the NFL or AFL teams, as far as i know, always played one game a week (usually on the weekend, but now there's some Monday and even Thursday games). teams can handle that travel schedule. MLS (and things like SL and Open Cup and CCC) leads to a crowded and busier schedule. and the unbalanced schedule in 2007 led to circumstances where teams play on opposite coasts within a few days (it's happened to LA, and DC is at Chivas on 9/6 and then home to the Revs on 9/9). (you'd never see the NFL have the Colts play at New Orleans on a Thursday and then have to turn around at play in another city three days later). the demands of travel (and multi-time zone travel especially) are more difficult for the MLS team/player than they are for the NFL team/player. some of the best clubs in Europe do see additional mid-week travel (and some do go some distance for UEFA competitions), but even great distances in Europe (how many time zones does Europe cover) are relatively short compared to the travel distances covered by an MLS team in a normal season.
you may be right, but i think you'll find that this is changing. not that the average MLS N/A poster is growing less informed, but that the average premiership manager is getting more informed about MLS. because of Beckham there is more interest in and motivation to be interested in MLS by overseas managers. Even before Becks decided to join LAG, Ferguson probably already knew a fair bit about MLS given their pursuit and signing of Howard, and the training stint that Adu got over there last winter, and i'm sure his deep desire to keep up with his old friends and academy players Cooper, Kirovski and Cooke.
Meanwhile, in paraphrasing Sir Alex, "RivalsDM" continues to perpetuate one of the most frustrating myths about American soccer: But Ferguson feels the England midfielder will struggle to have a major impact on his own when the combined talents of Pele, Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer failed to have a lasting impact after playing for New York Cosmos three decades ago. Bull, bull, bull. We see the lasting impact of that era every time we take our 15 million kids to soccer practice. We see it every time we tune in to the MLS on Fox Soccer Channel or ESPN, or tuned in to a World Cup game in 1994. Hell, we see it every time we log in to BigSoccer.com. This notion that Pele et al. had no ramifications for the momentum and growth of this sport in the United States is just ridiculous.
I think Sir Asshole Fergusen is right, I think MLS would be far more succesful if the Galaxy had a rival that played close by.
Not to do a George Carlin imitation, but ... in baseball, you see quite a few traveling fans between the near rivals - Milwaukee-Chicago, New York-Boston, St. Louis-Chicago, etc. - all the matches a drive away. But, if you are a Bears fans, it's pretty much next to impossible to find a ticket for the game at Lambeau. That creates a different atmosphere for the football games where the entire stadium supports the home team. However, as mentioned before, due to the transient nature of Americans, the Packers-Bears-Browns-Giants fans can be found in any city. Furthermore, due to national television, it's not difficult to become a fan of an out-of-state team like the Raiders-Steelers-Packers-49ers-Braves-Yankees-Red Sox-Dodgers-Lakers-Celtics of old, especially when your home town team is down or you're living outside of the 32 NFL/MLB/NBA team zone. So, in that regard, Fergie projects the US onto the Euro scene with a club in every decent sized town and the visiting supporters taking a tube across the city for the doi-bee. As to the 70's, the milieu has changed. The demographics have changed. The means of communication have changed. Wealth of an average sports consumer has changed. Most of that supports the development of many previously marginal sports and other modes of entertainment.
If rivalries are going to be mentioned, the greatest rivalries are in college football, imho. Those rivalries were developed over decades, and MLS barely got done with one decade of existance so give us a chance to develop them. I think a good rivalry is something organic that develops on its own and not something contrived like what Colorado-RSL is. IMHO, the only real rivalry in MLS is the San Jose-LA Galaxy which is why I am glad that Quakes are back.
Like, say, Chivas? Can't stand Fergusen. The man is living in the '50's. Athletes DO become celebrities, now, and managers in England are eventually going to have to realize that you can't treat your players like boys living in prep school... To say Beckham can't do it alone, depends on what you think DB is trying to do. He is not a coach or a GM. It is not his responsibility to make the players play better, or raise the salary caps, or make changes to the way MLS is run. All he was asked to do--and is trying to do--is be a recognizable face, to increase the exposure of the MLS and entice fans to watch the games. As I mentioned in another forum, the fact is that Sir Alex is right now talking about the MLS--publicly discussing it. Would this have happened a year ago? I don't think so. Beckham is doing more than just giving MLS more exposure here in N. America. McClaren is now talking about MLS, Furgesen is talking about it. Papers in Europe are discussing it. Okay, not always favorably, but still... Beckham is doing the job that MLS wanted him to do. The rest is up to the other players and the league itself.
Alex Ferguson knows nothing about American soccer -- and he's only done well in current British soccer because he has millions of pounds at his disposal for transfers. What I see from Ferguson's acidic comments are his bitterness over Beckham leaving ManU at the height of his career and his fear of the growing popularity of MLS in the US and abroad. That fear seems to be omnipresent in European soccer at the moment, which is unfortunate, because you would hope that Europeans would embrace American soccer fans joining the world's passion for the game.
