North American Pro Soccer 2014

[DG_ThenNowForever]

What MLS does have is a whole bunch of World Cup stars on its rosters, including a growing chunk of USMNT players.

I feel a campaign around those guys would be really smart (if perhaps a bit late). Super Bowl-sized audiences watched the US matches on TV -- can't you get a small portion (10%?) to watch the same guys on TV or at the regional stadium?

[Still MIGHTY]

What MLS does have is a whole bunch of World Cup stars on its rosters, including a growing chunk of USMNT players.

I feel a campaign around those guys would be really smart (if perhaps a bit late). Super Bowl-sized audiences watched the US matches on TV -- can't you get a small portion (10%?) to watch the same guys on TV or at the regional stadium?

[dbadefense1990]

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.

Galaxy vs. Earthquakes 1.0 was a big deal, up until the original San Jose MLS franchise moved to Houston. Even with consecutive MLS Cup matchups, LA-HOU hasn't really bubbled into the same rivalry, nor has Galaxy vs. Earthquakes 2.0 (only in 2012 did any sense of "rivalry" come into play). Galaxy vs. D.C. United can't really be called a "rivalry" either because it's really just a bunch of disgruntled LA fans who'd want to forget their matchups in the 1990s.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

What MLS does have is a whole bunch of World Cup stars on its rosters, including a growing chunk of USMNT players.

I feel a campaign around those guys would be really smart (if perhaps a bit late). Super Bowl-sized audiences watched the US matches on TV -- can't you get a small portion (10%?) to watch the same guys on TV or at the regional stadium?

Yeah, kind of. I'd be more overt about it.

"Did you like watching CLINT DEMPSEY, DEANDRE YEDLIN, DEMARCUS BEASLEY, and GRAHAM ZUSI beat those STUPID FOREIGNERS?! Watch them on TV and in your local stadium. MLS -- you'll know more players than you think!"

[Nyk33]

Yeah, kind of. I'd be more overt about it.

"Did you like watching CLINT DEMPSEY, DEANDRE YEDLIN, DEMARCUS BEASLEY, and GRAHAM ZUSI beat those STUPID FOREIGNERS?! Watch them on TV and in your local stadium. MLS -- you'll know more players than you think!"

The only problem with that is that the only team the US actually won against was Ghana. We then snatched a draw from the jaws of victory against Portugal followed by Belgium & Germany beating us.

[MJWalker45]

The networks need to do a better job of advertising these games too. They pick random days of the week rather than keeping it to one day of the week. ESPN is the worst at doing this for anything not NCAAFB or NFL.

[dfwabel]

The networks need to do a better job of advertising these games too. They pick random days of the week rather than keeping it to one day of the week. ESPN is the worst at doing this for anything not NCAAFB or NFL.

The new MLS TV deal will assist the first part of your comment since there will be set times for national games on both ESPN2 and FS1. Keep in mind that MLS ratings peaked in 2012 when Beckham retired and were lower than the WNBA in since then.

On MLS's side is that there has not been a weekly TV review show for a few years. It is online only and that does not help themselves when I can watch or DVR the Premier League Review Show on NBCSN or even a Bundasliga review show, Kick Off!, on one of my local PBS affiliates. If you don't care enough to produce a weekly review show, the harder it will be for many to catch up or become interested in the upcoming week.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I think that's a good point. It wasn't until this year that I became a fan of MLS as a whole -- prior to now, I've only cared about the Sounders. I think for a lot of people, it's really to focus on your team and shut the rest of the league out. Even in this thread, so much of the posts are about a person's individual team and less so about playoff picture, high scorers, and so on.

Contrast that to NBA threads, where so much more of the conversation is league-based, and you can see a clear discrepancy in interest level. A weekly recap -- or even nightly SportsCenter highlights -- would help MLS feel a bit more like a national league.

[dfwabel]

I think that's a good point. It wasn't until this year that I became a fan of MLS as a whole -- prior to now, I've only cared about the Sounders. I think for a lot of people, it's really to focus on your team and shut the rest of the league out. Even in this thread, so much of the posts are about a person's individual team and less so about playoff picture, high scorers, and so on.

Contrast that to NBA threads, where so much more of the conversation is league-based, and you can see a clear discrepancy in interest level. A weekly recap -- or even nightly SportsCenter highlights -- would help MLS feel a bit more like a national league.

In the middle of last season, NBCSN did air a series named "MLS Insider", which was produced by a group who did a "30 for 30", but it was mostly player profiles with a feature on a team support group. I haven't seen one air this season.

