Today Don Garber met with a small but loyal group of South Florida soccer fans. It was an interesting session that went pretty much the way I expected. He complimented the group for their enthusiasm and support for a MLS expansion team. However, he said that this would not be enough to make it happen. He compared the South Florida support to pockets of good "germs" that need to unite and becomes viral (10,000 season tickets sold). If not it would be a hard sell to get an owner to invest in a Miami MLS team. "The Don" said we have a great foundation and history to build on. He also suggested we start by supporting our local club, Miami FC/Strikers, and spread the word like soccer evangelists. Basically "If you can't love the one you want, Love the one you're with" So.... I guess it's up to us to keep working to make it happen. Let's hope Mr. Davidson's organization does a little self promotion and puts together a team worth the work. I bought season tickets for the Strikers so there's a start. Hope more people step up and do the same. Let's Go Strikers!
Whats funny about all the hate for Miami and South Florida in MLS, is that Miami has at least an interested billionaire (Claure) whereas all the annointed ones in NYC have is Pele, some broke English guy and some passing interest from Beckham's friends.
Well that and MLS having an unapologetic hard-on for NYC. Garber even said it today that the league wants team 20 to be NYC. Yet within 10 minutes he also said "We’re not going to lead the charge to bring a team here(South Florida)." I, and 99% of the core Ultras in attendance who also have attended Miami FC games, agree with Garber's statements that a great way to show support for MLS is to support our current D2 team. We've always had that mindset, but most down here unfortunately have not. That's just been a terribly tough sell so far. Now we have some ammunition to convert the "MLS or nothing" people. Hopefully with a properly handled rebrand to the Strikers, a modest improvement in (smart) marketing, and at least a playoff team, we can start on the path to becoming the next Portland or Vancouver.
The whole "support D2 equals MLS passion" is just crap. People in Toronto could care less for D2. Seattle, self-appointed inventors of modern soccer supportism (sp?), didn't care too much more for their beloved Sounders. Heck, Philly didn't even have a PDL/NPSL team in the area before MLS showed up. I think Claure just needs to write a check and Garber would start changing his tune.
you aren't getting an MLS team. especially not with 1,200 D2 fans a game. Seattle may not have had the kind of support they do now but even at their worst they were never that bad in D2 and they are nowhere near as "big" a city as Miami. you guys are going to have to bump your per game average to 8-10K before anybody will take notice and even consider MLS in Miami. the fact that your city sucks at pro sports attendance, one of the worst cities in North America, doesn't help any. oh, and there is the never ending disgrace that was the Fusion. you're dreaming, it's not going to happen. and if you think Traffic is somebody MLS wants to get in bed with you are sadly mistaken. Traffic are scumbag flesh peddlers who have abused the trust of many young Americans like Gale Agbossoumonde. their reputation is mud with the owners and league officials and coaches of MLS.
i love how you pretend you have valid information on probable investors or the fianancial status of Paul Kemsely. If you think PK himself would be fronting the money, that's where you're wrong. PK's main contribution here is that he has the ablity to bring on huge investors that actually DO have the money needed. From Garbers own mouth comes that fact that the stadium money is in place, and the expansion fee is in place. Now he says this...IN FLORIDA yesterday : “In New York, we have a dire need to go out and capture a broader part of the market,” Garber said. “We have many interested ownership groups, with a wide variety of potential stadium plans” There is more money for this project out there than you can imagine. And with Wilpon on board, there is now the land for the stadium. btw, Pele is just the honorary president. He is not nor will be an investor in this operation.
He addressed the Fusion. Not a disgrace, just a financial decision based on the Fusion's owner being unable for ante up more $$$. As for the rest, you opinions. Nothing more or less.
the disgrace isn't that they folded it is that they were the worst attended team in the history of MLS. during their existence they were the worst attended team at the time, under the exact same league conditions as all of the rest of the teams. and no team has come close to that pathetic of attendance since, except teams who are confined to 10K seat stadiums and FC Dallas. whom oddly enough are considered attendance disgraces themselves. the league wants another team that will average 18K or more not another team that will average 12-14K. that is the reality. and as of today not a single thing in the last 20-30 years of history of pro sports and especially pro soccer in Miami lends any evidence or inkling that a MLS Miami team would have a higher attendance ceiling than mediocre. THAT is why MLS should never go to Miami and likely won't until that reality is altered by overwhelming support for the D2 team in Miami.
This much you've nailed. Now if we can only convince the nonbelievers down here that this, and attending all International matches and the MLS combine, is a fact, then, maybe we can make some headway.
1000% yes my friend. This is the ONLY way it happens. This community needs to totally embrace the rebirth of the Strikers. If a properly marketed Strikers team can capture even just a portion of the magic and the imagination of this community the way the original Strikers did, we can have large enough crowds to be noticed by Don and Company. I'm telling you, they WANT to come back here. They HAVE to have the TV revenue that would be generated by being in this market once they have a better TV deal in place. It all needs to start this year. Traffic needs to make the right moves marketing in the tri-county area. Not only are there many locals in Broward and Palm Beach who the Strikers name will touch, but the Marlins, the only sports entertainment competition in the summer for their dollars, is meaning less than ever to them. The time is perfect if the organization gets this thing going and it is done right.
