Well it's all about the ability to measure a team ... for instance, while the "stock" of the USOC wasn't/isn't exactly very high prestige wise, Seattle literally built their team image/accolades in part by attacking it and winning it. They're image and prestige as a club now relies heavily and MOSTLY on those USOC tropies ... it wasn't until their 4th and final USOC winning season that they actually got the SS in (2014). It was another 2yrs before they actually won the MLS Cup. Same with CLB ... regarded as one of the toughest and most solid teams year over year. They've got as many trophies as SEA ... but 3 are SS. That's what their reputation was built on. NYRB were finally given credence and seen as a bigger club thanks to breaking through and winning the SS and then doing it again twice more over the course of 6yrs. Sure, if you ask a player or coach which one they WANT to win ... it's MLS CUP because it is given the title/recognition/award of "League Champion" by virtue of how sports work here. There IS divided opinion and strong feelings for the SS and what it means/designates. Hell, just look at what happened last year when it was announced it wouldn't be awarded ...
Yep the Revs were very definitely the best team in MLS this year, and Philly last year. The Union were proudly displaying their 2020 Supporter's Shield banner at Subaru Park last night. I think a pre-season game between the winners of the Eastern and Western Conference would be a nice addition to the calendar. They could call it "The Community Shield".
No it is still true. The way the league is determined is by wins and loses on the field. In a closed league it's what brings the other teams the most money. This is the fundamental difference.
New MLS D3 league "MLS Next Pro" Joining 2022 Colorado Chicago Dallas Cincinnati Houston Columbus Kansas City Miami Minnesota New England Portland New York City Salt Lake Orlando San Jose Philadelphia Seattle Rochester NY FC* St. Louis Toronto Vancouver *Independent club Joining in 2023: Atlanta Charlotte D.C. LA LAFC Nashville NY Red Bulls
Which brings up a rather interesting point ... that nobody on the pro/rel side has cared to mention when the cat call all the American investment in p/r soccer. The DARLING story they cite (Leicester) sees the star and face of the rise (Jaime Vardy) investing not just in American, but MLS specific development as an owner of Rochester: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/roch...next-pro-can-create-success-stories-like-mine Weird ... if ANYONE would be the poster child of p/r and everything folks CLAIM it to be/for it to do ... it would be VARDY! Yet, this is what he's chosen to do, invest in the AMERICAN approach/system/set up. EXCITING INNIT!?!
What we've clearly seen 'lately' is the concentration of money at the top. It is crazy, giving extra money to the clubs who need it least. They then understandably dominate, gain more fans as a result, then say the increased interest they bring means they deserve more money - all the time complaining that that smaller clubs are uncompetitive. The sad thing is that many younger fans, millenials and younger, prefer it this way. They genuinely like having an 'elite' at the top who dominate, with the rest being a supporting cast. Yes, you get the odd team other who does pretty well now and then, but they very fact that a club doing so in noteable is part if the problem. When the likes of Southampton, Ipswich and Nottingham Forest had very strong teams in the 80s, nobody thought it unusual.
The participants in MLS are. First you're going to have to show me your work before I will accept a broad statement like "money determines wins and losses more so than not" at face value. The times I have looked at the Championship the trend I see is that the promoted clubs are usually in the top half but usually NOT the biggest spenders. Second even if there is a broad connection between league status and money a team still has to be able to leverage that advantage into wins on the field by recruiting good players, having good coaches and so on. You know having the best team. The league status is still not just a matter of looking at numbers on a spread sheet. Which is EXACTLY how league status is determined in a closed league. In my perfect world it would be strictly competition based and everything would only be based on how good a team you were. But that's not our world never will be. The fact that Pro/rel still exists in this greedy late capitalist world is in itself a bit of a miracle. Does it exist in a void completely removed from money? OF COURSE NOT! Nothing does, but at the end of the day the thing that determines your league status is your play on the field. That is fundamentally different to your league status being determined by the size of your TV market and the number of corporate sponsors you have.
This is really interesting in that this is fairly unique to soccer in the US. In hockey the President's trophy, which goes to the team with the most points in the regular season, is actively ignored by players and sometimes even despised by fans because it's seen as cursed. In the NFL, NBA, and MLB the #1 seed is nice but not seen as an accomplishment in itself.
ummmmm okay. And this matters how? What is your point? That Vardy secretly hates Pro/Rel? That everyone who likes pro/rel now has to hate Vardy? And if I choose to not like Vardy, which I don't for both footballing and non footballing reasons, I can't like Pro/rel? Again ummmm okay. To paraphrase a former co-worker, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
I remember that the Atlanta Falcons were the #1 seed in the NFC in the 80-81 season, before losing a thriller at home to the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round. Other than that, I remember few of the #1 seeds. At least now, being a #1 seed really matters.
Vardy's goals helped Halifax gain promotion from the Northern Premier League, Fleetwood Town to be promoted into the Football League and Leicester City to be promoted to The Premier League. Clearly he "hates" pro/rel
Are Arsenal and Utd 'sharing out' the title between themselves - yes or no? Are Leicester City the 'whipping boys' of the Premier League - yes or no?
You don't get to change the subject. The question isn't your made up statement. The question is if you were lying making that up, or if you can back your claim up with a quote.
Well exactly. People don't tend to choose teams based on how their league is organized. There are a myriad of reasons why you would choose to support a soccer team, and organizational structure isn't high up on the list.