I just love naked PR bullshit: “We love that since we announced pro soccer coming to Cleveland three years ago, the energy and enthusiasm of our fans have gotten the nation’s attention,” Yes, all.of the US is positively gaga over it. Then there's this gem: Cleveland is the largest metro area in the country without a professional soccer stadium or one under construction. Now a cynic might suggest that the reason for.this is that there's no, you know, professional soccer team in Cleveland, but thats just a minor detail. Id also point out that Bart Wolstein tried desperately to bring an MLS team to Cleveland years ago and Don Garber was wining and dining him but Cleveland kept turning down his stadium plans, saying basically that nobody gave a crap.
Funny thing was that it took a while for places with real soccer history and interest to get an MLS team--like St. Louis, Philly, and the PNW.
If they had so much history, passion and interest they would have gotten teams in 1996. All they had to do was get a couple thousand people to sign up and they couldnt do it. I don't have any respect for all the crap about those city's soccer history. Should have stepped up when they had the chance. "Real" soccer history and interest my ass.
Just out of curiosity, what numbers were the PNW teams getting as A-League teams? I remember them "doing quite good" but was that in soccer terms, which could have been 25k at the time, or in D2 terms, which could have been far less? I think we all know *how* we got the league required threshold. Unfortunately, we may never know the numbers without that key player. You're right though. They had every chance to step up. The forgotten bit? Chicago was supposed to be an original team and NYC/NJ were supposed to be two separate teams.
In the A League during the 90's Seattle drew less than 3000 a game. Portland did a bit better but not by much. Of course the Xoggz were drawing similar numbers at the time, but then in 96 at Ohio Stadium averaged 19,000
Columbus nonstop to Montreal is coming in 2026. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news...ming-to-john-glenn-columbus-2026/86292683007/
Not to get too far into the weeds (or in your case, the weed) here but with Canada on the verge of dissolution due to Toronto/Ontario sucking everybody else's lifeblood, so that most of the west (Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan) wants out and Quebec stepping up and saying Hey, heres the chance weve been waiting for lo these many years (and PQ has promised a referendum) how would we suppose this affects MLS? Its worth noting that the last referendum lost with 49.8% of the yes vote, and theyre WAY more ticked off than they were back then. ( Among other things, Ottawa insists on unfettered immigration and Quebec/ Montreal insists on only French speaking immigration, and theyre not in a mood to compromise) Montreal would end up in a third country, Vancouver in a 4th, and Toronto financially strapped and on the brink.of bankruptcy. Can the USSF and Canadiastan fed's really ask FIFA to sanction a four nation league? Even if Greenland isnt able to get approval to join CONCACAF, that would be one hell.of a mess. How delightful
I'll pledge right here and now that beer is on me for any and all Crew fans who'll meet me at Nuuk Stadium UEFA has refused them membership, because they’re owned by Denmark, but theyve applied to CONCACAF which is much more liberal about these things, and specifically to the North American Football Union (which is an actual.thing). They already have a new 20,000 seat stadium designed for Nuuk since the above doesn't quite meet FIFA standards. Also because it snows 9 months of the year. At which point they can apply for an MLS entry. Then all we have to do is find one crazy billionaire. Or arrange for @chr1st to win a Powerball drawing.
There is another blood drive on the horizon: Bleed Black and Gold Blood Drive Date: Saturday, October 4, 2025 Time: 8:00am-4:00pm Location: Lower.com Field, River Club, 96 Columbus Crew Way, Columbus, OH 43215 https://versiti.org/ways-to-give/annual-blood-drives/columbus-crew-blood-drive
When Sky Sports News was on NBCSN, one of the last multi-day stories they covered that wasn't a game was a fire at some lower level English(?) stadium. In fact, to call it a "stadium" might have been a stretch. IIRC, one of the ends of the field was right up against a wall. One of the great things about the game is its simplicity. All you need is a field and a ball. This field is no exception. The hill on the right seems like a great place for a family to take a picnic.
I think the top field shown is even narrower than the field I used to play on at Indianola Park in Worthington.
I believe today is the last day to meet my wife's fundraising goal: https://pages.lls.org/ltn/coh/CntlOhio25/SVanRunkle
For all you Bengals fans, and I suppose Browns fans too: The Bengals just traded for Joe Flacco. The world has gone mad.
Well, Browning sure ain’t getting it done while Burrow is injured. But the Bengals aren’t going to turn it around no matter what QB is behind that crappy OL.
Jameis Winston made a lot more sense. Flacco is an older and less mobile version of Browning. Then you add in the pick swap on top of it, trading away what's likely be a high 5th rounder and getting back the Lions' 6th rounder which will be near the end of that round. They basically dropped two rounds to pick up a guy that Cleveland was going to cut anyway, when the only way out of this hopeless situation for Cincinnati is to maximize their picks and string together a couple nice draft classes. The Bengals managed to get fleeced by one of the worst organizations in pro sports. You almost have to be impressed at the incompetence.
If anyone is free tonight and wants to head out to Historic Crew Stadium tonight and watch some footy! Free entry and parking!
So since you're forcing us to guess here, I'll go with Grove City and Central Crossing in the big Grove City Derby. Am I close?
It doesn't say it in the Dispatch, but Columbus Business First noted that this is a seasonal non-stop only. It'll run May-October.