North American Pro Soccer 2014

[-kj]

No, MLS wouldn't automatically be better off for it. MLS has been doing the right thing, ensuring the long-term survival of a first-division league here by building a foundation under it.

[Needschat]

Okay, gotcha.

FWIW, I don't think history plays into it at all (as you note, this is a new sport with its own audience, much of which is familiar at least with the concept). But I've been saying for years that these cities aren't shelling out for second-division stadiums.

Shame, though. Would be good to introduce that particular level of excitement (to say nothing of incentive) to American sports somewhere. MLS would be better off for it.

North America has something other leagues don't: Playoffs!

[Gothamite]

No, MLS wouldn't automatically be better off for it. MLS has been doing the right thing, ensuring the long-term survival of a first-division league here by building a foundation under it.

In the long run, once they have their feet under them, they'd benefit from the every-game-counts excitement.

And the league would indeed be better off with well-run teams coming in and teams like the Revolution or Chivas falling into the minor leagues.

[pcgd]

I think if it happened in the foreseeable future you'd have teams have to turn down promotion because of minimum stadium requirements or salary concerns.

Using an example I know, Say Indy was actually good, and was promoted. The current stadium maxes out at 11k. My bet there would be a minimum stadium requirement of 15k. The only option for that in town is Lucus Oil stadium which was ok for soccer exhibitions but awful for a full season. And Indy couldn't draw like they do in Seattle so you're looking at a half full at best stadium. Money wise, no way current ownership could sustain a MLS roster of salaries. Could they bring on other investors, sure. But why would anyone invest in something so volitile that after one year you could be back in the NASL?

I love the idea of pro/rel but just isn't feasible in the near or mid term.

[kmccarthy27]

I always like the American League / National League idea for MLS. When the time comes you have, let's say, 28 teams, 14 in American 14 in National. The schedule would be 26 with your league table and then 7 inter-league. With this model you then do simulated relegation. What that means is, at the end of the season, the worst 2 teams in each "league" switch to the other league. That way each year the table changes, and you have the chance that a god awful American League team would be dominant in the National League. The play offs then have American/National as opposed to East/West.

It also keeps the scheduling fresh because there will always be 7 teams your team won't see in a season.

[Soarindude]

I always like the American League / National League idea for MLS. When the time comes you have, let's say, 28 teams, 14 in American 14 in National. The schedule would be 26 with your league table and then 7 inter-league. With this model you then do simulated relegation. What that means is, at the end of the season, the worst 2 teams in each "league" switch to the other league. That way each year the table changes, and you have the chance that a god awful American League team would be dominant in the National League. The play offs then have American/National as opposed to East/West.

It also keeps the scheduling fresh because there will always be 7 teams your team won't see in a season.

This is the best, most feasible idea I have heard in a long time.

[pcgd]

I saw a proposal for a double east-west pyramid system before that sounded interesting. Can't fine it now but it was either 2 top divisions that met for playoffs, or a single top flight with 2 at each other division.

Basically it was attempting to fix the travel concerns at the lower divisions. Even in England below a certain level it's regional vs national. And England is smaller than Oregon.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Maybe it's because I'm a Sounders fan, but I think the Timbers log-cutting is really dorky.

It's really exciting when Obafemi Martins is playing well. It's just the Timbers, but hopefully the Sounders have turned the corner on poor play streak.

[-kj]

Jermaine Jones has signed with New England.

Maybe it's because I'm a Sounders fan, but I think the Timbers log-cutting is really dorky.

To be fair, you find everything dorky. *heh* Me, I just like watching Timber Joey.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Jermaine Jones has signed with New England.

Maybe it's because I'm a Sounders fan, but I think the Timbers log-cutting is really dorky.

To be fair, you find everything dorky. *heh* Me, I just like watching Timber Joey.

That's fair FWIW, Portland's uniforms aren't dorky; they're very nice!

[AJM]

Jermaine Jones has signed with New England.

I'm just glad he's finally signed to an MLS side. I have no invested interest in either the Revolution or Fire, but the fact that the MLS essentially decided his fate with a 50-50 envelope draw is pure BS/Shenanigans.

[Still MIGHTY]

Jermaine Jones has signed with New England.

I'm just glad he's finally signed to an MLS side. I have no invested interest in either the Revolution or Fire, but the fact that the MLS essentially decided his fate with a 50-50 envelope draw is pure BS/Shenanigans.

Yeah that's ridiculous. I'd be in favor of MLS dropping the single-entity thing, and I'd almost be ok with dropping the salary cap. I think those are two things that hold the league back on a world stage.

Salary cap I'm ok with for the health of the league as a whole, but I'm not averse to dropping it.

[Needschat]

Jermaine Jones has signed with New England.

I'm just glad he's finally signed to an MLS side. I have no invested interest in either the Revolution or Fire, but the fact that the MLS essentially decided his fate with a 50-50 envelope draw is pure BS/Shenanigans.

