The "Don" now said 22 teams by 2020..

well when viewer-ship of the ELP and Champs League keeps on rising, making FSC put games on FX, and the final of Fox, then ESPN has two to three matches per week of EPL, while the MLS still struggles with the same rating of under a million, barely getting one game per week on ESPN2, and one to two games per week on FSC.

 

The way for the league to compete globally is for it to compete domestically. More popularity domestically= more fans, more money and the ability to afford better players from all over the world.

Messing with the schedule in a way that will result in less tickets sold and less money for the league just to chase the phantom of international respect is a disastrous idea.

 

unfortunatly even as a diehard revs fan i gotta agree with some of this, as long as Kraft owns the team i highly doubt hell move the team, and the league wont do anything about it. Thats why the league needs to sit down and have a nice little chat with bobby and tell him whats good.

listen he owns the Razor, he owns his little mall area Patriot Place (which it cringes me to say, is actually a fun spot to hang out at), 17 days of the year he can get 8000 people out there to HIS stadium, to hang out in HIS mall/place/whatever. Why would he pay a shit-ton of money to build a stadium in a very expensive area(Boston) when people are going to pay money to hang out in his spot?

I WISH it would happen, even though the drive would be longer for me, but just having a SSS doesnt automtically fix this team. No advertising, no money coming in, no DPs, outside of a dedicated fan base hardly anybody knows about the team. even if you moved to boston people would be like "oh look at that, who are they?". Thats why this team needs to advertise, and when i mean advertise i dont mean during the Revs games which is the only time they EVER advertise. There is a lot of work for this team, honestly im beginning to think this team is on life support and bob kraft is fighting with the doctors who are suggesting help. thats the only metaphor i can think of.

He will never get dropped by the MLS though, the league needs to sit down and put some pressure on him..... Seriously you could name anything and id give it for kraft to turn over the team to NESV (Sox and Liverpool owners FYI).

 

You are making my point. The ratings for MLS are very low now - changing the schedule will see less fans in the stands and lower ratings as they will compete for TV viewers against the top 2 NA sports. That means less money from sponsors and other revenue - which means a lower salary cap and lower quality players.

How does that make it better for Major League Soccer?

 

I don't know. It isn't. MLS needs to negotiate where on the ESPN networks, there are at least 2 games a week, while on FSC/FX/Fox, they need to negotiate to show at least 3 games a week. But then that would remove the MLS Direct Kick package. Also, I look at what happened over the last summer, and what will happen over this summer. When Man U played the 3 MLS teams, the stadiums were full of red, while each MLS team supporters just had a couple of sections throughout the whole 60k stadium. I think thats the biggest influence between EPL and Champs League teams getting coverage while MLS teams rarely do.
If anybody watched the spanish channels (Univision, Telemundo, Telefutura, or ESPN Deportes) during there sports highlights, do they show MLS highlights?

 

In the NYC area both the Univision and Telemundo local news give coverage to the Red Bulls and MLS. But then again on the spanish channel the sports news has an entire soccer section where they go over major happenings in Europe/Mexico/Latin America leagues and also tourneys like Champions league and Copa Libertadores. Granted it's only quick highlights (youre not going to get the Fox Soccer Report on the 6 o'clock news) but its more than what you see on the mainstream networks here---which is zero.

 

A fall-spring schedule for MLS is simply ludicrous. Thinking otherwise is just delusional
____________________________________________________________

Simple minded assertion. Not one poster on BS discussing an August - June schedule has ignored the issue of other sports on the calendar. The response has always been "we already go up against college football and pro football and baseball playoffs in Sept. and October NOW" The only change would be that each team in the league would probably have two home games in November ( and possibly early december in the warm weather towns.) And no one is saying games should be played in December and early March in cold weather cities. And no one is saying ANY games should be played in Jan and February.

