i love when people say that. just love it. i don't know that anyone argues that. of course, that's like being the tallest midget. and you can enjoy playing philadelphia 20 times a year.
Look if you can refute my critiques, by all means do so. I'm still waiting to hear about the key innovations of the NISL. It shouldn't have been that difficult to come up with something. But I'm not going to stop analyzing and observing the sport just because you don't like it. It's kind of like the thing with 4everStorm. No matter how bad the Storm's attendance was he kept making all kinds of denials and argruments. If you tell me the PASL-Pro attendance sucks I will agree with you 100%, but I'll also add that it's where we expected it to be and it falls in line with our pro formas for teams to be near break even. I'm not going to try to spin a crowd of 178 and blame it on the weather or something or tell people to not talk about it. Is it what it is. What are you going to do to make it better is what we should be talking about. Attendance-wise the Blast are the Memphis Americans and they've turned the game into a Chuck E. Cheese event. I can't say anything more about that unless you try to tell me it's something that it's not.
That is not the point...I want to talk indoor soccer and the game on the field...you CONSTANTLY just bash or find things to make fun of the NISL, Blast or Ed Hale and your bias is SOOOO evident...The Blast are run their ship the right way and by far are the best run indoor team out there...I hope the NISL works or at very least a merger happens and the indoor game gets somewhat stable...but your constant bashing is soo old....can't you just worry about and talk about your PASL???
Stop the presses!!!! I can't believe my ears. Look Syd, The Honorable Mr. Edwin F. Hale actually understands business better than most or all or us here. The NISL is a business first league. For the BLAST to compete against the Ravens (and in a strange sort of way, win), is amazing. Nothing short of amazing. The BLAST still got there average attendance, despite a must see Ravens game in prime time, on a Saturday night. Mr. Hale and the NISL should be applauded. On the flip side, the BLAST out drew the entire XSL.............again. I guess the gimmick of the Xtreme Xperience never caught on.
Hey TERP, don't tell anyone what to talk about. We fans like to talk about attendance, weather, big boobs and anything else that makes us happy. It is fun the bash Ed Hale because he only cares about the Blast and at the expense of all other teams. I'm certain the EHSL will be a smashing failure and I'm a Blast fan. I believe the XSL will fail because it has a major anchor called the Chicago Storm that should have been purge from any league. And I could care less about the PSAL, they have the Cougars and a bunch of what evers............. I give NSL credit he is affiliated with a league and has the balls to come on here and report, maybe the XSL and EHSL should take note. At least we don't have to wonder what is going on in the PSAL.
Why do you think I have a bias? I've been saying the same things for 15 years -- long before the WISL, new MISL, PASL-Premier, EISL, new Blast, NISL, and XSL even existed.
RavenTerp this is why the NISL gets dunked on so hard and so often on this board. Not that they undeserving, but when someone tosses up a perfect alley-oop you can't help but tomahawk that baby. With punching bags like this Evander Holyfield might fight til he's 80 -- and by then he just might be as punchy as Soccer Man.
Sometimes when I read the posts from the Blast crowd, I get the impression that the Blast is all that is good in indoor soccer and the only thing that is good in indoor soccer. If that's the case, maybe the Blast are too good to be in a league with anyone and they should just charge $25 a pop to watch their unfathomably great team scrimmage at First Mariner Arena. They could also have some of the scrimmages in other cities and a few wise men in each city could approach the Hon. Ed Hale with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
or maybe...just maybe...people like yourself, paul, know f-all about the business of this and should stay out of predicting or analyzing what happens. unless, of course, they're two separate audiences (except for you, of course) and it's fairly meaningless. the blast outdrew the entire xsl? there can only be two xsl games at a given time, genius. come to think of it, there can only be two nisl games at a given time. and the mass. twisters sitting on the sidelines, saying they've got next.
I don't feel that is a fair statement at all. With the exception of one individual, no one comes on here only extolling the vitues of the Blast. What I believe is a fair statement is that there is a bit of a backlash against the Blast because of their success on the field and off. That backlash is somewhat exacerbated by an almost universal inability for people on this forum to ignore individuals that are just trying to get a rise out of them. The Blast win championships and draw a lot of fans and as one of those fans, I'm not going to feel bad about that. The current situation with all the leagues is a mess, all any fan for any team can hope is that everyone gets through this season intact and that next year cooler heads will prevail and all of the best teams will come together. Until then, I will enjoy the games available to me and continue to hope that one day soon I will be able to once again see the Blast play the Storm, Wave, Ignition and Ironmen.
100% in agreement. NSL....You are from Baltimore, and have a vendetta against the Blast. Why? Whatever league you tried to establish (arena league?) that is a failure, you need not to bash an established and successful (by indoor standards) club like the Blast. I do see alot of jealously coming from you. Chuck E Cheese.. maybe a bit, but no team from the PASL or EISL or Arena League.. or whatever league you are "affiliated" with or were affiliated with will ever get 6-7,000 fans in their building. So say what you will, Hale has a great front office staff in place putting people in seats. You kind of sound like Drew Forrester back when he was dumped on his keister when Hale bought the club back. The Spirt didn't have the resources or staff to get people in the building. 7,300 fans 5 days before Chistmas is a pretty good measuring stick for any club. Other clubs (other than Philly) would have faired better by "working" with Hale and Healy to see their plan and how they do this. The Spirit would get 2-3,000 if they were lucky playing that close to Christmas. NSL..... Did you work for the Spirit? Are you Drew F? Maybe I am the only one who sees this animosity from you towards your "home town club" Either way.. I still wish you a Merry Chrstmas... but enough with the jealousy towards the Baltimore organization. PS.. you weren't turned down for head teller of the Parkville Branch were you?
