Is the question you are trying to pose to me is an alternative to an SSS? If so, I am not going to answer it because I never got into that debate. I never said anything negative about SSS, in terms of the actual physical buildings. You guys were the ones who put words in my mouth (or writing) that just was not there. I have called SSS as a misnomer and found it interesting that there was someone who not only agreed with me but used $$$ as a replacement. I have done that often myself. Now you know nothing about me. You have no idea how involved I am in the game. I would like to see MLS succeed because we do need a pro league in our country. But I am not an investor. So I expect a good product, like any other product. Or I am not buying it. And it is not my obligation to create that product.
Get into what? You guys have created an argument that I have no desire to get into? You are trying to make this into some problem I have with the Pizza Bowl? Where did you get such a idiotic idea? Do you really want to get into who has a better stadium argument? I don't but I can easily refer this thread to DC United fans. Show me one post where I have said anything negative about your place?
Sorry guys, couldn't resist (but I did try). One last question. Where in the hell do you ever see that quote? Where does MLS ever say anything of that sort? They call them soccer specific stadiums because they are built by soccer owners to house soccer teams. What in the hell is not to get? And where in the hell do you get that they are saying "the game can only be played in a SSS"? You do realize that SUM (the marketing arm of MLS and probably the most brilliant business idea of the last decade) LOVES to sell the US and Mexican national team games in stadiums other than MLS soccer specific stadiums because of the very reasons you mentioned earlier - higher quality product (especially when it is USA against Mexico) that demands a larger stadium, meaning larger revenue meaning more money to keep MLS rocking and rolling? If they were trying to say soccer can only be played in SSS, why the hell would they do that? Now who is the one reading things into statements? For those who have asked that question in more reasonable tones/manners, they have gotten the response in kind. For you, the answer is "dude, what is not to get?"
What a contradictory statement. "I would like to see MLS succeed". It needs venues that are specifically designed to allow MLS to be profitable to succeed. These stadiums are called Soccer Specific Stadiums because they are Specifically Designed to allow MLS to succeed. Yet you're so caught up in nomenclature that serious soccer fans are wasting their time reading this thread because you're too thick to see how much of a nitpick you are and that it is . . . what is that line? Oh yes. "Methinks she doth protest too much." Hence, they ask me to cease and desist. Done and done. Bu-bye.
Again, what argument are you trying to create here? Or is it just the banter that both of us are enjoying? To me, SSS is a marketing term and it is to imply to MLS fans that these stadia are being built for them. Why? To not play second fiddle to an NFL franchise or MLB. Or even a university. To avoid the ugly sight lines that the gridirons produce, including end zones and other stuff generally not painted on a soccer pitch. To ensure that the minimum dimensions per FIFA Laws are followed. These are your stadiums, for you, for your teams, for your sport. Otherwise, why bother with the superfluous SS that precede Stadium. Are NFLSS built? How about MLBSS? NBASA? NHLSR? Nothing more than silly semantics if you ask me. But apparently it does hit some people, one way or the other. Otherwise, why would we have written so many posts on the topic? Look, the stadiums are built to make more money for the owners of soccer teams. We know that is the bottom line. And it is the bottom line that counts. For me, the Pizza Bowl is a stadium. A very nice one at that. Just because I will not add the adjectives in front of it, does not mean I have anything against it. So none of you Dallas fans should be defensive for any reason.
Just when I thought the two of us were making some headway, you throw this at me. What is contradictory first off? I want the league to succeed because I hope that it produces a quality product. Look, we can have the best stadia in the world. And it could also be exclusively used for soccer. But if MLS were to produce nothing more than a high school level game, it does not matter how profitable an SSS can be. The whole SSS thing is part of the business plan and can be a factor in the success of the league. But it is not the specific factor for success.
BTW, who won the game between Wakeland and Centennial last Thursday? On a serious note, how big of a crowd? Just curious, nothing else.
Falc, I have been to RFK on numerous occasions to watch a soccer match. It is nowhere near as nice as PHP. The sightlines are horrible and you are not that close to the action. At PHP, there is not a bad seat in the house. Every seat gives you a great view of the action. I still dont understand all this animosity towards PHP. On a related topic, I really want to beat DC United in the MLS Cup. Their fans really annoy me with all their bravado. I am sick and tired about how they are the flagship franchise. They will probably be the last team with a SSS and hence will still be the only team in the red.
Call me crazy, but as a guy who teaches writing and language for a living that definition b sounds exactly like what Drum'r is getting at.
Should I question our education system then? No offense, I could not resist that open line. Just kidding with you. Before going crazy on me and sending me hate mail, read in between the lines (highlight over my two sentences written here).
So the fact that these stadiums are built with soccer teams as primary resident and controlling entity doesn't qualify under definition b?
OK, let me look at the definition again. a: restricted to a particular individual, situation, relation, or effect <a disease specific to horses> b: exerting a distinctive influence (as on a body part or a disease) <specific antibodies> Part a) specifies restricted, which is what I believe the connotation that most people expect when they read about soccer specific stadiums. Looking at exerting a distinctive influence, I can see where some people would have difficulty in understanding why their specific soccer stadium is used for X-Games, the pointy-ball and other sports/events that are not closely related to soccer. Drum'r reads it as soccer first, which for me is too broad of a definition. You are the linguistic expert, what do you think? Edit: Now that I look at it again, I would say no, part b) does not fit into the definition that these stadiums are built with soccer teams as primary resident and controlling entity.
