I recently read on article on the FSW website ( http://foxsportsworld.lycos.com/content/view?contentId=1448446 ) which talks about the struggling J-league in Japan. While I don't want to find negative publicity to make me feel better about MLS the article did raise the question in my mind about "normal" growing pains that may go along with developing a professional league. I have several things on my mind and in the interest of possible responses I will summarize below: 1 - What indicators are there when a league may be in trouble? 2 - Do all healthy leagues reside in countries with strong youth systems? 3 - How interested is FIFA in seeing MLS or the J-League or any other league survive? 4 - What, more than any other factor, dictates the financial health of a league? Is it the fans who draw the investor or is it the investor/sponsor that sells the fans? I certainly have other questions but I'm trying to get a discussion going first. Regards.
The story is written by a 50 year old Boreball fan. I don,t pay attention to Boreball writer who writes about Soccer.
I was wondering about those giant stadiums that were built for the World Cup, as I knew the J-League clubs weren't going to be able to fill them. It would be interesting to see how the K-League is dealing with similar circumstances.
I wish i had the link but they said something about actually shutting some of them down because they were losing so much money, especially in Korea.
Attendances are up, although only slightly, so how does that make the league struggling. It's more healthy to have attendance increase than decrease.
Japan's economy makes ours look positively vibrant. Except for Japan has been living through it for the last decade. The cumulative effect of that has to be horrendous. The fact the league can eke out any gains is good, I would think. I read that Japan's central bank has set interest rates at 0% - free loans. They can't get any lower. You think our interest rates are low - we still have room to tweak the system. They have nothing left. The column itself was prety short. Short in word count and short on information.
This doesn't suprise me. How many times before this have we seen this happen with the host of Olympics, for example? Does anyone know if Sepp "I'll kiss anyone's butt for a vote" Blatter has paid attention to this? If the world's 2nd largest economy is struggling to pay for it's stadiums, how do minnows like Nigeria or Egypt come up with the cash in 2010??????? I think the J-league is doing just fine. It's not doing great but Japan's been more or less in a recession for over a decade now. It's a complete mess. For nearly 4 years straight, 44 months to be exact, they've experienced deflation. Their banking sector is a mess that they've avoided cleaning up for years. Their GDP growth has been worse than the US', not better. And the outlook isn't any better for them in 2003, either. Given this environment, I think the J-leagues doing just fine. They weren't fillying 70,000 seat stadiums before the World Cup. Why should anyone expect them to do it afterward?
So far so good... Glad to hear the posts. This thread wasn't meant to be "doom and gloom" for US soccer and MLS. I happen to believe that MLS is doing very well despite circumstances (i.e. lack of stadia, current economy) and I think that, looking at it from a more "state of the state" viewpoint, you have to be excited about MLS' future. A rebounding (albeit slow) economy, two SS stadiums, one on the way, a few announcements hopefully pending, and various players making deals or being watched is all very encouraging to me. As soccer lovers, what is the best thing to do? Run out to all the games? Support the sponsors of MLS? Write to our congressmen ? What?
I thought this was going to be a reference to that very funkadelic space ship the Gals are using in their TV commercials.
Re: Re: MLS not alone... Very Funny....but I'll now use that comment as a segway for my next question... I LOVED the Galaxy intro on Saturday. You know, the one that Rob Stone followed with "You know (so and so) is serious with an intro like that....". What an inarticulate way to describe what was clearly the best graphic presentation of an MLS team I have seen to date. It reminded me of (dare I say) Monday Night Football during the playoffs. I'm sorry. But it was wonderful and I think we need more of that professional, polished, refined image for MLS. What is your opinion on that type of flash? Is it necessary? Does it add to the appeal or could those dollars be spent more wisely?
I'll agree that MLS needs to show more of that polished, refined image. People are so jaded to marketing messages that I think production quality speaks as much about a product as anything else. Can't go wrong with the Parliament model either, that's a surefire crowd pleaser. Just read the headlines: Instant party at HDC. Sigi's got the junk, but it's in his bunk and he needs more funk.
Re: Re: Re: MLS not alone... I thought it was silly looking and a waste of money. Hey, to each their own.
Re: So far so good... Go to as many games as you can but also try your best to get others to go. Group trips to games from work are common in other sports. Try to get something like that going when possible if you are in an MLS town. Buy only licensed MLS products and wear them not just to the games but as often as you can ( I'm going to be burried in one of my jerseys ). Talk about the sport with others. Try to educate. Don't be afraid! I get " I don't want to hear about soccer" all the time but I persist! Don't put down the league for going after the family crowd as many here do sometimes. The reason baseball is so big here is largely because it's a family tradition. Kids go with their fathers or mothers or both and when they grow up they want to repeat the experience and regain part of their youth and share it with their kids. A long term strategy. There will still be a place for the supporters groups to grow and add plenty of atmosphere even with tons of soccer moms and dads there. Bug your local media. Don't just yell at them for the lack of coverage but thank them when they do something. The most important ally the sport could have is the media, of course, and that is the major "battle" to be won and it's not just that they are waiting for the sport to be popular enough here to deserve more coverage but also that they are on the short end of knowledge on soccer and as in anything, they "fear" the unknown as it can make them look stupid when they try to talk about something they don't have good knowledge of. BTW: I do email sponsors of MLS and the Nats and thank them for their support and that they have won a customer.