USOC related so I’ll comment here. Lotta notable dissent from SG’s about Leagues Cup. Wondering if Cauldron will do anything? Have not heard a peep.
I dunno. Apple likes the LCup, quite a lot apparently, which says it stays. If there is to be an effective protest, wouldn't it have to be about something like dynamic scheduling for clubs knocked out?
Nope, don't expect one at all. Remember how long it take for the letter last year? And how there was no follow up on either the on field side or stadium side from the group? Cauldron doesn't want to upset the bosses at this point.
You know you have a quality product when the league has to threaten fines for dissent. Hopefully no one attends the GarberCashGrab Cup and the stadium is full for US Open Cup. That contrast is all the Cauldron needs to do.
Yeah, I dunno about Chicago, but CMP will be packed for Toluca, won't it? doens't matter how many Cauldron faithful stay away (unless they buy the tickets and burn them, i guess, but that seems like an odd protest: "Take my money, now go look bad on TV..." OTOH, while the magic of the USOC can't be denied (this is sarcasm, it can be) I am not it is the Indy 11 who best bring that out. And given the broadcast narrative, if CMP is empty, it's gonna be, see , told you KC was never a soccer city.
Quick check of seat geek a lot of open seats for Toluca, only slightly better than it looks for Chicago honestly. Toluca doesn't have the pull of the "big" Mexican clubs to pack CMP, especially on a Monday night.
Counter pt to anyone that ever says that.....this past Saturday SKC vs St.Loser was standing room only and KC Current vs Houston in the NWSL CashGrab Cup was a sellout or near sellout. Games happened at the same time. So, 30K watching live soccer. One team terrible and playing an equally terrible rival, one team good but playing a meaningless match against a team with 16 players that traveled.
My comment was not to imply that KC is not a good soccer city. It's to imply that it is the easy narrative and will be adopted by the Apple loving crews and analysts, etc. They'll probably bring up the days at Arrowhead and Community Am, "shame, thought we'd gotten beyond that," that sort of thing. Apple, MLS and LigaMX love the idea of the league's cup. If fans don't, I would bet on them adopting an "It's not me, it's them" attitude.
It won't endear them in anyone's eyes though because there's plenty of boycotts of the cashgrab going on b/c of the league's decision on the USOC. If MLS changes their stance next year on the USOC I could see fans come back. I also think there's a segment of fans (myself included) who doesn't give 2 shits about the cashgrab cup and think of it as nothing more than glorified friendlies that they're stopping league play for.
I know you weren't saying KC is not a good soccer town. If anyone ever comes at us, pointing that we had two concurrent sellouts is pretty impressive in my opinion.
I know this is way off topic, and maybe it's a new thread, but I would like to know if what MLS and LigaMX and Apple wanted out of the Leagues cup is what they're getting. They wanted viewers, and last year they got a lot of them, but last year was the Messi debut and he's injured now, so showing off a new Messi is not a sustainable model. They wanted international interest, which they got, but that's back to Messi, isn't it? A tri-nation cup is interesting to casual viewers in Europe, and as Apple MLS is the same here as there. This is Messi centric, but not totally. Euro football fans like the idea of seeing clubs they've heard about, from Mexico mostly, but also the US and Canada in a tight little package, during the summer when there isn't any other footie on. That sort of interest grows, slowly and steadily over years, so who knows. And then there's the LigaMX-MLS underlying idea of wondering how close they can push the two leauges, if a merger is someday a good thing to think about, etc, and this it he trial balloon. Who knows with that.
On Tuesday, Cauldron’s twitter account IM’d me and said “more to come” [re Leagues Cup bs]. Not sure what that means. “More” would me something’s already been done. I interpret it to mean, ‘wait patiently’ or something along those lines.
While I get the general displeasure over leagues cup, SKC did take part in USOC and took it seriously enough to be in the final four. Is the KC version of the protest all about how this thing messes up the schedule?
KC was only in it because of where they finished last year, the KC version of the protest should be about the league as a whole respecting the tournament. Especially given the fact that Illig sits on the competition committee that made the original decision to try to pull out of the tournament.
IMO, the best protest KC can make, and the only one the league will notice, is to fill the stadium for the game v Indy 11. Be passionate AF about it and show that on the apple broadcast. Everything else will be ignored.
One of my protests is to only buy my season tickets. And I have told my rep this as well as other messages, such as my assessments and opinions on the job that PV is doing, that I ask be passed up the chain of command. No idea if they do and how they moderate what I say, typically I email what I want sent up the chain so there is an exact record of what I wanted to say. I would also like to tifo that said 'Name me two other leagues in the world that stop their entire domestic leagues for 2+ weeks to play each other in a mini tourney'. Could that get approved to be displayed at CMP? How I wish I had gotten my season tickets back in the late 90's. Oh, to have seen live play that is not from the PV era after 2014 or, shiver, Onalfo, shiver.
I mean someone brought the PV Out sign last year, so there’s the chance, but I doubt you’d get something that specific.
I brought in a white poster board with a yellow card taped to it to the RSL game and it was checked and allowed through. When it became 4-2 I took off the yellow cards and hand wrote with a sharpie #VermesOut and held up the board for the last 10 minutes of the game plus stoppage. I was in the side portion of the Cauldron near the middle and was expecting the stadium staff to come confiscate it but no one bothered me. I guess even they are apathetic. Most of the fans were supportive but a couple were upset (one threw an empty beer can at my feet after the game). LOL
KC Cauldron statement on League Cup is out. Oh boi. Not trying to make this a Cauldron thread, but it appears to me that Cauldron is in need of a social and operational audit.
#SaveTheCup #SaveUSOC pic.twitter.com/2sukjKBEg5— The Cauldron (@KCCauldron) July 26, 2024 It’s hard to say nothing of substance with that many words.
I know, I know but to me, tickets are kinda of a loss leader, the real profits are the food, drinks and merchandise. Plus the wife and I love watching live with a crowd.