Garrber said exactly that. But, it is up to the folks in South Florida to give them a reason to come back. Supporting the Strikers & any international matches is one sure way to do it. Marlins meaningless? No, not quite. Still, the new stadium is in a really bad location for anyone outside of Miami. That, coupled with the knowledge that the owner has one of the most profitable sports teams in the USA by deliberately NOT trying to field a competitive team so he can make more $$$ for himself has badly hurt the Marlins down here. Especially so when you consider the gift of a $600 million stadium for minimum expense to him. And, now the Dolphins want $$$ to upgrade the stadium of many names. Good things for the Strikers NOT to do mentioned above. Instead, spend some cash to advertise/market the team. Spend much more for a competitive team. Hopefully they'll do this. In time it may bring us all what we want, but we'll have to be patient. This is not going to happen overnight. Let's try for a 3,000 average attendance this year. Then try to double that next year. The same the year after. Eventually we' be getting 15,000 or more per game. Do that & we'll have an MLS franchise retuning here. But, it won't be easy. We'll see....
Have you seen the marlins attendance figures over the last 5 or 6 years? Have you turned on a game on a Thursday night and seen the overwhelming number of fans disguised as orange seats? Even under ideal circumstances with owners who genuinely cared about the fans and carving out a niche for themselves in South Florida sports tradition, you're talking about probably two generations of fans before this becomes even partially possible. Now let's look at how the team HAS conducted itself over the past 17 years. See anything that looks like progress? I sure don't. How long did the fans keep showing up after the WS wins? Not too long..... The Dolphins (the recent Broward tax thing aside) are supported by the entire tri-county area. They built their stadium as far south as they dared to keep the name Miami relevant, while not killing off too much of their potential fanbase to the north. The Marlins on the other hand, gave Broward and Palm Beach residents a big F U and are moving into downtown Miami, and changing the name to the Miami Marlins. The slight interest that remains now up this way is going to be reversed by that? All they are doing is making sure less people show up to watch THEIR REAL teams, ie. - Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox. The time could not be better for Traffic to name this team Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, GET THE WORD OUT TO THE AREA, and then provide a fun, inexpensive atmosphere for the games, hopefully almost exclusively on Saturday evenings. Let's see, if I'm a casual sports fan, am I willing to spend $10/ticket for a Ft. lauderdale Strikers match in easily reachable Lockhart from anywhere in the tri-county area except maybe downtown Miami, that even when it ends at 9:00 I will still have plenty of Saturday night to enjoy as well. Or do I want to drive all the way down to Dade, mind you not for much longer, put money ($20-25?) in the pocket of an owner who doesn't give a shite about you or his team and is just out to make a buck from revenue sharing, to watch a mediocre MLB team with no recognizable stars (they all get traded or not re-signed when the price gets too high) with a few thousand people in a stadium that is so quiet you can hear the guy in section 420 passing gas? Personally I think hoping for 3,000 average attendance this year for the team, IF it is PROPERLY rebranded as the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, and IF Traffic along with their new marketing firm for the league PMI properly market this to the tri-county area, would be a bit disappointing. I think the potential is there for even more, tripling last year's 1,250 at least. But this also means you have to bring people back, people who will also bring their friends, and you need a playoff caliber team on the field as well. Considering you only need to make the top 6 out of 8 for the playoffs next year, not making it would be extremely disappointing.
1) I saw 3,000 as doubling last years average attendance. I think that that is doable. If you want to shoot for 4,500 I'm all for it. Maybe that target will make us hit the 3,000 mark. Then we'll try to double that in 2012. And, I think the potential is there for 18,500 average. It's just going to take time and commitment to do it. 2) As for the Marlins, we should not forget that the owner is the same individual that did such a bang up job in Montreal. His business plan there had them wind up in DC. Where will the Marlins wind up under his leadership?.... I think that Miami Marlins should have been the team name from day 1. It has at least as much history as Strikers. Having that rename is something I've long wanted. As have most of the old timers I know down here. For all of that, I still think the OB site is lame & will affect attendance from the northern 2 counties after the new has worn off of the stadium. 3) All of South Florida's sports teams suffer if they are not winners. That's an accusation we have to own up to. Did you not notice the number of empty seats in the stadium of many names during televised Dolphin & 'Cane games? The Panthers can't give tickets away. The hottest ticket in town right now is the Heat. It wasn't when they were less than mediocre. 4) The Strikers have a huge job ahead of them. The 1st and primary thing for them to do is put together a winning team. Consistently. Keep the prices affordable for parking, tickets & junk food. Then market the winning, entertaining, inexpensive team like mad. Soon enough they'll be successful. The question is, will Traffic do it? I hope so. I'm getting old and weary of this sport tearing my heart out decade after decade. It's time for it to succeed big. As ever, we'll see.
Dan Courtemanche of MLS(who was at the meeting with Garber last week) was on the Paul and Young Ron Show this morning, and they discussed pro soccer and the potential of MLS returning. Check out the audio HERE and click the 1/13/11 8A podcast. A lot of good props for the Strikers from Dave Lamont, but no mention of the current team to be called the Strikers. Also they threw in a quote from the glorious Ray Hudson: "F*@k them all! F*@k them all, and their aunties and their uncles, and their grandmothers as well. F*@k them all." LMAO
I agree with this sentiment. If Claure wants an MLS team that bad, he should write the check. Garber listens to money first and foremost.
I heard they are adding two teams to MLS this year and one next year that were quite popular in D2. No but they did have a 2000 member supporters group who traveled to MLS matches and a a good ownership group As I point out above, the requirements to getting a MLS club have changed. Unless your team name is the Cosmos, you need to match the precedent set by other clubs. Before you needed owners, then you needed a stadium, now you need supporters.
I hope they do call them the Strikers. That would help more fans come out, imo. Plus, Garber said, "Go out and support the Strikers first."
We know they're going to be the Strikers. It's just the rest of the name we don't know yet. Ft. Lauderdale Strikers seems to be the desire of the majority of fans, so hopefully that's the way they go. A few hints here and there point to it. I suspect by the end of this week we may know for sure.