Don't forget Widett Circle, for which we even saw renderings.Yeah, Assembly Sq is long dead, as are Brickbottom and Wonderland.
Don't forget Widett Circle, for which we even saw renderings.Yeah, Assembly Sq is long dead, as are Brickbottom and Wonderland.
Nearly every low-information casual footie fan or newly-recruited fan I talk to in the US talks about promotion and relegation as being an awesome aspect of foreign soccer leagues, and they all think it would be awesome if replicated here. For one thing, it would give fans an immediate, dramatic thing to point to when asked why someone should start following soccer rather than (or in addition to) another sport.[hijack] This is the argument for pro/rel in the US that's never clearly elucidated: it's not a fan death sentence. Expectations follow fortune. You can be engaged and excited - dare I say, happy - fighting for something you didn't want this time last year. (Just an observation, not trolling, I swear)
Yeah, the US is always going to have somewhat different solutions than Europe. England is slightly smaller than Alabama and yet people speak of the "long trip from Swansea to Newcastle!!" otherwise known as "driving to Philly from Boston" or for some MLS teams "the local derby" or for Orlando "less than half the distance to their closest road game".MLS already has the worst travel of any top-flight league. (TB linked a great article on this upthread.) A balanced schedule would just make this far worse.
There are a few problems it would address. a) Many regular season games don't mean much, or what they do mean is very murky. Making regular season games more meaningful, and giving fans a real reason to care when they might not, matters. b) Soccer needs to capitalize on being exotic, as an alternative to sports that seem too normal. There's no doubt that the idea of pro/rel pulls casual fans in and intrigues them.Pro/rel is a solution for a problem that the US doesn't have right now.
Sure, but the ultimate problem that pro/rel addresses is the situation when there are more potential top-level clubs than there is space at the top level. As long as MLS continues to expand, that's never going to be an issue.I agree with / accept all of that, with this exception:
There are a few problems it would address. a) Many regular season games don't mean much, or what they do mean is very murky. Making regular season games more meaningful, and giving fans a real reason to care when they might not, matters. b) Soccer needs to capitalize on being exotic, as an alternative to sports that seem too normal. There's no doubt that the idea of pro/rel pulls casual fans in and intrigues them.
I am dumber for having read all of those incredibly vapid Mike Burns quotes."There aren’t many teams that can say they’ve participated in five. When I look at it like that, I feel like we’re doing OK in that regard."
Michael Burns confirms Jay Heaps will be back in a long and rambling interview with Frank Dell'Apa.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/soccer/2016/10/27/revolution-confirm-jay-heaps-will-back-coach/026NSUkwvTmYoBmjHreXQK/story.html
Yeah, definitely. Besler was barely offsides, so I'd be pissed if I was an SKC fan.Besler had a goal disallowed for being about 6 inches offside earlier in the second half, and Valdez looked to be just slightly off as well on the winner.
To be fair to the linesman, the Besler decision was from a set piece so it was easier to be looking right down the line, while Valdez was at the end of a stretch of open play with attackers and defenders constantly dodging back and forth. Both were tough to see without the freeze frame, but KC fans have to be mad that Seattle got the call on theirs and KC didn't.
Dallas isn't the same team without Castillo and Diaz, while Seattle is in good form, so I would never have been surprised if the Sounders advanced, but a three-goal win in the first leg is eye-opening. It's hard to see Dallas coming back from this. I don't know where the goals are going to come from. I guess they'll need to depend on Michael Barrios to be a creator from the wing, but I don't think he can do it alone.No road teams score on the day. Biggest shocker has to be the Sounders dropping a three spot on FC Dallas.
If you are an MLSHQ employee rooting for ratings, you are a HUGE Sounders fan right now. Colorado and Dallas are ratings losers. Seattle has more cachet and I think even the sheer strength of their local market can carry national TV ratings for their games.Worst beating in Yankee Stadium since Game 7.
How much impact will LA and both NY clubs losing have on the TV ratings for the conference finals and MLS Cup?
Yeah, I caught parts of both games up here, and like the hysteria with the Blue Jays, the all-Canadian conference final will be a national event. Both teams played well and deserve it, though I can't imagine it will play well south of the border. That said, who watches MLS anyway?The Eastern Conference final should get very solid ratings in Canada, but those teams tend to not be as much of a TV draw in the US. Plenty of big names to tout (Giovinco, Drogba, Altidore, Bradley), though.
My dog and I, mostly. My cat refuses. My wife sees it as an excellent opportunity to do some knitting.Yeah, I caught parts of both games up here, and like the hysteria with the Blue Jays, the all-Canadian conference final will be a national event. Both teams played well and deserve it, though I can't imagine it will play well south of the border. That said, who watches MLS anyway?
And it's done:Keane may even leave LA this winter, too.
Considered an MLS expansion favorite for some time, St. Louis took a significant step forward Thursday evening with the unveiling of an ownership group that plans to launch a club in the the River City. Led by Boston-based investor Paul Edgerley and St. Louis FC owner Jim Kavanaugh, the SC STL group plans to build a $200 million soccer-specific stadium in downtown St. Louis.
The 24-acre stadium site is just west of the St. Louis Union Station, about one mile from Busch Stadium and 1.5 miles from the Mississippi River. SC STL holds an exclusive option to purchase the land through an agreement with the city. Local architect HOK already has been hired to design the facility, which will be built to accommodate 20,000 fans and eventually could expand to 28,500 seats.
SC STL said it will fund “much of the construction” but also will seek some public money via a popular vote in April. The city and state were ready to commit around $400 million in an attempt to keep the Rams from leaving for Los Angeles.
http://midfieldpress.com/2016/11/21/deloitte-report-suggests-promotion-relegation-would-be-positive-for-us-soccer/“The closed league system, while understandable in the context of when leagues were established, may hinder the longer term growth prospects of club soccer – the closed league system is one that seeks to maximise profit for owners and protect a league’s financial sustainability. To date however, this model in US soccer is more about loss and capital call minimisation, rather than profit maximisation, struggling to grow revenues and to an extent reliant on expansion franchise fees that have a limited lifespan,” according to the report.