Yeah that's ridiculous. I'd be in favor of MLS dropping the single-entity thing, and I'd almost be ok with dropping the salary cap. I think those are two things that hold the league back on a world stage.

Salary cap I'm ok with for the health of the league as a whole, but I'm not averse to dropping it.

The original NASL was killed, in part, to the Cosmos overspending. If the MLS drops the salary cap, you'll have two teams in NY and one in LA, and that's about it.

[AnythingChicago]

I'll be attending the DC United vs. New York Red Bulls match at RFK this Sunday afternoon. It should be a blast, especially since I was able to find seats in the fourth row of the Lower Midfield section for a surprisingly low cost. Not to mention I'll be witnessing Eastern Conference-leading DC United matched up against a star-studded Red Bulls side in the heat of the playoff hunt.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I'd like to see Henry and Wright-Phillips play together.

I went to a NYRB/Sounders game last seasons and was dismayed to learn that Henry doesn't play on turf. So disappointing.

[DS729]

Yeah, United's been quite fun to watch this year from time-to-time. Especially after being soooooo dreadful last year.

[dbadefense1990]

I'll be attending the DC United vs. New York Red Bulls match at RFK this Sunday afternoon. It should be a blast, especially since I was able to find seats in the fourth row of the Lower Midfield section for a surprisingly low cost. Not to mention I'll be witnessing Eastern Conference-leading DC United matched up against a star-studded Red Bulls side in the heat of the playoff hunt.

Are those seats the ones which (on TV) bounce up-and-down like a lowrider when La Barra Brava get into it?

[AnythingChicago]

I'll be attending the DC United vs. New York Red Bulls match at RFK this Sunday afternoon. It should be a blast, especially since I was able to find seats in the fourth row of the Lower Midfield section for a surprisingly low cost. Not to mention I'll be witnessing Eastern Conference-leading DC United matched up against a star-studded Red Bulls side in the heat of the playoff hunt.

Are those seats the ones which (on TV) bounce up-and-down like a lowrider when La Barra Brava get into it?

I'm guessing that they wouldn't be selling seats in the midst of a rowdy supporters group on StubHub, which would mean I'll be sitting in the section directly across the pitch from La Barra Brava. If not, I'll be in for quite an interesting afternoon.

[crashcarson15]

Jermaine Jones has signed with New England.

I'm just glad he's finally signed to an MLS side. I have no invested interest in either the Revolution or Fire, but the fact that the MLS essentially decided his fate with a 50-50 envelope draw is pure BS/Shenanigans.

Yeah that's ridiculous. I'd be in favor of MLS dropping the single-entity thing, and I'd almost be ok with dropping the salary cap. I think those are two things that hold the league back on a world stage.

Salary cap I'm ok with for the health of the league as a whole, but I'm not averse to dropping it.

The original NASL was killed, in part, to the Cosmos overspending. If the MLS drops the salary cap, you'll have two teams in NY and one in LA, and that's about it.

...and one in Seattle and Toronto at the very least. Not to mention the fact that Orlando doesn't seem to have an early aversion to spending some money and you'd have to think Portland would as well. But it'd also force other teams to better invest in youth academies to be successful which would be a good thing.

You've already got artificial parity built in due to the league's playoff system so while I'm not in favor of getting rid of the salary cap right now, I think it's something that could be very beneficial following the next round (after this year, of course) of CBA discussions.

The league doesn't need the level of enforced parity it has now during the regular season so I'd back an increased salary cap ($5 million or so) and an expansion to 5 DP slots.

You should still have the ability to be competitive without spending a :censored:ton of money but it'd be something that would let teams that want to spend and increase the on-field product actually do that.

At a certain point, MLS is going to get to the place where it hinders its own growth with the current system. Whether that's now or in four years, I'm not sure. But it'd be nice to have an argument other than "it's our national league" as a response to "Why should I watch MLS? It sucks."

EDIT: Also there's not really much past Portland/Seattle that really engages even the entire MLS fan base the way that other leagues have those big games. City played Liverpool yesterday in the EPL and everyone was paying attention. But there's a group of five or six teams that whenever they get together, it's a big deal. That's what MLS could really use.

[Nyk33]

EDIT: Also there's not really much past Portland/Seattle that really engages even the entire MLS fan base the way that other leagues have those big games. City played Liverpool yesterday in the EPL and everyone was paying attention. But there's a group of five or six teams that whenever they get together, it's a big deal. That's what MLS could really use.

This is true. MLS doesn't really have that many big rivalries that can get people to notice besides Portland/Seattle and maybe NYCFC/Red Bulls next year just because it's a new thing (that will probably wear off after that though) or Galaxy/LA2 if the new owners of Zombie Chivas can inject some excitement into the team.