North American Pro Soccer 2017

[Red Wolf]

Why is MLS bothering to market this as rivalry week when most of the matches are definitely not rivalry based? Unless there's some deep-seeded hatred between Chicago and Orlando that I'm not aware of. 

[dfwabel]

40 minutes ago, Red Wolf said:

Why is MLS bothering to market this as rivalry week when most of the matches are definitely not rivalry based? Unless there's some deep-seeded hatred between Chicago and Orlando that I'm not aware of. 

Part of this is TV since it is late June and there are needs. Plus global soccer is generally in a break now.

[crashcarson15]

Cincinnati’s averaging nearly 20,000 per game in the USL. Half of MLS can’t say that. They just drew 30,000 for an Open Cup match. That’s a market ready for MLS, and one the league needs to get in as soon as it can. We know what Sacramento’s shown, too.

 

I’m trying to read between the lines a little, but I think Newport is probably a done deal as soon as the club wants it to be. Obviously, they’re trying with Cincinnati first, but I just don’t think they would’ve publicized the Newport option if they knew it wasn’t a near-sure-fire bet.

 

Sacramento should be a lock for the end of the year, and if Cincinnati can finalize their stadium plans in the next few months (not sure if it will or not), they should be, too. They’re the clear two best soccer markets not yet in the league, and franchises in either city would absolutely be successes.

[dfwabel]

12 minutes ago, crashcarson15 said:

Cincinnati’s averaging nearly 20,000 per game in the USL. Half of MLS can’t say that. They just drew 30,000 for an Open Cup match. That’s a market ready for MLS, and one the league needs to get in as soon as it can. We know what Sacramento’s shown, too.

 

I’m trying to read between the lines a little, but I think Newport is probably a done deal as soon as the club wants it to be. Obviously, they’re trying with Cincinnati first, but I just don’t think they would’ve publicized the Newport option if they knew it wasn’t a near-sure-fire bet.

 

Sacramento should be a lock for the end of the year, and if Cincinnati can finalize their stadium plans in the next few months (not sure if it will or not), they should be, too. They’re the clear two best soccer markets not yet in the league, and franchises in either city would absolutely be successes.

Ownership says that they're willing to put up $100M for the stadium.  If it's built in Newport, the ownership gets at least 25% of that back over ten years guaranteed.

[Breakwood]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEKhUoYf-4o

 

Is there any question that the Toronto-Montreal rivalry has become the most intense in North America over the past couple years?

[Digby]

On 6/24/2017 at 5:14 PM, crashcarson15 said:

Cincinnati’s averaging nearly 20,000 per game in the USL. Half of MLS can’t say that. They just drew 30,000 for an Open Cup match. That’s a market ready for MLS, and one the league needs to get in as soon as it can. We know what Sacramento’s shown, too.

 

I’m trying to read between the lines a little, but I think Newport is probably a done deal as soon as the club wants it to be. Obviously, they’re trying with Cincinnati first, but I just don’t think they would’ve publicized the Newport option if they knew it wasn’t a near-sure-fire bet.

 

Sacramento should be a lock for the end of the year, and if Cincinnati can finalize their stadium plans in the next few months (not sure if it will or not), they should be, too. They’re the clear two best soccer markets not yet in the league, and franchises in either city would absolutely be successes.

 

God I hope Cincinnati gets a better brand when they get "promoted", though.

[Digby]

1 hour ago, Breakwood said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEKhUoYf-4o

 

Is there any question that the Toronto-Montreal rivalry has become the most intense in North America over the past couple years?

 

I wouldn't argue against it. Great games on and off the field. Amazing that it hasn't been diluted even though they play each other five times a year (which is too much IMHO).

[dfwabel]

Charlotte City Council will debate giving the local MLS bid their part of the contribution they asked for in July.

 

Quote

Backers of a bid to bring Major League Soccer to Charlotte haven't gotten much support at the Charlotte City Council. But next month, the group's request for $45 million to help finance a new stadium will get a hearing before a council subcommittee.

Council members voted Monday night to refer the request to their Economic Development Committee, which meets on July 20.

County commissioners agreed in January to work on a deal with the MLS group. But two weeks ago, they delayed a final decision on whether to support the stadium plan until Aug. 2, to give the City Council more time.

 

The retired Charlotte interim city manager told news outlets that instead of the $43M which the ownership group asked for, the city may only give out $30M.

. 

[Gothamite]

Still way too much. Really hope Charlotte's bid gets passed over in favor of owners who are willing to pay for their own businesses. 

[Jer15]

9 hours ago, Digby said:

 

I wouldn't argue against it. Great games on and off the field. Amazing that it hasn't been diluted even though they play each other five times a year (which is too much IMHO).

Being a supporter on the TFC side of that rivalry, I can say that honestly was a concern of mine BUT last night came and it was just as enjoyable as always. 

It has been a bit overkill this past year or so with the eastern finals and the Canadian Championships but with the CPL coming in the likelihood of TFC v Impact will be a bit smaller in that tournament. 

 

Through it all there's always a storyline out of these games. The mis-painted boxes, Montreal complaining about the refs, fans with inappropriate signs, ect, ect. 

