It would be wise for MLS to think about rivalry in the MLS ranks. Seattle and Portland are both good examples, but they need to come into the league together. Millwaukee would serve as a rival for Chicago, and a team in Houston (First choice) or okcity (second choice could really bring the Burn alive. Chocies like Atlanta make very little sense in this regard. Atlanta makes sense if MLS is trying to increase the TV demographic, and have a larger fan base to cull from, but by going that route teams like Rochester and Portland get pushed out. It is going to be a seriously tough call, though one thing I feel certain about is that with the addition of even six new teams, the talent pool would be more than adequete to fill those roster spots.
Rivalries are built over time, not by geographical proximity. Chicago and Dallas aren't anywhere near each other (even by MLS standards) but they have a strong rivalry going. Sachin
I think that rivalries are helped by proximity, but that more important is the amount of games they play against each other, most importantly playoff games. Familiarty breeds contempt. The more teams play each other with trophies and such at stake the more heated the rivalry becomes.
MILWAUKEE. They have the Brewers. They are losing their A-League team. They have no prospective owner and they have no propsective stadium. They were not mentioned by the league as a candidate when the most recent list was pronounced. And yet here people are metioning this city again. People, just because they once talked about a stadium by no means suggests they will continue to do so. Right now they are about as likely as Tuscaloosa to land an expansion franchise. Focus on those cities that appear serious NOW. Rochester, OKC and Seattle.
Don't forget Cleveland. They are a serious expansion candidate. Plus, would be a good rival with Columbus and possibly Chicago (Geographically speaking).
Tuscaloosa has potential. When the NCAA gets through there, and they can't pay their college atheletes (or, the athlete's HS coaches) any more, there will be a ton of money for a SSS. I think this has potential.
Re: Re: rivalry Any native Southern or Northern Californian will differ, it's just natural to hate the other, but sure it does help when there's good games or great teams. The Dodgers and Giants rivalry is huge, I loved hearing Matt Williams after a press conference when the Dodgers knocked them out of the playoffs the final game of they year ('93 I believe) and the Dodgers were celebrating like they won the World Series. Also, what made the World Series win even better this year was that the Angels beat San Francisco, too bad they couldn't have played Oakland in the ALCS.
Yeah. I'm sure the name similarity was at the forefront of Ricardo Irribarren's mind when he jumped into Section 8 and gave us the finger.
rivals CLE would make a good rival for Columbus, but it won't happen. The reason they put the MLS in Columbus as opposed to Cleveland in the first place was to draw from both CLE and Cincinnati areas. Plus, CLE fans root for the Browns and only the Browns....Indians when they are good....there is no room for MLS. OKC or HOU would be good for Dallas, I can see one or both.....more likely HOU because the state of Oklahoma is just flat out a horrible place to be. Only thing worse that I could imagine is Kansas or Arkansas, maybe Montana. SEA would have no geographical rival unless they put Portland in too. I know it hasn't been metioned in awhile, but St. Louis would be GREAT for MLS. Perfect rivalry with KC (cross-state) and also Chicago. Chicago b/c of the Blackhawks-Blues and Cardinals-Cubs rivalries already established...these are two of the biggest in their respective sports, would make things exciting. Rochester would pair up good with Columbus, although Crew fans will never hate anyone as much as DC... aren't the Rhinos an affiliate of the Crew? Philly would definitely be a perfect 3-way blood bath with NY/NJ and DC... MIL likely won't happen, but if they do, they will be treated like the red-headed stepchild of Chicago that they are. The only thing they are good for is bringing us beer...we like beer. Atlanta and Florida make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE for MLS...NONE. Neither town's sports teams draw crap, the Braves can't even sell out the NLCS anymore. Florida is for college football ONLY, some pro maybe...but certainly no soccer. *please note, I like to say things to stir people up, my original line about Milwaukee was much worse, I toned it down so not to REALLY piss people off. Same with Oklahoma, ATL, etc...