Leiweke's comments on MLS

HA-HA-HA! HOO-HOO! HA-HA! PLEASE STOP! HOO-HOO! I JUST ATE... HA-HA! AND MY BELLY IS FULL... HEE-HEE! MY STOMACH IS HURTING! HA-HA-HA!

(Does Leiweke post on BS under a pseudonym because I can swear I've seen dozens of posts prognosticating the same stuff?)

 

almost had me

 

I love the name. FSW Producer.

Is Max really as cheesy as he comes off? Ya gotta love it.

Back to the point. Thanks for the info. 20 SSS? I'm glad these guys are optmiistic!!!

 

Love the enthusiasm, but did Tim graduate from the Phil Woosnam school of grandiose soccer claims?

Or maybe he's actually saying that in 20 years, that's what he'll predict.

 

I think soccer being the second most popular sport in the US is just a tad bit naive. But who am I?

I would love to see all of those things come to fruition...that is, of course, if Detroit gets a team.

 

Which end of the spectrum would you rather have the President of AEG be on? Extremely optimistic or extremely pessimistic? You could make a case that realistic would fall under the latter as well.

 

I'd say there's a slight, but realistic, possibility that soccer could be the #2 sport in the U.S. in 20 years time.

The NFL should continue to maintain its spot as the undisputed #1 sport.

Baseball, though, is in decline, and in 20 years how many of the Gen Y parents will be taking their kids to MLB games? The average age of folks attending baseball games could easily be 50+ years old in 2020.

My guess is that the NBA will be the #2 sport in popularity 20 years from now. But remember 25 years ago, the NBA was ignored by most Americans -- the networks hardly bothered to show NBA playoff games, and if they did, it was often a taped delay broadcast at 11pm or later -- so it's possible, though, not too likely I'd say, for the NBA to fall off the map again.

 

I can see Anshutz has discovered the secret of aging.

 

Jamie Trecker picked up the story: http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news/20021009/mlsexpansion.html.

Fortunately, he left out the 2nd most popular sport bit, but it'll probably make it into a few other stories.

 

I think MLS could be the second most popular sport in the US in 20 years.

I know in 20 years when I'm 37 I'll either have season tickets or if I don't live in one of those 20 MLS cities I'll buy the shootout package.

I'm sure there's lots of other soccer players my age who feel the same way.

 

I have to admire his optimism, but 2nd most popular sport in the US in 20 years? Haven't they been saying that for the past 20 years?

My god I wish it could be true!

Oh well, while his predictions were a little too optimistic, I guess someone has to have the vison to drive AEG.

 

Awesome comments by Leiweke. Nice article! I hope everyone picks it up. Hey, big talk is important. Often people will ignore something if they don't think it will ever become something significant. When they think it might though, they often check it out, and some like it and become fans. Just by saying things like "2nd biggest sport" will get some casual fans to give watching soccer a chance. That's MLS's growth area.

I love the idea of interleague play with the MFL. That should generate good attendance, revenues, and expose a lot of people to MLS. Some will become polarized against it (because they only came to see their MFL club), but others will begin to recognize that MLS is a pretty stylish and competitive league. We'll gain respect, and probably some fans. They'll also notice players like Jose Ochoa, "Chivas" Martinez, Nick Rimando and eventually (hopefully) Guillermo Gonzalez who all have Mexican heritage.

Also, Univision (I think) is picking up MLS matches on TV in Spanish and even an MLS highlight show that airs regularly starting next season. Bringing these avid soccer fans to MLS is a great thing.

SSS would be a huge boon for MLS. Getting revenue streams for the game is huge. Getting the stadiums packed is huge as well. This creates demand for radio/TV deals. Solid TV exposure is what will cause the real surge in attendance for MLS. But until the stadiums sell out and fans demand to see the games (and the Neilsen Ratings show that people watch MLS/USMNT/Soccer in general) there simply aren't any major cable networks that want to show MLS. We need that exposure.

-Tron

 

espn has picked it up. expansion will take place next year... most likely after the 03 season?!?! well i suppose the guessing game will now begin. my money is on oklahoma and seattle. but who will own these new franchises?

http://espn.go.com/soccer/news/2002/1009/1443626.html

 

I think it unlikely that any of you can accurately or even thoughtfully predict what sport will be the #2 sport in America 20 years from now.

Things change, and sometimes they change pretty quickly. Look at the NFL from, say, 1958-1978. The NBA from 1978-1998. Nascar from 1982 (was it even around then?) to 2002.

Who would have predicted in 1981 that in 2001 Monday Night Football's chief concern would be competition from pro-wrestling...fake pro-wrestling at that?

I'm not saying that I agree with Leiweke. But he's got a chance of being right, and he's also in a position to do something about it.

 

Yeah, and if BigSoccer doesn't crash again we can come back in 20 years and see who was right!

 

I liked the comments about the soccer bashing media eating crow.

 

Mike,

You really scare me sometimes.

 

But NASCAR just became an overnight success. I'll bet that in the year 2016, Johnny Trekker will write how MLS is an overnight success.

Sachin

 

i don't think nascar beame an overnight success... it toiled at it for a long time and was a success for a long time... and now it appears to be at it's peak... whether that lasts or not is unknown

 

Often when predicting the future of the sporting taste of America people don't consider the rapidly growing immigrant and hispanic population which already love the game of soccer, Also I wouldn't write off the fact that it is played by more kids in this country than any other sport.

 

That's not the point. NASCAR wasn't seen as a success until just a few years ago. All of a sudden, there were a spate of articles talking about how NASCAR snuck up on the rest of the country while we weren't looking.

Sachin

 

Please read his words carefuly, do not allow your emotions to get ahead of your brain

"Speaking at a soccer symposium, Leiweke said, "Within the next 365 days, the league will announce that it will be adding two more teams. Then, we will add two more down the road."


read " announce "

read " 365 days " ok i am counting

read " down the road " ok how much down ?

this is just PR talk, let's keep our emotions in check, I'll belive it when it comes

 

I hope one of the expansion teams is in Chicago.

 

Nascar having this type of national imprint is a fairly recent phenomena. The problem with NASCAR comparisons is that it has had a die-hard massive loyal following for generations.