Should MLS season start in early March instead of April?

Discussion in 'MLS: General' started by pc4th, Jan 29, 2008.

  1. pc4th

    pc4th New Member

    Jun 14, 2003
    North Poll
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here are some reasons why:

    1. The quarterfinals of the CONCACAF CL will start on the 24 of February. MLS will be more in form if the season is started 3-4 weeks in advance.

    2. Relieve some schedule congestion during late September-October. A team could take a week or two off during this busy season (see below).

    3. In March, the weather is favorable for games to take place @ Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, San Jose, Houston, Dallas and maybe 2-3 other markets as well.


    The CONCACAF Champions League winner will qualify as the CONCACAF's
    representative to the 2009 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.


    2008-09 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
    Calendar of Events
    2008
    End July: All qualification completed, draw for preliminary round
    26-28 August: Preliminary Round, First-legs
    2-4 September: Preliminary Round, Second-legs
    Early September: Group Stage Schedule Announced
    16-18 September: Group Stage - Match Day 1
    23-25 September: Group Stage - Match Day 2
    30 September - 2 October: Group Stage - Match Day 3
    7-9 October: Group Stage - Match Day 4
    21-23 October: Group Stage - Match Day 5
    28-30 October: Group Stage - Match Day 6

    2009
    24-26 February: Quarterfinals, First-legs
    3-5 March: Quarterfinals, Second-legs
    17-19 March: Semifinals, First-legs
    7-9 April: Semifinals, Second-legs
    21-23 April: Final, First-leg
    28-30 April: Final, Second-leg
    December: FIFA Club World Cup

     
  2. kirsoccer

    kirsoccer BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 29, 2007
    It would be interesting playing games in a foot of snow at RSL, Colorado, New England, etc. But it wouldn't make for good soccer.

    The schedule should remain at least close to what it is.
     
  3. scheck

    scheck Member+

    Mar 13, 2007
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The problem with Salt lake and denver is that the weather is unpredictable. In our towns the weather could be 70 degrees in march, or it could be snowing a foot one day.
     
  4. Elninho

    Elninho Member+

    Sacramento Republic FC
    United States
    Oct 30, 2000
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Didn't we have regular season games as early as mid-March at one point? Or am I mistaken?
     
  5. spejic

    spejic Cautionary example

    Mar 1, 1999
    San Rafael, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Or the rain on the west coast. First and foremost, MLS exists for its fans. If the weather is too bad for them to go, the league is a failure.
     
  6. ElJefe

    ElJefe Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 16, 1999
    Colorful Colorado
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yep.

    After starting in mid-April in 1996 (well, except for the solitary opening game a week earlier), the season started progressively earlier each year, until the season opened the middle of March from 1998 to 2000.

    The problem was that northern teams didn't want home games at a time of year where the weather was more likely to be bad and they didn't want to start with a whole slate of road games either. (As it was, northern teams usually didn't have their home openers until three or four weeks into the season, with the Revolution usually the last to have its home opener.) Meanwhile, other teams in friendlier climes didn't want a whole bunch of home games to start the season because that meant less time to sell each game.

    So eventually, the league settled on an opening day at the beginning of April. Northern teams still start their home schedules in the middle of April, but now, it's not so far into the season.
     
  7. krudmonk

    krudmonk Member+

    Mar 7, 2007
    S.J. Sonora
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    We can't. Some idiots built major cities where it's cold as ********.
     
  8. pc4th

    pc4th New Member

    Jun 14, 2003
    North Poll
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    LOL. No wonder Garber is against MLS playing a fall to spring schedule.

    If MLS can't play in March, there is no chance it could play in December, January or February.
     
  9. jade1mls

    jade1mls Member

    Jul 9, 2006
    Seattle
    FFS Rain?

    COME ON!
    :eek:
     
  10. CeltTexan

    CeltTexan Member+

    Sep 21, 2000
    Houston, TX USA
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    MLS league leaders could meet in the middle on this and start in March like we are this year and have in the past but not early March.
    So that means picking the middle weekend to begin. Jeez, what kind of ethnic festival is held every year right smack dab in the middle of March. St. Patrick's Day, yeah that's right.
    Cool in that a heritage that has an affection for association football could be a reasonable launching point for a new MLS season to begin.
    In a pro soccer culture where the traditions are few and need to be cultivated, here's to MLS kicking off it's teen years with a theme of "Come to Opening Night, Hit the Town Afterwards".

    I take it that folks up North brave whatever the outdoor conditions are when St. patty's Day roles around. Thus, sports fans and ie MLS fans have no weather sucks type excuse.
    This way MLS can have 3 matches in March. As we grow beyond the 14-15 team league, we will need to start earlier or have more midweek MLS matches. And those historically are never as good as Sat matches.
     
  11. equus

    equus Member

    Jan 6, 2007
    That's not a bad idea...

    MLS St. Patty's First Kick: 'Meg me, I'm Irish!
    MLS St. Patty's First Kick: Beckham Go Bragh!
    MLS St. Patty's First Kick: Cuatehemoc McBlanco
    MLS St. Patty's First Kick: Where the pitch is as green as the beer!


    /seriously, I like the idea
     
  12. jade1mls

    jade1mls Member

    Jul 9, 2006
    Seattle
  13. Ismitje

    Ismitje Super Moderator

    Dec 30, 2000
    The Palouse
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think three teams will start the season with no shirt sponsor.

    Wait - how many polls can one poster open? A great many it appears!
     
  14. cougs2000

    cougs2000 New Member

    Feb 23, 2007
    OK, so RSL and Colorado open up with one or two road games then return home in the last week of March.
     