I don't think I sensed any fear hidden in Ferguson's words, just some pretty basic ignorance which is understandable. I don't expect a premiership manager to have any in depth knowledge of US soccer. My gut also tells me that deep down inside he must have a modicum of respect or at least acceptance of US soccer. After all he brought in an unproven American GK and gave him playing time. He's also worked with Americans in his academy, most recently inviting Adu last year. I would say that the levels of paranoia in Europe are overly exaggerated by some posters here. If you walked an average European city's streets, you'd probably spend a whole day just rounding up a handful of people that dislike MLS or the USMNT. You'd have 10 times easier time rounding up people that hate Bush or Paris Hilton. Truth is most people don't care much, and out of the people that do care most of them would be positive.
You don't know much about football do you? And even less about whatever the hell "current British soccer" is supposed to mean. Ferguson kicked out Beckham (literally) and bought Cristiano Ronaldo with the profits. If you think he is somehow bitter about that that exchange then you're a fool. And if you think Ferguson lies awake at night worrying about MLS becoming popular then your're insane.
Wow, someone asks Ferguson about Beckham and MLS and it makes you wet. Surely MLS is way past the point that one of the all-time great football managers being aware of the league is a big deal? He didn't mention Beckham publicly for about 3 years after he left United. If some MLS fans want to think Alex Ferguson really gives a damn whether Beckham is successful in America or not, then maybe those MLS fans have overestimated Beckhams importance. David Beckham was second pick behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2002/3, his last season at United, when Solskjaer helped United win the league. David Beckham was no loss to United when he went. The retirement of Solskjaer recently was a bigger deal for United fans then David Beckham leaving ever was. Most football fans in the UK think Beckham is a joke. It's only the celebrity loving nature of Sven that kept him in the England team, and the injury to Aaron Lennon that got him recalled. It's really only people who get their football knowledge from reading about footballers wives in "Hello" magazine that think Beckham is a great player. If some MLS fans want to bracket themselves with that demographic then go right ahead. Alex Ferguson is more interested in watching Rooney and Ronaldo than wondering if David Beckham will make the front cover of Sports Illustrated.
First of all, I said "ironic", not "arousing" (whip out that dictionary, boy...! Oh, sorry, did I say "whip"...didn't mean to make you wet...) Why all the Beckham bitterness? The fact is, Beckham has played for ManU, for Real Madrid and is still being called on to play for England NT. He's played good, solid football all during his career. Aside from his free kicks, he's not the "highlight" player--he's not the guy who is going to score five goals a game...but he's the guy who will set up for three of those five goals. And when he DID get recalled to England, he made a difference. That's actually the point. What do you mean "if some MLS fans want to think Alex Furgeson really gives a damn"?? It was Furgeson who made the comments...it wasn't like Beckham's agent (or anyone from LA) called the moron and asked him his opinion. I'm amazed by the people who are trying to cash in on Beckham. Even when they criticize him, it makes the papers: Bobby Charlton is using Beckham to sell his book--it's freaking pathetic! Personally, I think that idiot "Sir" Alex is just trying to take people's attention from the fact that ManU is playing like crap so far this season. "Most football fans in the UK" who think Beckham's a joke...that would be you and your four buddies huddled over your pints at the local pub, right? When I read this kind of ignorance (and I realize commenting back to someone who is incapable of having an intelligent discussion on this subject is a pointless thing for me to do, and yet, sometimes I get suckered into it), I am at least cheered by the thought that Beckham is, right now, sitting around by the pool at his mansion, checking out whether his Farrari needs a waxing, and couldn't care less what you (or I, for that matter) think. And, you know, Beckham has enough class not to publicly trash any of his former managers or team mates. Same can't quite be said about your love muffin, "Sir" Alex. But as long as ol' Alex get you wet.......
If only I'd had your good sense and resolve!! Even when you know you shouldn't get sucked into moron baiting, sometimes you just can't help yourself........
Well, in some cases American sports fans do travel in great numbers to away games, such as in college football for certain marquee matchups. Or like in the case when Notre Dame was not very good a couple years ago, and Nebraska was really good, and playing at South Bend for a game, because the stadium is such a classic place and the golden dome and everything, Nebraska fans came out in great numbers, while Notre Dame fans were willing sellers, so like upwards of 20-30 thousand Nebraska fans came to see that game, which for them was about an 8-hour drive. But also it happens all the time with regional rivalries in college football; away fans willingly drive to every game that is within 4 hours drive. I would suppose a lot of them do so because of lack of availability for home game tickets. So if say an MLS club sells out all their home games, then those who can't get tickets may go to away games just so they can see their team play. And that's all MLS needs. You won't see a bunch of New York fans at San Jose games, but you can one day see a lot of Galaxy fans at San Jose games, or New York fans at Philadelphia games, or New England fans at New York games, or DC United fans at Philadelphia games---giving Philly a team will help this out a great deal, because then you'd have 4 teams in close driving distance. Then if some time in the future, they could put at least two more teams in the Northeast corridor, like say Baltimore, and Hartford, then they could build a situation like they have in Europe where fans are regularly travelling to away games.