[Needschat]

The networks need to do a better job of advertising these games too. They pick random days of the week rather than keeping it to one day of the week. ESPN is the worst at doing this for anything not NCAAFB or NFL.

The new MLS TV deal will assist the first part of your comment since there will be set times for national games on both ESPN2 and FS1. Keep in mind that MLS ratings peaked in 2012 when Beckham retired and were lower than the WNBA in since then.

On MLS's side is that there has not been a weekly TV review show for a few years. It is online only and that does not help themselves when I can watch or DVR the Premier League Review Show on NBCSN or even a Bundasliga review show, Kick Off!, on one of my local PBS affiliates. If you don't care enough to produce a weekly review show, the harder it will be for many to catch up or become interested in the upcoming week.

Soccer Made in Germany with Toby Charles..wow, flashbacks

[dfwabel]

The networks need to do a better job of advertising these games too. They pick random days of the week rather than keeping it to one day of the week. ESPN is the worst at doing this for anything not NCAAFB or NFL.

The new MLS TV deal will assist the first part of your comment since there will be set times for national games on both ESPN2 and FS1. Keep in mind that MLS ratings peaked in 2012 when Beckham retired and were lower than the WNBA in since then.

On MLS's side is that there has not been a weekly TV review show for a few years. It is online only and that does not help themselves when I can watch or DVR the Premier League Review Show on NBCSN or even a Bundasliga review show, Kick Off!, on one of my local PBS affiliates. If you don't care enough to produce a weekly review show, the harder it will be for many to catch up or become interested in the upcoming week.

Soccer Made in Germany with Toby Charles..wow, flashbacks

Off topic, but Soccer Made in Germany is the reason why I like the Bundasliga over the EPL and still pay for GolTV on satellite.

[VictoriaGooner]

The networks need to do a better job of advertising these games too. They pick random days of the week rather than keeping it to one day of the week. ESPN is the worst at doing this for anything not NCAAFB or NFL.

The new MLS TV deal will assist the first part of your comment since there will be set times for national games on both ESPN2 and FS1. Keep in mind that MLS ratings peaked in 2012 when Beckham retired and were lower than the WNBA in since then.

On MLS's side is that there has not been a weekly TV review show for a few years. It is online only and that does not help themselves when I can watch or DVR the Premier League Review Show on NBCSN or even a Bundasliga review show, Kick Off!, on one of my local PBS affiliates. If you don't care enough to produce a weekly review show, the harder it will be for many to catch up or become interested in the upcoming week.

Soccer Made in Germany with Toby Charles..wow, flashbacks

Off topic, but Soccer Made in Germany is the reason why I like the Bundasliga over the EPL and still pay for GolTV on satellite.

Soccer Made in Germany is a good show. One of the better shows on GolTV.

[Jer15]

This article says it all for me (re: TFC making yet another coaching change)

More specifically these lines:

"It felt like the beginning of something new. It was a rare moment when MLSE behaved like the company that this city deserved, where they were repurposing their fans’ hard-earned money into something tangible, something that looked like winning."

"And now his “Bloody Big Deal”—the one giant swipe at being great—appears to have missed the target."

[Foxxtrot44]

3 1/2 months off on injury? Pfff.

[Corvus]

Hey look, Canada actually won a game.

[VictoriaGooner]

Hey look, Canada actually won a game.

First win in almost two years, last win was in World Cup second round qualifying. Plus three goals to boot. Lets see if this upswing will continue against Panama. We are still ranked 122 in the world

[Jer15]

I'm less concerned with Canada winning right now than I am with Benito Floro getting young Canadians into the team, capped, and given playing time.

The last round of world cup qualifying was kind of the last kick at the can for a lot of Canadians and now it is time to start building the future of the program aggressively. Get players capped and build competition to get in the team.

The sport is reaching a spot (thanks to the MLS clubs and their academies) that we actually have a player pool to pick from. We can't afford to let players like Jonathan DeGuzman walk away anymore. Nor should we have to, you are a Canadian, play for your damn country.

Canada won't qualify for Russia. I know that. But this cycle is about making strides for the future of the program.

[Kevin W.]

There might still be more Sydney Lerouxes in the future, which means we'll get to enjoy moments like this for a long time:

[TorinK92]

At least we have at least one young player turning to Canada in Fraser Aird. He should be a decent midfielder in a few years weather he ends up playing in Scotland or England.

[crashcarson15]

Realistically, Canada should be targeting competitiveness in the 2022 World Cup cycle, yeah?