  15. TFCSteve

    TFCSteve Member

    Apr 16, 2007
    Toronto
    As has already been said, in order to do that, you would have to rearrange the schedule so that northern teams start with an extended away trip. Though I can see the benefits of this (more games in the south in spring/fall, more games in the north in the summer) the negative repercussions would (in my mind) outweight the benefits. Now, of course, that opinion comes from someone in the north, so take it for what it is.
     
  16. ElJefe

    ElJefe Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 16, 1999
    Colorful Colorado
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Everybody's hardcore on the Internet, I guess.

    However, in the real world, rain does tend to screw with attendance, a lot more than summer heat does.
     
  17. triplet1

    triplet1 BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 25, 2006
    The ASL did indeed have a split season, but it didn't start with one. The split season was adopted in its seventh year, 1927-1928, with 30 games in each half. Even with the split season, it is telling that the ASL still cancelled a lot of games because of weather conditions, and those cancellations were numerous enough that it typically didn't reschedule the games. Since teams seldom played the same number of games, winning percentage was used to determine the winner instead of points.

    I'm not sure how a split season really helps MLS either. Most of the CONCACAF countries begin their Clausura in January -- January 19th this year for the Mexican Primera División for example -- which is simply not possible for MLS to do.

    (The Apertura works much better -- again Mexico started August 4, 2007 and ended the regular season with match day 17 on November 17th, followed by the playoffs, which isn't much different than the fall MLS schedule.)

    Even with a split season, unless MLS is prepared to have northern teams start the year with long road trips, the league can't easily push the start of the season beyond mid-March.

    I'm not sure it is worth it.
     
  18. NebraskaAddick

    Aug 26, 2005
    Omaha, NE
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Right now it's not fair to the southern clubs to stack too many of their home games in the first month.

    But when the league gets bigger, adding new franchises in the south and Pacific northwest, then they can give those clubs a good balance of away games to each other, while also accomodating the cold-weather clubs.

    At least, I think it would work, but I haven't done the math.
     
  19. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think its more unfair to expect the Northern teams to spend significant time on the road to start every season.

    The Rapids have opened at home once in their history, last season for the opening of DSG Park. It was just above 20 degrees with the wind chill that day.

    Any earlier of a start and you're looking at 4 road games to start the season if you want to make sure you have good weather for most home games.
     
  20. krudmonk

    krudmonk Member+

    Mar 7, 2007
    S.J. Sonora
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Move the Rapids to sunshine.
     
  21. ATLNewsDog01

    ATLNewsDog01 Member

    Oct 14, 2007
    Winder, GA
    I asked this same question last year and got madly flamed about how cold it was. I came to the conclusion that people in Chicago, Boston, and wherever else had never seen a game in locations like LA, Houston, or Dallas where you can get heat stroke just by looking at the temperature.

    So just take all that into consideration when you see some of the uninformed responses.
     
  22. spejic

    spejic Cautionary example

    Mar 1, 1999
    San Rafael, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Uninformed? You should examine actual attendance figures before making such idiotic comments again. We know people won't go in wet and cold weather conditions because they haven't in the past.
     
  23. NebraskaAddick

    Aug 26, 2005
    Omaha, NE
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    People in England do it all the time. If the temperature is in the 40s or even 30s, and you have the kind of roof to shield fans from rain and wind, then they'll come with their coats on and feel rather comfortable.

    So if this were the plan, then as far as SSS's go, the new designs coming on line look pretty good. Red Bull Park fits that purpose, and so does the new St. Louis stadium design. And KC's stadium design would cover about 2/3rds of the stands, if that's the one they stick with. Philadelphia's sketches look pretty good. They could all support March weather games.

    Chicago's doesn't quite work, because it's too open air and the wind would still howl in. Colorado's certainly doesn't work, because their roof is strictly a shade roof. Toronto, you just hope their fans are diehard enough that they'll show up anyway. Columbus, well, they need a new stadium, and preferably one with a concrete or asphalt parking lot. Dallas--I'm not an expert on Dallas weather, but is it pretty okay by March?
     
  24. triplet1

    triplet1 BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 25, 2006
    January, February and much of March are unplayable in most northern MLS cities. It isn't just the cold, it is snow -- lot's of it -- which makes it extremely difficult to play.

    In November or December, people might tough it out for a playoff game (although they didn't in New England this year), but spejic is absoltely right: early season MLS attendance is adversely affected by the weather now. They aren't going to move the season earlier and make the problem worse until fans demonstrate that they will fill the stadiums in bad weather that already comes early in the year.
     
  25. TFCSteve

    TFCSteve Member

    Apr 16, 2007
    Toronto
    There is a difference between England, Seattle, and Toronto in the beginning of march. Cold and rainy is one thing, -10 and hypothermic (with snow squalls coming in off the lake to reduce visibility to nothing) is a whole other ball game.

    Don't worry guys, I have it all figured out. We strengthen the conference format (ok, may need more teams for this). Now, bear with me here:

    The South/West division will start their season in the beginning of March or, hey, in the end of feb if you want to. The North/East division will begin their season in the start of April. In the middle of the summer, the South/West will take a month off when it's hottest. The teams will play any games they need to play against each other during the overlap months, and focus on intra-conference games for the months they are playing apart. This will also extend the season so people have soccer to watch for longer.

    Yay! Now everyone's happy! (Ok, not everyone, as many people will have a problem with this plan. I understand it will give the advantage to southern teams in competitions that take place over the summer, what can you do).
     

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