All-Purpose, Never-Ending Soccer Thread

Uggh. I've really heard enough about my moral obligation to support the MLS.

It's a variation of "but the JV kids try just as hard!" argument.

Win public support on merit, not by turning into Jerry's Kids.

And I say that as someone who'd be a season ticket holder in the MLS if we got a team here.

 

Did anyone in LA catch the Barcelona and CD Guadalajara game?

 

The double whammy of too many teams in the playoffs and the season concluding during college football/pro footbal season kills interest.  I've said it before, but they need to find a way to end the season around Labor Day.  If that means a shorter season or starting when it is cold (like just after the Super Bowl), so be it.  

 

It's not a question of "moral obligation."
The merit is this: It's a quality soccer league that features some very capable players in some very attractive venues. Unfortunately, some who would call themselves soccer fans act as though they wouldn't deign to support any team that does not feature the absolute best in the world. Which is crap, because only about 4 teams in any given league do. When West Ham plays Fulham, how many of the "best in the world" are in the field then? But people go, don't they? And here in America, too many people would watch that game ahead of a DCU-New England game for the right to play in MLS Cup.
That said, Webby's right about the season. Maybe playing fewer games is the answer? At the very least, MLS Cup has to find a way not to be on at the same time as NFL and big college football. If they want the "regular sports fan" to embrace their league, they have to get that nobody's giving up the NFL to watch. Last year, I watched MLS Cup on tape. If I were a ratings home, I'd be metering for the NFL then.

 

Every sport has a season that is ingrained into the viewing public. The MLS must realize this and work around it. Quit putting the playoffs against college and pro football. Starting the season earlier is a given. Perhaps they should try to hold the MLS Cup on the night after the MLB All-Star Game when they'd have the entire night to yourself.

 

I've been preaching the Feb-Sept season for years. Start the week before or the night before the Super Bowl. People are looking for something to watch after the NFL ends.

 

Don't see how that's going to happen in Chicago and Foxborough (hell, even NJ), and would basically preclude expansion to Detroit or Buffalo (also, Toronto FC probably wouldn't be real happy in their new open-air SSS.) England's climate never gets like that, and really Germany's doesn't either, so playing during those months isn't too unattractive for fans or players. But here? The Revolution and Fire would have snow-outs at least three times a year. That gets a little ridiculous, don'tcha think?

I think MLS needs to go after a Wed/Fri schedule, almost exclusively. It's not going to be able to hold Saturdays or Sundays at the end of the season, and while High School Fridays will lose some of the audience, it probably wouldn't be too bad. At least Wednesdays. Make Wednesdays Soccer Night in the US.

 

Anyone else notice the DMN didn't send Steve Davis to Bridgeview?

 

They've been cutting back on their soccer coverage recently.
Sucks too, considering Pizza Hut Park just opened last season and they hosted last year's MLS Cup.

They have a huge Mexican population in Dallas, which is another reason they shouldn't have cut back.
I went to InterLiga in 2005 at the Cotton Bowl (which should be imploded immediately), and my brother and I (both white Americans) have never felt more out of place in our entire lives.

 

Ah, yes. Reminds me of one of my favorite soccer experiences -- having a road match atmosphere in the U.S. (a.k.a. USSF paying the bills). Made Denver feel like Mexico City and Chicago like Warsaw.

How many other countries out there can honestly claim to have the home fans outnumbered by the visitors within its borders? Australia, maybe, if they were playing Greece or Croatia.

 

You play the first few games for each team as south as possible. LA, Houston, Dallas, etc. By the last week in February, you can roll the dice with games in the northern cities.

 

Webster, that is an interesting idea, but I just don't know where it would end up. I know what you are saying about College Football and the NFL, but it seems like the league will always run into the NFL. As the NFL looks to increase exposure, you'll have more pre-season games on television.

I guess, I just don't know what will fix the issue of exposure.

PCLL, I'm not going over a moral obligation issue. It is simply that the league is better than people perceive it to be. Why Twoback mentioned a West Ham/Fullham match as something that is perceived as better. This is just simply not true. And the reality is that the more people argue that it is a lower league, the further the perception will go.

A good example would be the argument about Iraq being behind 9/11. At this point, it is pretty well established that it this is a load of shit. However, this was repeated enough to the point where enough people believed it.

The only real argument that is being made is that the league is better than the critics would have you believe and it is sad to read the negative comments like, "JV league."