Californian I would say heck yeah go for it. But after moving to DC as of this March, I'd say NO WAY! Even starting in March is too early for most MLS cities (DC, Chicago, NE, NY/NJ, Denver, Columbus, KC). MLS doesn't have a long offseason, in fact thier off season is slightly shorter than MLB and much shorter than NFL. I think once the league has somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 teams they could look at breaking up the season to allow for tournament play, but as far as being on the same schedule as South American teams, remember, their summer is our winter, think about it.
I think the idea would be to break after the Thanksgiving weekend, and return in late March through, say, July 4th. Leave the rest of July and August for Copa America, international matches -- and baseball. I approve. I have been hawking this notion since the BS site came online.
March in DC is too much for you? Girly-man But I think for the competing-against-other-sports reasons, the summer is the way to go. Eventually perhaps with an earlier start and later finish but with a 2 or 3 week sabbatical at the height of summer.
That's a possibility as well, you could play a couple of more midweek rounds to squeeze out some more time for a summer break. March games might be a bit uncomfortable, but so are October playoff games in Chicago. I personally think the upside far outweighs the negative aspects... I think most of us agree that MLS has a very lengthy offseason (for a soccer league). I don't really see the point in comparing MLS to baseball and football...
MLS doesn't like midweek games. I'd love to have a longer season, the offseason is terribly long and boreing.
I know, but some compromises need to be made if an entire March schedule is to be avoided. The current situation is very unsatisfactory and if most problems can be solved through the proposed solution, then having an extra 1-2 midweek rounds is a small sacrifice to make...
A true spring to fall schedule is and ought to be a nonstarter, now and forever. Starting the season a touch earlier, scheduling the overwhelming majority of early-season matches in more southerly venues, and easing up on the schedule during summer international season, is an attractive way to tweek things, and should be explored. That would be doubly true during the World Cup, when most serious fans will not want to watch both the international matches and the MLS matches, and the MLS product would be hurt too much by all the missing stars.
This is not true as per October and November we usually have a great attendance. January-March is a problem.
Well these are the playoffs, so wouldn't higher attendance be expected, even with the colder weather? No one wants to attend a meaningless game in January in the cold.
The only logical explanation is that someone stole Mike's login, because there is no way that was the real Mike.
Well if you look at his recent posts, nothing has changed. I think he must of been doing his thing on the computer, had to take a dump, and then some twisted little mind, seeing his chance, jumped on the computer and wrote those words, which forever doomed his image.
People who live where it gets cold occasionally own something called a Coat. Some of them also have items called Hats, Gloves and Scarves. The idea of a short mid-summer break in which MLS teams enter the Open Cup one round earlier is a good one. Also, the league should open earlier and run to late November, with the MLS Cup final played the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Y'know, dropping the playoffs entirely would allow for fewer Wednesdays. But here's a question for those with inside info on SSS design for NJ, Colorado and Chicago: Is underfield heating part of the designs?