MLS Schedule Change Discussion

It takes two to tango.

 

There is a focus group sort of thing that exists. I may or may not be a part of it. I may or may not have written scathing free text comments every time they did a poll about the schedule change. Again, it is entirely unclear as to my membership status in the group. But if I was, I would never share anything that we are asked about, because there would totally be an NDA about such things.

 

Yes but the difference is this: We will now have regular season matches going up against OSU football games, so no true impetus for casuals to show up to matches. And the World Series and NFL games will be happening in other markets.

Then, the league's late season matches will collide with March Madness, and then Playoffs will be up against NHL and NBA playoffs, oh and the beginning of the baseball season will happen at the same time too.

Other than being in sync with the rest of the world, it's the dumbest ********ing move possible. There was a reason we played when we played. Other nations don't have the competition for eyeballs that we do with other sports leagues. Not nearly as much.

Attendance will drop even before Messi leaves.

 

10 home games before Winter Break.
Only 3 would have special interest or intensity:

Crewsmas
Cincinnati (if they visit that soon)
Austin (if they visit at all)


Other than those 3 games ... mostly diehard fans will be the ones attending before the break. Especially if Wednesdays have to be used for home dates.

And some diehards are getting priced out from LDC now.


Also ... any MLS team out of the playoff hunt going into the winter break ... good luck with ticket sales.

Even the Crew could find themselves in that situation ... if Nancy leaves.

 

If people wanna argue that the in-person experience of the change will suck, I can have some sympathy for that PoV.

For the sporting reasons though, it's clear as day the right move. It's already been reported that GMs unanimously want this for transfer purposes, and it's obvious why. To deny it either means you just wanna hate (if that's what you wanna do, fair enough) or you really don't understand how the world transfer markets, different transfer windows, European economics, pro/rel pressure, European qualification races, etc etc all work together to make the global transfer market that MLS is a part of.

Does this mean Mbappe is coming to MLS? No. Does this mean MLS will have top five talent? No (and until the roster rules are radically overhauled, that will never happen). Does it mean that more teams will be willing to do business with MLS teams? Yes. Does it mean MLS will be more willing to sell players and get more for them? Yes. Does this mean that players that wouldn't have previously considered MLS will now think about coming here? Yes.

 

For me, its 100% this.

I stopped being a Browns season-ticket holder 10 years ago.

Zero visits to Cleveland for a game since.
Watch every game on TV, along with Red Zone.

No plans to go again. Even with new dome coming.

Crew are pushing me to same place.

 

Why are you so arrogant and condescending about this?

It makes me wonder what level of decision-making and financial responsibility you hold with your job.

GMs dont run the finances of an entire club.
They dont decide where games get played.
Or when franchises move cities.

They will push for spending more money.
To stay in their high-paying jobs.

If they or consultants have duped the MLS owners ... so be it.


But .. not one person here ... not you or anyone else ... have shown the math on how the Crew are going to have seasons of profitability with this schedule change.


And if the Crew are losing more than money per year than they have in 29 of 30 seasons (reportedly) ... they are other places they could play home games.

Which sucks.

 

We have regular season matches going up against OSU football now. OSU football starts in August most years. FFS. Get a grip.

 

I got news for ya... people ain't watching now, haven't been for 30 fvcking years.

The league, in an American sports context, is irrelevant, no matter the schedule. Period. Wake up.

Owners probably realized they can make more money on increased transfer activity than butt in seats, so they'll do what's best for the bottom line, as per usual.

 

I concur with the sporting reasons. But I'll do what makes sense to my situation. We shall see how it goes.

 

Yeah. It's not ideal, but it is what it is. Are you surprised? The Crew and MLS, like it or not, are for profit businesses. They view you, us, the fans, as customers, period. Any notion of community or male bonding through sports or sportsmanship etc, are poetic ramblings of a bygone era. You are a regular ass customer buying a product, to deny it is madness.

Bez, the dude we all bust a nut over, said it himself:

"If we were to lose 8,000 fans, wouldn't it be worth it if we gained 15,000?”.

Let me translate that:

"Fvck the cheap assholes that don't like what we're doing, we'll get someone else to pay for this shit."

Don't like what they're doing? Don't go to games, don't buy merch, don't sub to Apple TV, don't watch even if it's free. As a customer, the only way to really voice your opinion is with your wallet. That's all MLS and The Crew understand.

Also, you're assuming attendance will be "drastically reduced." What if, crazy idea, they know people will be less than jazzed about cold weather games, so they drop ticket prices? Probably won't happen, but we're talking about something that is 20 months away from happening. Or, what if, they actually make a schedule where cold weather games really are minimized to something like what they are now?

You don't even go to games so I don't know what you're complaining about lol.

To be clear, I'm not saying I love the owners and they're great dudes, I'm just being honest about what they care about, which is money, and extracting as much of it as humanly possible from people like me and you. That's the lens you should be viewing pro sports through, not the misguided notion that these billionaires and millionaires that (by and large) have zero connection to our city actually care even 5% as much as we do, which they don't.

 

Do you really think someone, somewhere deep within the bowels on MLS HQ hasn't crunched the numbers on the calendar flip equation? You think every single decision maker in the league is firing from the hip with literally zero consideration about how this flip will affect every single team, and the league as a whole? Of course they have.

I find it hard to believe they ran the numbers, saw that they would be fvcked, and said yeah let's do this. I also find it hard to believe they didn't run the numbers. The idea that they put legitimately no thought into this, when they've literally been talking about it for YEARS, is ridiculous.

Also, why are you attacking me about what job I have? Talk about condescending.

 

I aim to please.

 

Wouldn't that have been Cy-Hawk week?

 

Maybe! But I've sat in enough meetings where consultants have shown us numbers that look amazing and end up being the complete opposite in reality, to not care about this type of argument.

 

I'm sure they ran the numbers for how it will help Messi and Friends and the LA teams and MLS' tireless marketing of those teams. The only consideration they gave to the other 27 teams was how to bribe them to push it through.

 

That's Iowa-Iowa State, as I recall.

 

I mean, granted, it was a long time ago, but the league’s original braintrust ran the numbers (so to speak) and decided US soccer fans couldn’t handle matches ending a draws, a clock that ran up to 90 minutes and matches that didn’t end until the ref blew the whistle. They also calculated the league could be financially successful playing as renters in NFL and college football stadiums.

They’re rich. Doesn’t mean they’re smart.

 

So, the league is upending literally everything it's built for 30 years for Miami (who will just be a regular MLS team when Messi leaves), the Galaxy (who besides last year's fluke haven't been relevant in a decade), and LAFC? That's the long term goal? You really think that is a sustainable plan?

 

I think it's more that they are trying to run it like the NFL.