I think that the size of our country doesn't matter for the game. The clubs in England that he is talking about survive off of neighborhoods supporting their teams to fill 20,000 seats. The U.S. has cities of people to fill 20,000 seats. You won't have half the stadium filled with the AWAY teams fans but all that means is that you can watch the game with screaming, singing fans and not worry about a neighborhood brawl after the game. Also, I think that this is actually a place where the MLS can use the other sports to their advantage: People from New England hate people from New York, Chicago fans hate St. Louis fans. These are a few examples but rivalries can start because of conference play and close games just like in the other sports. New England and New York don't hate each other because their CHOWDA is a different color, it's because of the great games they have had against one another. Create excitement have great games and people will stay interested.
I don't particularly like the guy -- hell, I would throw a shoe at him if I could -- but can you seriously doubt that he is a great coach? Forget for a minute what he has accomplished at ManU ... he won the Scottish League with Aberdeen! On that alone he is a great coach (er, sorry, "manager").
It seems it's David Beckham that gets you wet He is married you know. You just don't get it do you? You're obviously new to football. Maybe your only interest in the great game is David Beckham. You have this image of David Beckham as this football superstar. For most people in Europe him and his wife are this novelty act now playing in LA, something to be laughed at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6981670.stm As a United fan I'll always respect him for his part in winning the treble. But FourFourTwo magazine just published the list of the 100 best players in the world. Alex Ferguson has 2 of his players in the top 10. Where's David Beckham in the list? If you really think one of the all-time great managers would trash Beckham to cover the fact that United have had a mediocre start to retaining the PL crown, then you really are a fool. He was asked about Beckham by a journalist at a reception in Scotland. He gave some thoughts on the matter. But other questions he answered about Jaap Stam and Wayne Rooney got far more sports media coverage. Because those questions were about great players, not great celebrities.
Can't he be both great celebrity and great player? I mean I agree with your point for the most part, Beckham isn't among the world's elite. But the man has some qualities that are sublime. Say what you will, but there are only a few players in the world that can consistantly bend the ball the way he does. That skill alone could guarantee him a job in any league in the world. He may not manage to be a starter at a G14 club, but he could probably start at most of the clubs just below G14.
Don't get me wrong, I like Beckham. I'll always remember him being carried off the pitch by the fans, along with Ryan Giggs, after helping United win the epic FA Cup sem-final match in 1999. But the idea that Alex Ferguson is making comments about David Beckham as some kind of publicity stunt is so idiotic that it needs to answered. Every day Ferguson deals with questions about players in his squad like Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. These players are rated as some of the best in the world. If Ferguson is asked by a journalist for his view on Beckham then the resulting news story is a hell of a lot less news-worthy in Europe than anything he has to say about Rooney and Ronaldo. Like I said, Fergusons comments about Jaap Stam at the same event generated more press than anything about Beckham. Beckham in America is not the massive news story in Europe that some people in MLS might think it is. You'll see a hell of a lot more about Alex Ferguson in the sports pages than you will about David Beckham. The idea that Ferguson is trying to get more column inches about himself by talking about Beckham is just laughable.
On planet Earth, he's a few months removed from starting for the winner of the best league in the world. But do carry on.
Fergie is just bitter because he got his ass booed off the field the last time he came to America. In order to save face for the next game on the tour he had to call in a couple ringers. But the damage was done. What he needs to realize is that soccer is already a big enough sport here that the fans are savvy enough to realize when they have been cheated out of $100 in order to see a bunch of Manchester United academy kids play Bayern Munich in a preseason friendly.
You know, what really gets old is this percieved football snobbery (*yawn*) that anyone who dares to think differently than a "real" football (i.e. English) fan, is obviously "new" to soccer, a "new" fan, only a fan because of David Beckham, etc... This is a lot of crap, by the way. I am not going to justify this by listing my 'qualifications' as a soccer fan. Give me a break. I'll settle for: I probably know as much about soccer as you do, although my interst is in the MLS more than European leagues. Moreover, I don't need you to tell me what I think of Beckham. What I said in my post (assuming you actually read it) was that he had been, thoughout his career, a solid football player with a good work rate. As for Alex Furgeson...I think he's an a$$. However, I will venture an apology to ManU fans, because I was indulging in "moron-baiting" in my post, and my suggestion that Furgeson was using Beckham to divert attention from ManU (or even that ManU was playing like crap) was, I admit, more to bait the moron, than an honest opinion on my part. This is why I normally resist sinking to the moron baiting level... On the other hand, I will say, as far as Alex Furgeson is concerned, he must be considered a decent manager based on the history of ManU under his leadership--but for many reasons, (which have nothing to do with Beckham, I guess I'll have to add), I think he is a complete prat, an ignoramus and a dinosaur who will (with luck) lumber off into the sunset someday very, very soon. Oh, and by the way, I'm sure I look much better in high heels than Victoria...!!