[HedleyLamarr]

Well I'm sold.  Give Cincinnati an MLS bid like tomorrow.....

[FiddySicks]

I'd be down to enter MLS with Cincy...

 

Sigh. Republic lost 2-0 on the road to Galaxy. I REALLY wish we could've had that match at home. 

[agentrygraphics]

On 6/19/2017 at 1:05 PM, raysox said:

This year, I've seen myself turned off soccer more and more just from how militaristic lower level soccer fans are on twitter. I have a bunch of friends in the 4th tier, but like, dang their outlook on how things should work is skewed.

 

I saw someone propose the top level of US Soccer be 16 regional leagues last week. 

Lower level militaristic? How so?

[raysox]

5 minutes ago, agentrygraphics said:

Lower level militaristic? How so?

Give these a look through. 
https://twitter.com/soccerreform

https://twitter.com/bwfast

Lots of anti MLS spinning without much of an argument with a lot of followers who agree. It's like soccer InfoWars, Ted Westervelt RT'd Ben Fast saying the US Open Cup is rigged for MLS teams cause each team has a person at the draw. I think there's a lot to like about lower tier soccer, and I get the frustration with a closed system. Detroit, and Chattanooga deserve to play bigger teams more than someone with a fat wallet and an idea. But I think that all this infighting is getting US Soccer as a whole nowhere.

[Gothamite]

I think you mean "militant", not "militaristic".

 

But please don't bring up Ted Westervelt as an example of anything.  He's not serious, he's an internet troll. If he wasn't attacking the soccer establishment he'd be tweeting MRA propaganda or anarchist memes.  But such is the problem with a platform like Twitter, which amplifies voices far out of proportion with the attention they've actually earned. 

[Sport]

Last night was pretty cool. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

It looked awesome on TV, that's for sure.

 

Places like Columbus, New England and others need to step it up. The new markets are clowning them.

[Digby]

Went to the Revs game at Harvard last night. Had the opposite thought of what was happening in Cincy. The thought crossed my mind that it's really fun to see them play at a small stadium in a park with bushes on the sideline and an ice cream truck and I almost want them to self-relegate to USL to do this all the time.

[Sport]

24 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

It looked awesome on TV, that's for sure.

 

Places like Columbus, New England and others need to step it up. The new markets are clowning them.

I have a theory. Could be way off base. The charter MLS fanbases that have grown up with the league have never had to work for their team or prove themselves as good markets in lower tiers so they don't have the same appreciation for their MLS franchise that Markets like Seattle or Portland or Orlando have shown. Second part of the Crew's problem is Crew stadium is in a weird tweener part of town where parking sucks and there's nothing to do around the stadium before or after a game. They need to find a spot near the arena and Huntington Park and I'd expect their support to grow.

 

I know there's Crew fans who are threatened by the idea of Cincinnati joining MLS. I think they should think bigger. It's not like Cincinnati as a population was a huge part of their fanbase before 2016 anyway and the Crew have never had a true rival. If they have a team and fanbase to push back against I think it can only benefit both sides. High tide raises all boats. 

[crashcarson15]

22 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

I have a theory. Could be way off base. The charter MLS fanbases that have grown up with the league have never had to work for their team or prove themselves as good markets in lower tiers so they don't have the same appreciation for their MLS franchise that Markets like Seattle or Portland or Orlando have shown. Second part of the Crew's problem is Crew stadium is in a weird tweener part of town where parking sucks and there's nothing to do around the stadium before or after a game. They need to find a spot near the arena and Huntington Park and I'd expect their support to grow.

 

I know there's Crew fans who are threatened by the idea of Cincinnati joining MLS. I think they should think bigger. It's not like Cincinnati as a population was a huge part of their fanbase before 2016 anyway and the Crew have never had a true rival. If they have a team and fanbase to push back against I think it can only benefit both sides. High tide raises all boats. 

I don't think you're necessarily wrong. The weakest markets in the league -- almost without exception -- are all original, "1.0" markets, and most of them play in some level of suburban area. This, actually, fits the bottom four attendance sides perfectly: Chicago, Colorado, Columbus and Dallas. D.C. is fifth-worst and New England seventh, two clubs that still haven't moved into a soccer-specific stadium (though that's coming soon for D.C.).

 

Of the 10 clubs founded in the '90s that have stuck around, I'd really only classify Kansas City as being a great MLS market. The Red Bulls and Galaxy each draw pretty well, and maybe the latter has a better fan scene than I'm giving it credit for, but outside of KC, there's certainly nothing on the level of a Toronto or Portland, Orlando or even Salt Lake, going on there.

 

Hell, I don't even think it's purely a fanbase thing as much as it's a thing that happens at the club level. Look at the work SKC had to do in order to get that market to where it is -- it took significant investment in the club's infrastructure and brand to turn the city into a top soccer market, then spending to retain key players from a side that was one of the league's best. They've had sustained success, at least in the table, really since making the name change. I do feel for Dallas, who still seems to struggle at the gate despite their awesome academy investment, but for a lot of the MLS 1.0 clubs, they've never necessarily put in the work themselves that the 2.0 and now 3.0 clubs have had to.