Does anyone think my dream of a soccer team called the Philadelphia Motherf#ckers is a little ambitious?
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! If you mean liking soccer..... yes. If you mean hating football... no. The Birds are the best thing in Philadelphia and they're gonna destroy teams this year!
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! I think Philly will support a "soccer" team enough, but no team will ever come before the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Sixers....... The old USFL Stars won championships and couldn't get near the other four in terms of popularity......
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! If even the Revs can get some attendance (in the 9,000 range) for a game the same night the Red Sox are playing at Fenway in the postseason, I think a Philly MLS might survive even when running up against the big guys.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! Times are different and the Sixers are nearing irrelevance. Hard to believe despite better results, not having a gangsta ball hog shooting 30% hurt the team at the gate.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! Dude, the Sixers have been irrelevant before and have bounced back. They will again. Might take awhile, but they will again.....
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! I think the difference in ticket prices now compared to then is a big deal too. 12 million for Dalembert? I have to pay what for seats? Things are so bad they are offering nose bleeds with free food 5 games for $140. That's $28 a game.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! I didn't say Billy King was a genius. They might need to move back to the Spectrum, to do something about those prices..... The money for Sam? It's pretty much the going rate in the NBA for a starter at his position, isn't it??
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! I suppose, I just think the ticket prices in 2007 are a lot different than the reality in 1985. A soccer team can compete immediately because of it's lower prices and access to players. The sport here in the states is a lot like baseball was 90 years ago. Players are accessible to fans and seem to enjoy them. They don't make enough to be cocky and are appreciative of your support.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! Don't get me wrong man. I get that. I didn't say they couldn't compete, I said they would never SURPASS the other four. I still believe that. The one thing they don't have is the "tradition." That will take some time to build. "Players are accessible to fans and seem to enjoy them. They don't make enough to be cocky and are appreciative of your support." Sounds like the NASCAR Busch Series. I agree with your comments. But again, I just don't think it will be enough to get them past the "Big Four" in the city. Those teams are just institutions man. But as I said in my original post here, if we get it, I will try to support the team from afar. I don't see myself living close enough to Philly to be an active supporter in the near future, but I would love to see our sport back in our city. I was still a kid when we had the atoms and the Fury. I played in high school at Southern. I wasn't that good, but versatile enough for the coach to put me in if I wasn't chatting up some girl on the sidelines! LOL!!
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! People said that about the Flyers when they started. Unamerican game, no tradition, etc. Now I would argue that they are 2nd most watched team in town behind the Eagles. Never is a big word.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! I agree with that. But the thing you conveniently overlook is that hockey was already very popular in other places in our country. Football is getting there, but MLS isn't as strong in the big markets as the NHL was/is. Dude, I want to see football succeed in our country, but there are some forces who just won't let it. I'm for fighting it all the way, but to be honest, I think our game will be a presence, but never one of the top games. Why? Because American sports fans want to watch games played at their highest level by the best players in the world. What's the one sport we'll just about never have that in? Ours. Football.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! It will take a while, but look at the league inching more towards making that a reality by creating 2 DP slots per team. They can feel the positive impact by just having one of the two best freekick specialists in the world. The Flyers came in 67, with only 6 cities having NHL teams when they joined the league.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! When the Flyers came into existence, EVERY established NHL team was North of Philadelphia. And there's the famous story of when Mr. Snyder went to present his business plan (for either the Flyers or the Spectrum) and the banker said, "That's nice, but I don't think soccer will make it in this town." Hockey was pretty far from the Philadelphia consciousness at the time.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! ha that's great...did he really say "soccer" or are you misquoting?
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! I'm paraphrasing the exchange, but the banker did use 'soccer'.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! HMM... confused I am. I am guessing the banker will say that "hockey" won't make it in this town, this time?
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! This time around it'll be yachting or rugby.
So? As if New York and Boston are light years away? Or maybe it was just far from that banker's brain? Someone who probably didn't know squat about sports anyhow..... And unlike that banker, I think "soccer" can make it in our town. I just don't think it will surpass any of the "Big Four", that's all. I like the direction MLS is going in. But you aren't going to sit there and tell me that one day soon, the best players in the world will be flocking to MLS. That's ludicrous. Plus, this "Beckham Effect" will last two seasons tops. What then? Dude, I know that. If you want me to, I can even name the NHL's "Original Six"....... I'm thinking the SOB will be long retired......
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! In the 1966 (the Flyers started in 67), yes. NY and Boston were very far away. Remember, Al Gore had yet to invent the internet, and live national sports broadcasts were a rarity. So hockey had little to no market penetration in Philadelphia at that time. In 1967, Philadelphia was a one sport town, baseball. With football and basketball passing the time until the next spring. Also, in fairness to the 'banker', in 1967, history shows us that soccer would not have made it (RIP Atoms and Fury). But that dated analysis no longer holds.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! A little excitement in the 1966-67 season as the Sixers won the NBA title behind an Overbrook High grad. (Thus ending eight in a row by the Celtics.)
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! Forgot that they won something before Dr. J. but look at their average attendance: 8,704 The NBA was a niche league back then, a pleasant distraction for some, but hardly anything to take away from the Phillies.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! ...but the civic center wasn't a 16,000 seat arena either. Wikipedia says 12,000, but you also have to figure the Warriors and the 76ers we splitting the total fan base.
Re: 8/15 (Inquirer) Gov. Rendell gets behind MLS Philadelphia! Weren't the Warriors already gone? I'm almost certain they were.