Domestic Soccer 2011

[Jer15]

A for us north of the boarder..... Canada wins their group with a 0-0 tie over Saint Kitts and Nevis.

But on a more serious note, they better score some effing goals on Tuesday against SK&N otherwise i'm afraid that teams like Cuba might even be too much.... how pathetic would that be?

[TFoA]

In a game reminiscent of the Fog Bowl, USMNT's currently up 2-1 on Slovenia. BAH GAWD, IT'S A SCORING BONANZA!!!

No seriously, good to see that they're finally putting balls into the net. Might be because Klinsmann finally put 2 at the top.

And as I type this out, Altidore converts a penalty to make it 3-1. We've got ourselves a shootout!!!

[Snazel]

Nice to see the sport growing, (albeit slowly). I remember that last Blizzard game against the Sting (NASL Championship) and what happened to NASL after that. Those were some dark, dark times. MISL is one of the worst things to ever happen to soccer. The USL wasn't much better!

MLS came and to its credit, has weathered a mighty storm with some smart design and a very slow, conservative approach to growth.

My one criticism of MLS is how much it got the markets wrong. Florida has just never been a good place for domestic soccer to grow, but Toronto had always been a great NASL town, as was Seattle, so why did it take MLS so long to adopt these cities?

Alas, CONCACAF needs work. It is horribly corrupt (even more corrupt than other FIFA conferences which is really saying something), and it still can't really get much traction for its qualifying or its champion's league. There's all kinds of issues and problems as to why.

I'm actually in favor of a CONMEBOL/CONCACAF merger...while that creates all kinds of problems, it also solves a few problems for both conferences.

[WJMorris3]

Nice to see the sport growing, (albeit slowly). I remember that last Blizzard game against the Sting (NASL Championship) and what happened to NASL after that. Those were some dark, dark times. MISL is one of the worst things to ever happen to soccer. The USL wasn't much better!

MLS came and to its credit, has weathered a mighty storm with some smart design and a very slow, conservative approach to growth.

My one criticism of MLS is how much it got the markets wrong. Florida has just never been a good place for domestic soccer to grow, but Toronto had always been a great NASL town, as was Seattle, so why did it take MLS so long to adopt these cities?

Alas, CONCACAF needs work. It is horribly corrupt (even more corrupt than other FIFA conferences which is really saying something), and it still can't really get much traction for its qualifying or its champion's league. There's all kinds of issues and problems as to why.

I'm actually in favor of a CONMEBOL/CONCACAF merger...while that creates all kinds of problems, it also solves a few problems for both conferences.

Same here. Actually, I'd say we should have four confederations. Merge the Americas, and merge AFC and OFC.

[Brian in Boston]

Florida has just never been a good place for domestic soccer to grow...

Never? I don't know about that. The NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies put together a good run and were supported by a passionate fan-base.

[Snazel]

Florida has just never been a good place for domestic soccer to grow...

Never? I don't know about that. The NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies put together a good run and were supported by a passionate fan-base.

The Rowdies? Really? I mean I remember them in the NASL days, but I followed NASL primarily in the 80's and they were pretty awful. I don't know what their attendance was like though, but it was really a lower-tier franchise back when I had seasons for the Blizzard. Also I *think* they were in danger of folding at one point, then they went through a weird sale, where not a lot of money was exchanged but a lot of debt was inherited. My memory is REALLY vague there. But the Rowdies were always kinda LOL when I followed NASL.

It's entirely possibly my memory is skewed, that was a long time ago. Still, I think my original point stands, MLS ignored hot beds like Portland, Seattle and Toronto for far too long. Now that they are finally in the league, I think that's readily apparent.

[Norva]

Florida has just never been a good place for domestic soccer to grow...

Never? I don't know about that. The NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies put together a good run and were supported by a passionate fan-base.

