ManUtd will tour U.S. in 2004 with CW

i'd like to co-sign this!

 

I did both and had a great time

Seriously, people get so "holier than thou" over this issue which is fine. Your personal boycotts succeeded in generating the 3rd largest event in the history of Giants Stadium behind only a Giants playoff game, and the Pope -- or did you boycott that one too because JP II wasn't matched up against an American Rabbi?

The issue is fairly simple. Man United (and btw, Juventus, Barcelona et al) didn't turn up their collective noses at MLS. They signed on with Champions World who arranged EVERYTHING.

In case you hadn't noticed, there were still some bitter feelings between Charlie S. and MLS after he was canned at the Metrostars. To Charlie's credit, he went out and made a very successful niche for himself.

If MLS were smart, it would bury the hatchet, and get involved. If you can't beat them, join them. Instead, it looks like they will organize a competing tour with Real as the headliner. That will probably work as well, however, MLS does not yet have a great track record of putting on international exhibitions with its teams.

 

That's about it. It's Charlie Stillitano's party, and MLS is not invited. ManU will play whoever he sets up to play them. And it won't be an MLS team.

 

a boycott is an action reqiring mobilization and activism and a cause. this ain't a cause to me. i simply choose not to give over my money period. i think it's completely disrespectful to not play at least two of our country's top clubs.

i don't care if the rest of you go, but they aren't getting my $$$$$.

 

I am a soccer fan, period. I follow MLS because it is an american league and it helps the USMNT. I follow European leagues because right now, they are the best. I would love to see how the Fire would look against ManU or Real but if they play another European team on this tour, so be it. It would still be good, exciting soccer. And it would still be good for soccer in US & MLS.

 

It won't unless MLS gets involved. It fact it would probably do harm if they don't. Keep in mind MLS is completing with these teams for popularity and $$$. People can only spend so much and a tour like this would over-shadow anything happening in MLS, unless they are involved.
The thing is it will be hard convicing them to play MLS. Think about it. They have nothing to gain and everything to lose. If they win, big deal. If they lose, they lose most, if not all, of their cridibility and marketing power. Not to mention they are in compeition with each other further straining relationships between them. This will make it hard to convice them to include MLS but it still must be done. If MLS has to pay a few $$$ to be included it will be well worth it. The rewards of playing, and possibly beating, a team like ManU or Real Madrid will far out weigh the investment.

 

Apparently Sir Alex will be in Chicago today to promote the Soldier Field match, which the Chicago Stupidfa... I mean Chicago Tribune says will likely be between Wednesday, July 21 and Sunday, August 1.

 

Crap, they don't say where he'll be. Probably Nike town, but what time?

 

First of all, these types of tours DO help the sport here. I was watching the KC/Colorado playoff game the other day and I was thinking how difficult it would be to get someone interested in the game in that atmosphere. This is not a knock on KC at all. They have done great things with attendance, and their die-hards offer good support.


BUT . . .


It's not the same as having 79,000 people in one place watching a game. I put together a block of 20 for the Juventus match -- many who were just going for the event. A couple have developed a real thirst for finding more, and have emailed me about the Metros and MLS. I got one from a guy who had no interest in the game before July saying, "did you see that Wolyniac goal in overtime yesterday."

Many current MLS fans became fans at WC 94. you kind of get swept up into it when you are in a big passionate crowd.

Finally, Man United, Barcelona etc. would not be all that bothered by losing to an MLS team during their pre-season training. However, keep in mind that one of the main purposes of the tour is to get ready for the season. Ferguson has mentioned this on several occasions, and he was thrilled with the tour citing it as a reason for the club's best ever Premier League start.

 

Something else

They would be doing this tour to promote them-selves. Losing to an MLS would hurt their efforts a lot. ...If you are right, that's great. It makes it's that much eaiser for MLS to get involved...

 

This is a good point, but it might not even take that. Even though CW and MLS are not all that chummy, they each potentially have something valuable to the other. CW has a sold out game, and MLS has the local presence and resources that would enable CW to lower its costs.

Kind of like national politicians co-opting local political organizations

 

What resources does MLS have that can help lower cost for CW? I'd say that MLS has more to gain from any share agreement than CW.

 

I'd say you're right. CW will keep MLS out of the picture; they are not only promoting a tour, they are promoting their brand.

If MLS wants to play Euro clubs on a summer tour of the States, MLS will have to promote their own package. One can't fail to note CW doesn't promote just any team, but Man U and teams that share its stellar reputation. I don't think we can sell out Giants Stadium playing quality, low-profile teams like Fulham and Real Betis.

On the other hand we did draw big numbers when we played Galatassaray (sp.) -- I think every Turkish family between DC and Boston showed up for that one.

MLS will be out of the picture, again, next summer. My only hope is that we continue to build, here, and pursue participation in important international club tournements that actually mean something.
Let's develop to the point where people spinning off the Big Circus find a similar product on the field at MLS matches. C W can only offer one-off events; MLS offers a season.

 

Everything involved with game day operations as a start -- ticketing, security, city liason, volunteers, stadium operations, team and media logistics. Have you ever been involved in putting on a professional sporting event? There are a million details that - for example - The Fire's staff can do in their sleep. CW will have to pay someone for these services.

Also, an existing pr/marketing staff. CW might not need it as they did very little promotion to sell out three of the games last year.

I'm not saying its going to happen, but if CW agreed to a double header with a Fire League game, they could probably arrange to give them a cut in exchange for all services that would still be a lot less then hiring someone else to put it all together.

 

Well my experience running sporting events is limited to an internship I did with a college football bowl game, but here are my theories:

Ticketing would probably be handled by Ticketmaster or Tickets.com.

Security is arranged by the stadiums - MLS teams have almost nothing to do with the actual security of the building.

City liason? Not sure what that is, or if any teams in MLS have liasons with the city.

Volunteers? Wouldn't MLS volunteers want to volunteer fo the CW event anyway? I think that's what happened at the game at Giants Stadium last summer anyway.

Stadium operations? Again, that is a stadium thing. Who knows the stadium better than the people who work there full time?

Team logistics? How is an MLS staff going to know what these European teams want? I would think that one of CW's strengths would be their relationships with the teams they are bringing over.

Media logistics? Maybe, but I think CW already has a PR staff. Who has been doing the press conferences and stuff up to now?

Marketing staff? Maybe, but the games pretty much sell themselves. And besides, would you really want the brains behind MPF selling your event?

My point is that CW has very little to gain by hosting the doubleheader. They will likely have a full building with or without an MLS game added. The MLS game will do little to sell tickets, so why would CW want to share the profits?

And why would CW want to share the spotlight? What good does it do them to have fans see how good the Fire or Galaxy are? (Okay, maybe not the Galaxy...) They are in competition for the consumer dollar, and exposing fans to another brand that they don't profit from is only risking losing future customers.

If there really is a big divide between CW and MLS, I would guess that CW would want to go it alone, pay a few people to work a few specific jobs on game days, and keep all the cash and accolades for themselves.

In the end the CW thing is like a concert tour. Some people want to see different concerts that roll through town, others will choose to support their local music venue or philharmonic, and some will do a little of both. I think there is room for both in the US soccer landscape, as they are really about different things: one wants to make money with flashy events, and one wants to be a long-term league that helps develop American players.

 

you come to the u.s. you should play at least the champs. end of story. all the rest is bullsh!t. it's disrespectful.