Memo to Blast Fans: Yes the Blast do a great job at attracting fans most of them can't drive yet but facts are facts. So let's leave attendance out of the debate. Yes the Blast have one 5 Championships so let's leave winning out of the debate. Now let's debate the owner. Here is a guy that can't get along with anyone, and basically has zero friends. Here is a guy that will do nothing to help anyone. When he was proping up Chicago with BLAST CASH all he did was bitch about it and then went to the press with it. Did any other owner that was aiding Chicago go to the press? Ladies and Gentleman welcome to Hale World. Hale would step on a homeless person if it made him first in line. Hale will fund Twister so he can win the Championship in a league with more teams than John Hantz and the XSL. Merry Christmas Blast fans you have one special owner. Enjoy the 6th Championship in the EHSL. ps Monterrey to Ed Hale "vete al diablo".
Leave the Spanish lingo out of the debate. We are still in America Indoor. Other owners that helped Chicago didn't run to the press... BECAUSE THEY ARE CURRENTLY PLAYING WITH THE STORM!! John Hantz is the only one who helped out.... BTW.. Hale was pissed. You loan someone the kind of money you do and the owners basically slaps you in the face and goes Xtreme... would you not be a little ticked off? Friends... Philly stuck with Baltimore, so we will play Philly 20 times a year damn it! Ed Hale -5 teams as of Dec 23 2008 subject to change vs John Hantz -4 teams Merry Christmas... quit with the PC and Happy Holidays.
Wrong again Bucko, Also I'll put spanish in whenever I feel like it so "besar mi culo" Funding Chicago was: Blast - EHSL Kixx - EHSL Sharks - Folded Wave - XSL Ignition - XSL So don't pretend to know what you are talking about.
and you have this info from what source pal? You called Kevin Healy? Please don't pretend to be important and know something that 8 people in the world are dying to find out. Philadelphia, Orlando, Monterrey and Rockford stuck with Hale, because he is the only successful indoor soccer owner to date. That is a fact buddy. Get over it. Monterrey would have been better off playing in the PASL... I believe their owners made a mistake, and they know it......but couldn't get out of their agreement with Hale. Milwaukee would have stuck with him as well, if it was a fiscally repsonsible move, which it wouldn't have been. NJ won't make it. How long will their owners fund a losing effort in a brand new 18,000 seat arena when they have the Devils to worry about? So Vicktor and John Hantz can play each other 20 times per year......
and what are you pretending to be Bucko? Fact is the owners of the teams I listed were in fact funding Chicago. Not just Ed Hale as he cried in the press.
I don't have a problem with Ed Hale ripping the MISL in the press. For years I was hoping he would be a major force for change, but when given his shot all he did was replicate the last days of the NPSL.
I don't have anything personal against the Blast, I just don't like the way they've run the team. And while selling 3,500 tickets a game is impressive by today's standards it pales greatly to the real Blast I grew up watching. This organization does two things well and just about everything else not so well: They have built strong relationships with groups and sell lots of group tickets and they put a competitive team on the field. Everything else from their game presentation to how they've built the NISL is very poor. Their games are not fun for adults who don't have kids. And the biggest thing for me that makes it not worthwhile to tune out the annoying aspects is the multi-point scoring. Or if they'd kept the Spirit name they could get away with being different and inferior. They've really pissed on the legacy of the original Blast. This version is so far beneath the original it's not even close. It's so bad that even the memories of the original have lost their sheen.
Propping up the Chicago Storm was seen as "the cost of doing business" in the old MISL. Baltimore, Detroit and Milwaukee all chipped in to my knowledge, maybe there is even more. But think of things from Baltimore, Detroit and Milwaukee's point of view. They are trying to be a well respected league, they felt that 1/ it could work in Chicago given time 2/ it was a lot easier to sell home tix to fans to come see the home team play Chicago instead of Wichita, Edmonton or Wenatchee 3/ if they did have any delusions of a tv deal or a national footprint they needed to be in big markets. I must confess though, if I was Baltimore I'd be ticked off at funding the Chicago Experiment and then they waddle off to another league. ............and btw Fifaman, NSL2004 is not Drew Forrester. Drew F had one of the most lopsided egos', the most over-inflated self worth, the highest degree of delusional importance of any indoor soccer fan/person I've ever seen. On the ol' letsplaysoccer.com forums the man would sort of come on and lecture to the masses' about how to do things. Any questions or responses were always met with amazement that someone would question his take on things. Problem was some people thought the guy knew what he was talking about.............he didn't. NSL is not Drew F (thank God).
no, you couldn't. there aren't 15-20 people who would spend the money to run a team and a league with that kind of scope. right now we've got nine groups in a basically regional set of two leagues and a few other operators in a league that wants to be something someday, but is a long way from it. you're dreaming about how easy it would be to have 15-20 teams in one league. i don't believe there's ever been a league with more than 15 teams in it at once.