There are very real reasons to consider the switch at some point including ( not in any order of importance) 1) getting transfer windows lined up with most of the world to get needed players at the start; 2) avoiding conflicts( all conflict) with the World Cup and Gold Cup, and thereby placing all the nation's attention on the NATS ( who are the gateway drug to general soccer addiction in the USA and therefore a good thing for MLS; 3) reducing the horrifically long winter break for most MLS teams--out of sight, out of mind, and 4) having less friendlies with the EURO teams ( which I think suppresses rather than encourage MLS fever by creating this false sense of MLS inferiority as a soccer experience).

So no, contemplating a fall-spring schedule is not delusional, although I could peg similar adjectives on such small minded/in- the- box only thinking

 

if there were pro/rel bad owners would get relegated if they pulled this crap.

you would have some other competition in the area. Another club would be founded, Boston FC or whatever.

I have a friend in Boston and she's never heard of the Revs. Last time i was there you wouldn't have known the Revs had any fans in Boston at all or that Boston even had a professional soccer team.

 

Well, to tell the truth it's pretty much the same in NYC, and Red Bull has proven to be an owner willing to spend money. I think it has more to do with soccer being a niche sport. Boston is Red Sox and Patriots territory. NYC is Giants and Yankees. When the print,tv , and radio media finally get on board and start giving MLS decent coverage then you may see the average person on the street know about the Revs or the Red Bulls.

 

That does it:

MOVE THE REVS TO ATLANTA!!

 

absolutly not... how about...... PROVIDENCE!!!!

 

Oh yea, let's move every team to a second rate market. We'll put Chivas in Reno, Toronto in Buffalo, Chicago to Milwaukee, and we'll keep Columbus where they are.

I've been advocating the Revs moving to St. Louis and an expansion team going to Boston for years. No one listens

 

lets move NY to NJ oh wait they are in NJ nevermind.

 

the problem is that with the current league structure, you're bumping up against 2.5 months of college football, 2.5 months of hte NFL, about a month of college basketball and a month and half of the NHL and NBA.

In a 7 month season, 5 months of it has little competition, just MLB.

If you go August-June, you're competing against football, and the two indoor leagues, for most of your season, you're looking at 2 months of the season that aren't fighting for TV spots with more profitable enterprises.

You're still advocating a model where home games get compressed for northern teams.. and where fans have to disengage from the league for a month or two before picking it up again.

 

You seem to not understand the concept of markets

 

Nah its just fun to get your Jersey Shore Panties in a knot. lol

oh by the way 3-1 just remember that.

 

Providence and the outlying area has 1.5 million people who are basically exposed to only boston sports and the local Minor league teams who do absolutly GREAT in terms of success in attendence. to bring a Major League team here would be amazing for Providence, the outlying area, and for the rest of the people in southern new england (which is the more populated part). Saying its a second rate market is almost true, its defienently better than 2nd rate, it isnt the largest but i believe it could work.

And yeah nobody is going to listen to you talk about moving the Revs to Saint Luis, it will never happen. the Revs wont fold due to the fact that Kraft doesnt want them to so he wont move them or fold them.

Just so you know i wasnt being completely serious by saying providence, but there are ways that it would work out for the team if brought here

 

Well thats a load of HorseShit. Really, Orlando? Over PHX/TUCSON or San Diego. The MLS can go ******** themselves. & I still HATE the idea of the New York Cosmos, seeing that the Borough Boys excuses are that its to far to travel to a Pink Bulls game.
& Not one mention of the AZ market.

 

Was this reported elsewhere? The article you linked is the columnist's opinion and certainly doesn't say that there are three expansion sites set.

The only other thing I can find from July 14 is this interview with the New Jersey Star Ledger which has been condensed, but just says they hope the 20th team is in New York.

http://www.nj.com/redbulls/index.ss...don_garber_has_overseen_growth_of_league.html

 

No, but no one outside BS is talking about any site for MLS20 except New York. And everyone inside BS knows that Cosmos2014 is a pipe-dream, a scam to sell jerseys.

 

This was funny.

 

I understand St Louis it is a soccer town and they would be a great MLS city.

Orlando gives the MLS a presence in the South, which would give the league a larger picture.

New York Cosmos??? is what happen's when money talks.