So, MLS in a movie theater! http://www.mlsnet.com/content/03/mls0528regal.html Sounds cools but, look who they picked June 11 D.C. United @ Colorado Rapids June 18 San Jose Earthquakes @ L.A. Galaxy July 9 Colorado Rapids @ L.A. Galaxy July 30 Columbus Crew @ L.A. Galaxy DC, Rapids, LA - total wins= 0 Why not reward teams for doing well? I think there are some better match-ups that they could have selected.
1. There is already a thread about this. 2. Three of these are designated as ENG games. Which means the Electronic News Gathering feed (the stuff produced for the highlight board and to be distributed to news outlets after the game) was going to be routed to the Shootout package because no local or national broadcaster committed to showing the game. So it's more than about who is winning. It's about marketing and logistics. And the bottom line is people are going to get to see the new stadium in its full glory three times. To the people controlling the purse strings, that's a hell of a lot more important than whether a team with more wins ends up on Regal's screens.
Where's the other thread? I couldn't find one so I started one. I figured as much. I used to work for a marketing company(for the music industry) and know just important quality is considered over $$$. But still, I would have thrown in a couple of Metro games in there to get the huge NY crowd going to see.
Last I checked these games were already scheduled on a Wednesday. Only one of the four dates has multiple games. On 6/18 would you rather shell out $6-$12 to see LA v. SJ (new stadium) or CHI v. DAL (crap stadium)? The better question would be, why not do games on Saturday? Probably because it's Saturday and they would rather have people's rear-ends in the Stadium, not a cinema house. I'm still waiting for the MLS ads to appear at a Regal Entertainment Group, through Regal CineMedia, theatre. Both are under the umbrella of AEG.
Considering: (a) AEG controls teams in 7 of the 8 slots represented in these games as well as the theatres; (b) They're previously-scheduled Wednesday night games, and they weren't going to move the Metros to a Wednesday night; and (c) They'd do it on a Wednesday night because I can't imagine the theatres giving up a lucrative Saturday night of movies (I'm assuming here that these theatres do show regular movies) to show MLS games that it's possible few people will attend; I think it's exactly how it should be. This is not a "reward" situation. BTW, the other thread is here.