North American Pro Soccer 2017

[-kj]

Will Wynalda run everything via Skype?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

It should be the SS to match other soccer leagues, but it's an unbalanced schedule so it can never be fair.

 

American sports use playoff systems, but that's probably for want of continental cups you see in Europe. Until that changes, it'll always be MLS cup number one. In Seattle's case, the 2016 MLS Cup is far more beloved than the 2014 SS, even through the SS was a more impressive season.

 

Open Cups feel to me like a bonus.

[Gothamite]

Yeah, Open Cup is clearly below the Supporters Shield.  And I think every team would agree. 

[Digby]

As a true red-blooded American, all MLS Cup for me.

 

given MLS quirks particularly on scheduling, it's hard to take the Supporters Shield seriously.

 

i like the fun and history of the Open Cup, but I can't say I'm dreaming of the day when my team wins it. Fun bonus sounds about right. Not as important as even the national cup tournaments in other countries.

[HedleyLamarr]

Atlanta United is one win away from clinching a playoff spot in their inaugural season!

[JTernup]

At face value I would rather have the MLS Cup than the SS. However, I would value a SS season as a fan far more than I would if my team snuck into the playoffs and won a couple playoff round on draws and unimpressive wins before taking the cup in an uninspiring Cup Final.

 

The Open Cup is A LOT OF FUN but it is a distant third for me.

[FiddySicks]

I think there's a notable exception to this when it comes to the US Open Cup, but it's not really comparable in this case. Seeing a lower level team win the USOC would be absolutely HUGE. It hasn't happened in a long time, and it's not MLS, but it's the one trophy I consider the most "important" in terms of all levels of pro soccer. It's obviously not the biggest trophy, but I absolutely love that all levels have a shot at it. I kinda wish other US sports did this. 

[Digby]

9 hours ago, JTernup said:

At face value I would rather have the MLS Cup than the SS. However, I would value a SS season as a fan far more than I would if my team snuck into the playoffs and won a couple playoff round on draws and unimpressive wins before taking the cup in an uninspiring Cup Final.

 

The Open Cup is A LOT OF FUN but it is a distant third for me.

 

I think this speaks to a problem with the MLS Cup playoff structure more than the trophy itself. I do agree with the sentiment out there that the current format is often unsatisfying. But I don't have a good idea to solve that problem.

[AnPheitseog]

Americans love playoffs. The MLS star system makes the mls cup the only thing that counts. 

[Red Wolf]

I think one of the things that makes USOC feel more important than SS to me is that the USOC is the ultimate prize for that competition. Then again, both are at best a distant second to MLS Cup, and both grant you entry into CCL. It also helps USOC feel more important since there's a final, deciding game rather than just the end of the season. I'm also potentially biased since I've watched my team win it three times now (I wasn't following soccer back when the then-Wizards won their first set of trophies). 

 

On 9/24/2017 at 7:27 AM, Gothamite said:

Yeah, Open Cup is clearly below the Supporters Shield.  And I think every team would agree. 

Except for the manager of the Energy Drinks. But maybe you're just ignoring him for obvious reasons. 

 

16 hours ago, HedleyLamarr said:

Atlanta United is one win away from clinching a playoff spot in their inaugural season!

Everything about Atlanta has been a wonderful surprise. For all the talk of Atlanta being a bad sports town (don't know that that has any validity, just a thing I've seen), the fan support and even on-field product have been fantastic.

[Digby]

I wonder a lot if our ideas of what makes a bad sports town don't apply to MLS. And conversely, if there's room for MLS in traditonal sports towns. It's uniquely positioned to avoid a lot of the usual baggage we think about.

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, Red Wolf said:

Except for the manager of the Energy Drinks. But maybe you're just ignoring him for obvious reasons. 

 

I actually hadn't heard that he said that.  But then again, he's already won the Shield twice.  I can see him wanting to push the Open Cup.

[Red Wolf]

21 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

I actually hadn't heard that he said that.  But then again, he's already won the Shield twice.  I can see him wanting to push the Open Cup.

I think I briefly mentioned it in my original post about the trophies, easy enough to miss. Most of that could be chalked up to standard coach speak to try and motivate his players anyway. As I recall he said something like the Supporters' Shield was an "award" not a "trophy." I just like the idea that you intentionally ignored whatever he said since he's the rival team's manager. 

[Gothamite]

Well, in that case - yeah! I totally did that!

[BlackBolt3]

So, in a series of quick and impulsive moves, me and a few friends at Clemson went to the Atlanta United game tonight. I got nothing but time, so here's a recap of SOCCER NIGHT IN ATLANTA:

-First, although this is true just about every time in Atlanta, please aim to be there at least an hour before the game. Something WILL go wrong.

-Mercedes-Benz Stadium is absolutely massive. The Georgia Dome is huge, but it gets dwarfed.

-The hype about the stadium, and the fan atmosphere, is true. I have no issue saying it's the most impressive stadium in the world at this moment. And for a Wednesday night game, you would swear it was a playoff game, the crowd was sensational.

-Speaking of playoffs, this team is going to be a problem in the postseason. They keep possession of the ball so well, it seems like they were on offense all night. I give Guzan a whole lot of flack, but he was pretty good tonight. Let's see if he can keep this level up play up.

-Finally, it's been noted frequently in this thread, but Atlanta has embraced this team. There is no question that there is a market down here.

[Needschat]

33 minutes ago, BlackBolt3 said:

So, in a series of quick and impulsive moves, me and a few friends at Clemson went to the Atlanta United game tonight. I got nothing but time, so here's a recap of SOCCER NIGHT IN ATLANTA:

-First, although this is true just about every time in Atlanta, please aim to be there at least an hour before the game. Something WILL go wrong.

-Mercedes-Benz Stadium is absolutely massive. The Georgia Dome is huge, but it gets dwarfed.

-The hype about the stadium, and the fan atmosphere, is true. I have no issue saying it's the most impressive stadium in the world at this moment. And for a Wednesday night game, you would swear it was a playoff game, the crowd was sensational.

-Speaking of playoffs, this team is going to be a problem in the postseason. They keep possession of the ball so well, it seems like they were on offense all night. I give Guzan a whole lot of flack, but he was pretty good tonight. Let's see if he can keep this level up play up.

-Finally, it's been noted frequently in this thread, but Atlanta has embraced this team. There is no question that there is a market down here.

 

 I can remember watching a Cosmos-Atlanta Chiefs game on tv in 1981.  There were just over 9K there, well, that was the announced crowd.  How far has Atlanta come! 

[Gothamite]

How far MLS has come, too. 

[PrimalCookie]

A day late, but:

 

The ONE GAME that I didn't go to so far this season, we pull 6 on 'em. Really?

 

Also, where was this team when the games actually mattered, in the mere 3 months since we last won?

[dfwabel]

FWIW, San Diego State alumni are now going to try to get their own November 2018 ballot measure for the SDCCU (formerly Qualcomm) lot to go directly against the Soccer City plan.

 

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/sep/29/sdsu-west-initiative-launched/

 

Group's webpage:

https://sdsuwest.org/

[ninersdd]