How long till conspiracy theories come out regarding this. MLS money is involved with SUM having the broadcast rights to the WWC. Someone is gonna think that this is just one more way that Julie Foudy and her friends can come up with a way to screw with MLS. I don't think this but I'm sure someone will.
Re: Re: Women as sports fans Unless every seat is filled, that wouldn't do it. They would need an additional 20k/game attendance at current sponsorship levels to break even. Hendricks stated that the league's shortfall could only be covered by additional corporate revenue. Merchandise sales and ticket revenue could not cover the hole.
A way for them to screw MLS? Right now, if they want to get a new league off of the ground, MLS is the best friend they could ever, ever have.
Oh I agree with you, and I even think something is probably in the works that way. I just think someone will believe with MLS money involved in the broadcast of the WWC that announcing the folding of the league 5 days before the start of the tournament, therefore most likely hurting tv ratings and costing SUM money, with some people on this boards feelings for Julie Foudy they will now think this is their way of getting back at MLS.
Don't hold your breath. The league has been on shaky ground since about 2/3rds the way through its first season - long before SUM, long before the SARS and the WWC relocation, and even before MLS's contraction.
It sucks that the league folded, but I really don't see this having too much of an impact on MLS. If anything, I see a few more fans showing up at DCU games now that MLS is literally the only game in town. I always felt that the Freedom kind of split the fan base into two camps - Freedom (wholesome game marketed to families with 14 yr old girls); and DCU (not-so-wholesome, marketed to the hardcore soccer fan). If the DCU front office has two brain cells to rub together, they'll go after the Freedom mailing list with a vengeance.
Saddened am I... I was looking forward to Freedom's championship banner hanging on the south end of RFK along with United's three. I hope Freedom got it done before today's bad news. And I really feel bad for those hard-fighting Freedom players.
Same here - but according to the NPR newscast, the WUSA folded because it couldn't generate revenue after corporate sponsors who jumped on the wave after the '99 Women's World Cup jumped off...they were in the hole $20 million, and they couldn't make up the delta selling tickets and t-shirts. They also noted that the WNBA is not in the same predicament - apparently they're surviving because of the NBA tie-in, but also because they laid significant groundwork for the league for many years. What does this mean for MLS? I'm sure there will be the usual soccer haters predicting the league's demise, but as long as the business end holds up (read: more money comes in than goes out) we'll be okay. Besides, if MLS is so poorly run that they would consider expansion while not being financially stable, the league isn't long for this earth anyway. The point is, I think MLS is okay. But damn, that's a huge bummer. Those gals are great.
No chick soccer I am glad the broad league closed. I'm tired of these chicks trying to take over. Sports is one of our last domains for us, fellas. I said back in 2000 that the WUSA started way too early. MLS needed to grow and get established first. Lets have MLS survive first, then the womens league may come later. Hello? duh. WUSA was 8 to 10 years too early IMO. WUSA folding is now where the men were 20 years ago when NASL died. Costly lesson. Takes time to grow. MLS is doing the right thing now in building slowy. NASL partial demise was too many teams and expanding way too fast. The women got enuf equal opportunity in sports with that BS stupid Title 29 rule in college. Its not really equal if more guys are into sports than the gals. Its eliminates mens teams unfairly at the expense of TRYING TO HAVE FAIR TREATMENT to women. I have been to a few WUSA Freedom games and have nothing against it. Its taking away the attention of MLS. The real league. Most countries in the world dont even have a womens team or league. I also think that it is really unfair that the U.S. women get to host the WC again. Unfair do the other teams in that the US Women get the emotional factor again playing at home. WC03 should have went to any other country BUT the U.S. Hello they just won the thing in 99. (Actually a tie with China. Pks dont count in my book). Wheres the sportmanship and fairplay to the other teams? I'm not a sexist, but dont let the chicks take over.
Re: No chick soccer I've always wondered how guys like you breed? There's more uninformed knee-jerk misogyny in your post than I've probably exhibited in the last ten years.
I think that the number of fans attending the matches did hurt the WUSA. If I were a sponsor, unsure of putting a lot of money into the league, I would want to make sure that there was enough support at the fan level in order ensure that it would be a good investment. Unfortunately, the league was so young and the success of the professional sport so fragile, that many investors opted not to join. It's a shame, but it is business. I just hope that MLS learns from WUSA folding.
I'm very surprised with the timing. I thought they would do everything possible to try at least for a post WWC year before making this move. They must have seen it as beyond recovery to do it now and not see if the WWC helped out with next year. Oh well.. Very sad day for all the girls who were dreaming of playing in WUSA someday.
I believe there is still a womens league in the US....The W-League. My understanding is that it is the womens version of the A-League. The players can go there and still play. The USSF could step in and make the W-League the top tier league. I don't know what would be involved, But it could work.
Unfortunately, you are wrong. The W-League (and the WPSL) are the same as the PDL (and MPSL). They are 100% amateur. Designed so that college players don't risk their eligibility. It is true that when the W-League started many, many years ago that some national team players did receive pay, but they changed that before the WUSA began.
I don't post much on here, and I really should be packing my DCU jerseys up in case of the hurricane that is coming, but here goes... I will fully admit I am not a fan of women'
Thanks. I'd forgoten about that. It does dull the pain a bit. I don't believe they make a "living wage" there yet but maybe someday.
No idea what just happened...anyways... I am not a fan of women's soccer, I find it to slow (when compared to the men's game) and too many stoppages of play, BUT I will also fully admit that most of these women could beat me anyday in a skills contest. I don't think this is the end of the league, I really don't. The market is just too great. As for the WNBA...the ONLY reason that the WNBA is still around is the SIMPLE reason that the NBA backs it financially...The only team that draws well game in and game out is the DC team (the Mystics) For all the young girls and women that dream of being the next Mia Hamm, I say keep working hard and dreaming because it is what Mia and all the other players would want if the WUSA does indeed end for good...a legacy
Re: Re: No chick soccer C'mon! His only sin was that he forgot to couch his bigoted comments in cute code words like "urban." Like others, I simply don't get the timing of this move, given the onset of the WWC. I wonder what caused investors' minds to change....