Certainly would not call myself a linguist, nor cunning, but "exerting a distinctive influence" says, to me, that there is a primary purpose to the object (stadium) that - while it may include other influences (events) - takes precedence. Your problem seems to be calling these stadium "soccer specific" in and of itself, which I find to be arguing semantics at a minute level. Face it, man. Your highhorse is a Shetland Pony.
Look, I have given me reason as to why I object to the use of the term. And I have made it clear that it is me. Now why some of you are making such a big fuss about it, something you need to ask yourselves. If it is as minute as you state, then why bother to argue with me about it?
Considering that you only quoted half of the definitional versions, we're talking about selective hearing on your part anyway. BMiller hit it on the head - take your attitude back home.
There's nothing like having an SSS locally. Incredible peace of mind, and never mind my would-be bullet points, here's the news: PHP (or any other SSS) is an investment. DCU, and other teams who don't have one, and don't seem to have one even in the "talk" stage are telling ME that they're not interested in investing in soccer in the USA beyond fielding an MLS team. PHP and its associated facilities are designed to develop soccer domestically over the long haul. I don't have kids, but empathetically I can appreciate the fantastic facilities and imagine the thrill of playing in the shadow of the stadium, dreaming of making it to the big leagues someday and having tens of thousands of fans cheer me and the team on. Yes, other major league stadiums might invoke these thoughts and fuel these dreams, and MLS stadiums are another avenue to prove up the seriousness of the league. Renting space elsewhere is just that: Renting. It says to ME, "we're just passing through until we sell out or go bust." Never mind HS football lines faintly on the SSS grass, such as I saw this past weekend at PHP. The bigger affront to ME, aesthetically or otherwise is seeing an MLS home game at Rice-Eccles. Or RFK. Or The Rob. Or Giants Stadium. I view these venues as a stopgap, sure, but also a reminder of the gap that exists between having a firm, enduring foundation of pro soccer in the USA, and having a league that we'll tell our grandkids about someday - because it doesn't exist anymore for them to experience. F the aesthetic of other events renting space in the SSS. Soldier Field has concerts, and nobody is dismissing the NFL as being a flash in the pan, are they? There are numerous non-basketball and hockey events at AA Arena, and the NBA isn't being written off for dead, are they? Are the Mavs "bush league" because the circus camped out for a week? Is the MLB on its last leg because The Police had a concert at Wrigley Field? F the opinion of the euro snobs, etc, because they're hating on ANY soccer in the USA anyway, not specifically MLS. When players like Juan Toja tell his buddies at River Plate that PHP smokes their best facilities back home, that generates interest. So does money, and that gets to the heart of Kevin's argument. I don't really give a rip if England thinks MLS is bush league because there were "pointy ball" lines on the pitch 2 months out of the season. I am more interested in domestic interest in the game, since without local support, you've got a nice tourist stop for a small percentage of people who think they've got much better soccer atmosphere back home. F that. Having an SSS tells me that FCD and MLS are serious about soccer in the USA. Speaking only for myself, I respect that commitment and want to be a part of it. I'm fcd_noob and I approve this comment.
Huh? I come on here because someone was questioning high school football games being played at the Pizza Bowl. Read through the threads. Posted a comment made by England66 where I agree about the term SSS as a misnomer. From there I am accused of being anti-SSS, anti-Pizza Bowl, anti-MLS making money, etc. I guess some of you have an agenda and figured to get it off the chest with me. I don't know what your problem is. You come along with the pretext about teaching writing and language, make a feable attempt to dispute a definition I posted and have the gall to call me condescending? If I could only write what I want to say at the moment. Unbelievable.
Given that you refuse to call it by it's proper name or even its much-easier-to-type acronym, it's not difficult to see why that may be the case.
Wow, if I only had seen the two responses after Miller before I wrote mine. What is it with you guys? Do you want to turn this into a team rivalry thing? I root for DC United. Is that a problem? If you think it is as easy to build a stadium in metropolitan DC or New York, well then you don't know much about the two areas. Frisco is not exactly Dallas, is it? But it is a developing area, many homes being built and they have a fantastic soccer complex that adjoins the stadium. There was a lot of involvement in getting the stadium and complex built, including not only the local high school district but also North Texas Soccer. So you had the good fortune of having a major investor, others to join and plenty of land to build the complex. Why would anyone have a problem with that, especially me? Giant and RFK Stadiums have been more than a stop gap. The two have been around since the existence of the league and are a big part of the history of soccer in the U.S. The two venues are far from evil as some would make them out to be. Now if you think DC United is not serious about the game, then you must have been smoking some good crap tonight. You guys need to get off this insecurity bug. I have no idea why this argument got started in the first place. But it sure looks like you want to pick a fight.
No, it really is your attitude. You know exactly what you're doing and are playing dumb - rather poorly. You've had your chances to leave quietly. You have been neg repped. There are other steps. Go away.
Are you serious? The Pizza Bowl is a great nick-name. If you take a look at the other team I have listed, you may figure out where my parents are from and the fondness for the food that my mother cooks. She makes the best pizza. Come on, the stadium is a bowl sponsored by Pizza Hut. Should I geneflect each time I pass a Pizza Hut restaurant? Touchy, touchy, touchy. How funny.