The Rowdies? Really? I mean I remember them in the NASL days, but I followed NASL primarily in the 80's and they were pretty awful. I don't know what their attendance was like though, but it was really a lower-tier franchise back when I had seasons for the Blizzard. Also I *think* they were in danger of folding at one point, then they went through a weird sale, where not a lot of money was exchanged but a lot of debt was inherited. My memory is REALLY vague there. But the Rowdies were always kinda LOL when I followed NASL.

It's entirely possibly my memory is skewed, that was a long time ago. Still, I think my original point stands, MLS ignored hot beds like Portland, Seattle and Toronto for far too long. Now that they are finally in the league, I think that's readily apparent.

From wiki:

The Rowdies' fans were known as "Fannies". Advertisements for the club encouraged their supporters to "Get up, got out, and get Rowdy!" and to "make a fanny of yourself!", and the call was answered by fans who threw confetti, drank beer, and generally "let the guys know we're behind them."[1] One memorable fan named Bob Rogers won a "Rowdiest Fan" contest by donning a giant soccer head and throwing himself into the Tampa Stadium goal. The club gave "Soccer Head" complimentary tickets to future games so that he could continue his antics for the crowd, even bringing him along when the Rowdies played in Soccer Bowl '79[2]

While anyone who supported team could call themselves a Fanny, members of the official Rowdies' Fan Club particularly claimed the moniker as their own. The fan club held regular meetings and social events and published a newsletter[1]

Yearly Average Attendance

1975 ? 10,728

1976 ? 16,452

1977 ? 19,491

1978 ? 18,123

1979 ? 27,650

1980 ? 28,345

1981 ? 22,532

1982 ? 22,532

1983 ? 18,507

1984 ? 10,932

They went to the playoffs every year from 1975 to 1981. The Rowdies also continued to play well after the NASL folded up until 1993.

[Brian in Boston]

The Rowdies? Really?

Yes, indeed.

I mean I remember them in the NASL days, but I followed NASL primarily in the 80's and they were pretty awful.

Well, admittedly, by the 1980s the Rowdies on-pitch glory days were behind them. That said, they were NASL champions in 1975, runners-up in 1978 and 1979, won their division five out of six seasons from 1975 through 1980, and compiled a 104-60 (.634) record during the same time period.

I don't know what their attendance was like though, but it was really a lower-tier franchise back when I had seasons for the Blizzard.

1975 - 10,728

1976 - 16,452

1977 - 19,491

1978 - 18,123

1979 - 27,650

1980 - 28,345

1981 - 22,532

1982 - 22,532

1983 - 18,507

1984 - 10,932

[TFoA]

Plus, FC Tampa Bay (the Rowdies' spiritual successor) has been drawing near the league average in attendance in their past 2 seasons in the USSF D2 & NASL in 2010 & 2011, respectively. That's with them playing in probably the most minor league-iest of minor league baseball parks. Plus, they had a playoff appearance. They're probably not gonna get an MLS team any time soon unless they can follow Montreal Impact's route to the top of the pyramid, but they've proven that they're at least a decent market for domestic soccer.

[Don]

I make a wager that Tampa gets an MLS team before Miami/Ft. Lauderdale does, but thats just a gut feeling.

[BrySmalls]

I make a wager that Tampa gets an MLS team before Miami/Ft. Lauderdale does, but thats just a gut feeling.

That eerily sounds familiar for some reason.

[Norva]

I miss the Mutiny

[Don]

Dwayne DeRosario is your MLS MVP.

[DEAD!]

Dwayne DeRosario is your MLS MVP.

Not bad for a player who was traded twice

[TFoA]

Imagine the firestorm if a guy who got traded twice in one season ended up even being in the MVP conversation in the NBA or MLB, let alone actually winning MVP.

That being said, he definitely deserved it. As soon as he set foot in DC, he started tearing it up & if it weren't for DCU getting off to an atrocious start, they would've been in the playoffs...but man, DeRo was playing out of his mind this year. Well deserved.

