Does anyone know anything about why Philly isn't in the new league? How about possibilities for joining later?
wasn't there owner and fitz the ones, who put things in motion to close down the wps to get rid of magicDan? on the back end they both were probably tired of losing money. i highly doubt you'll see fitz, philly or magicjack in women's soccer again. they even said they, fitz and philly, weren't interested in the wpsl elite and that was a cheaper league.
Actually, I believe the Independence ownership said they were skipping wpsl elite to focus on building the Independence brand locally through camps and other hands on projects with youth soccer. If I remember correctly, they kept saying they were planning to bring the team back. Maybe they were just saying it to stay in the news or because they believed it at the time or because they were still thinking the wps itself would return after a year off. I don't know. Anyone else with more recent information?
The new league accepted 8 bids based on attendance and a strong private commitment. and we weren't one of them. I don't think it's going to become public why we didn't get the opportunity but ultimately the bribing must not have sufficed. Still disappointed for Philly not doing better to SELL their playoff match at an MLS stadium when the opponent was literally half of the USWNT and most of the attendees were season ticket holders and got in for free. It is no fault of the reps, they did their best job marketing the team given the resources they had but the Philly city as a whole despite being pretty gung ho about the Union, failed to embrace the WPS. After the Union fell apart early and often last season, I was all the more saddened by the folding of the Independence.
Did a Philly group even submit an application to the league? I haven't seen anything suggesting they did.