I have a question, it may have been discussed ad nauseum, but scrolling through the threads, I haven't been able to find the answer to this question of mine: Why is the MLS season so short? Wouldn't they make more money playing more games? Understandable, since they took away my team, that you get sick of playing the same teams over and over, but how about some sort of mini-season (during the winter months) inviting Central/South American, or even Euro teams that do their pre-season training here in the US, to play some of our teams? The logistics are probably complicated, but if I could watch some MLS team play Roma or someone, even if they were using some reserves because they were in winter training, I'd still go for several reasons, but mainly because with 10 teams, it is boring watching them play each other half a dozen times a year.
tons of answers to that one -cost of rent -no access to the facilities -weather -you name it... think it's valid, throw it in
The season is short because: a) Many teams dont own their stadium and cannot find time in the fall/winter seasons. b) They are afraid of going up against the NFL/NBA/NHL for entertainement dollars and ratings c) They feel that no one will go because "its too cold"(yeah right. d) And the last reason you answered yourself. How many times can 2 teams play each other? I mean each team in the conference plays each other 4 times!(2X for out of conference teams) Thats ALOT by any leagues standards, but its understandable because we only have 10 teams. I want the season to be longer but its not going to happen until more teams get in and the number of teams getting into the playoff either gets reduced or stays the same, if more teams are added. That way people dont play 50 games to eliminate 2 teams. And the answer to your other question is, you can't invite other clubs during the winter months because the rest of the world is in the middle of their season. They only take like 1 or 2 weeks off and during xmas-new years and they usually like to heal up and rest to head into the 2nd half of the season. The only way a MLS team can play another team is by going to their stadium to play and that even if they have enough time because most top clubs are involved in 2 or 3 tournaments at that time and are playing 2 games a week.
i think it's a great idea. have all the teams come to SoCal from mid-November through mid-January and play a mini-season against various, nefarious clubs of all stripes and sub-groups, WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE THAT I COULD GET TO SEE MANY MORE GAMES. you could play at fullerton stadium, homedepot, spirit/usd stadium, chula vista olympic center, just to name a few places. i'll personally sell popcorn and do the dishes after the game.
How is an 8-month season "too short", exactly? Couldn't it be just as easily intoned that the majority of european and latin american seasons are far too long? 8 months is fine by me. 9 is good but pushing it. 10 or 11 and you've reached ludicrousness territory and verging on abuse of your players.
I agree. The season is already 8 months long and if you count the preseason, it's 9. Spring Training starts for most teams in early to mid February, so if you think about it, the players only get maybe two months away from soccer. They don't even get that if they play for the national team. I wouldn't mind leaving the US Open Cup to the PDL, PSL, and the A-League. This way more MLS games could be added without contributing to the length of the season. We need to keep the CONCACAF Champions Cup though, it makes sense. -VON
In the past, it has been rather short, but I think this year it will probably be just about the right length.
I don't think he's talking about the lenght of the season in terms of months, but the number of games played. I've had this question to (forgive me, this will be my first season following the MLS), since the sport is no more physical than hockey or basketball why do teams play only 30 to 40 regular season games a year? On top of that why do they space them out so far? I mean, isn't one game a week kind of silly? In hockey and basketball they sometimes play 3 or 4 games a week. I've heard that Saturday games draw larger crowds here, but this isn't just a US thing. I've looked into the EPL a little bit and they seem to stretch a 38 game season over 10 months. What's the reasoning/history behind this?
Money. On average across MLS, weekend games draw around 16,000 fans. Weeknight games draw around 9,000 fans. This also lets them reserve midweek dates for the US Open Cup tournament, CONCACAF tournaments, friendlies vs. A-League teams, a handful of MLS dates, and so on. The EPL does play 38 games over 10 months, but you also have to keep in mind the following: 1 week a month in Sept, Oct, Nov, Mar, Apr and May is reserved for international games. Several weekends a year are devoted to FA Cup games instead of league play. Midweek dates are sporadic, since every other fall and spring midweek date is reserved for Champions League/UEFA Cup play and others for Worthington Cup matches.
Keep in mind that soccer is different physically. The players are out for 90 minutes at a time, something that doesn't happen in other sports. The endurance portion (the main bulk of it really) is the most draining part. Hockey and basketball allow for unlimited substitutions.
8- months is not short at all. In fact it's longer and better than last year. Plus you have to considered the weather in the northern part of the U.S. is unplayable for soccer. Yes. But you have to consider owning our own (not renting) soccer stadiums. Also too many games tends to lead to schedule conflictions (e.g. MLS games, CONCACAF Champions Cup, U.S. Open Cup, Gold Cup (for MLS players leaving their clubs for national call up), etc...) and confusion among the fans. So they need a organized and well-planned soccer calendar. A good example of these too many games is (1) the state of domestic soccer in Brazil and (2) the number of game reductions for next year's UEFA Champions League (after complates of players' fatigue during 2002 World Cup). Playing MLS clubs 2 or 4 times is enough IMHO. Now if MLS clubs want to play clubs from Sweden, Russia or Norway for example, then I think it would be a good idea. However I personally don't think other clubs that are going though the middle of the season (e.g. German clubs during the winter break) want to play in the mini winter tournament for risking their players being injured.