[Don]

Imagine the firestorm if a guy who got traded twice in one season ended up even being in the MVP conversation in the NBA or MLB, let alone actually winning MVP.

That being said, he definitely deserved it. As soon as he set foot in DC, he started tearing it up & if it weren't for DCU getting off to an atrocious start, they would've been in the playoffs...but man, DeRo was playing out of his mind this year. Well deserved.

If DCU knew how to mark properly on defense they'd be in the playoffs. *grumble*

[WJMorris3]

Imagine the firestorm if a guy who got traded twice in one season ended up even being in the MVP conversation in the NBA or MLB, let alone actually winning MVP.

That being said, he definitely deserved it. As soon as he set foot in DC, he started tearing it up & if it weren't for DCU getting off to an atrocious start, they would've been in the playoffs...but man, DeRo was playing out of his mind this year. Well deserved.

It's a bloody shame that DeRosario didn't win the Fair Play Award as well. I mean, they'd actually give the award to some no name playing in the armpit of America?

[Snazel]

People miss the Mutiny? Wow, I don't think they should be mentioned in a debate about Florida's "success" with soccer.

Kudos to those who supported them during their time though.

Rowdies were clearly before my time, I remember a Montreal Olympics game from that general era, but I was barely 4 I think. The Rowdies I remember were pretty inept and I don't think they were that solvent. If I remember right, they weren't really sold, more kinda "rescued", but that happened a lot in NASL. Did they transition to MISL? I HATED that whole concept I consider the years when NASL folded and MISL took over as some of the darkest for soccer.

I was impressed with the attendance figures though, that was cool.

As for their current place in USL/NASL, respectfully, that's probably where they deserve to be. I loathe USL (I'll spare you my rant on it) and even though I lived in Seattle, I monitored MLS (and then got outraged when they were denied entry). Still, I think MLS has been really prudent. It saw the mistakes NASL made and took a more conservative route and I think it is paying off.

I worry about Montreal. I love that town, glad to see it in the league, but their history of sticking with new teams (in several sports) isn't that great. Vancouver and Toronto however belong in MLS. My only rant there is Toronto deserves better management. They have such great fans, but the franchise itself seems utterly inept and seems to take their fans for granted. I'd have put the Blizzard's atmosphere in the 80's up against even Seattle's today (I've been to both).

Seattle has more volume, but is supporters are a little more gimmicky. Toronto in comparison, were really organic, the songs came from the game's flow (rather than at set times via a guy with a megaphone prompting them). Sometimes songs were made up on the spot. Things like "march to the match" with marching bands weren't needed. Instead you had that glorious bell at the local pubs that let you know "last call before game time" and you'd proceed out of the pub (sometimes sneaking your ale out under your coat).

Of course, then there's this ugly incident:

So maybe it's better Seattle is a little more "suburban" with its supporter gimmicks? Toronto got pretty ugly in the 80's, (I know I was there and I am in the background of that photo I posted and the main guy in that photo was my room mate). It got ugly during Canada-Cost Rica in that era and I distinctly remember stopping traffic on Yonge Street when the finals were clinched and we wanted the Whitecaps to join us in the finals.

Good to see soccer slowly growing domestically. Now if we can just fix the WRETCHED national program in Canada...

[Norva]

Well I say I missed the Mutiny because the Rowdies were a bit before my time so I didn't get to see them. I like the current FC Tampa Bay and root for them but I miss having an MLS franchise. If we do get an MLS franchise I would like it to be the current Rowdies spiritual successor though. As much as I liked the Mutiny I wasn't a huge fan of their name or logo but I still have some old merchandise from them including a plastic stadium seat cushion signed by the entire team

[-kj]

As for their current place in USL/NASL, respectfully, that's probably where they deserve to be. I loathe USL (I'll spare you my rant on it)

Oh, this I want to hear. Does it include the new NASL as well?

At least you're not an "I've always loved soccer--it started in 2009, right?" type of Sounder fan. *heh*