MLS Figures it Out

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John in Louisiana
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MLS Figures it Out

Post by John in Louisiana »

Excellent Article on the state of the MLS right now (for those of you who care)........

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/ ... eague.html

"...ironically, “MLS 3.0,” as has been the long-standing shorthand, may have arrived by, at last, taking a step backward — or what would have seemed like an unconscionable step backward to earlier iterations of the league and its fans. To put in the words of MLS commissioner Don Garber: “We need to be more of a selling league.” By this he means: a league that develops young talent, then sells it to the top clubs in Europe. The MLS is finally getting there. And it’s doing so by stopping trying to be so damned American — by which I mean so deluded about its place in the international pecking order."

Best thing that could happen to football in the US would be for us to develop players here and send the best ones to Europe to really learn how to play the game. Perhaps one day - long after I'm gone - we'll have enough quality players over here to stock a league, but until then the best thing for MLS and the US national team is to ensure our best players get to play against the best competition.

It's great to see that MLS is finally wising up to the fact that they do not constitute the best competition. Doing so, as the author states, will be best for the league in the long run.
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Muppet the Cat
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Re: MLS Figures it Out

Post by Muppet the Cat »

Is it not a problem for the MLS though John that they can never be more than the 5th popular sport (unlike in Europe and South America), although I'm not sure what the order in popularity of the big 4 are ?

I'd guess 1st - NFL, 2nd - MLB, 3rd - NBA and 4th - NHL...…………..or does it really depend whereabouts you are in the country ?
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Re: MLS Figures it Out

Post by MissouriLeeds »

Muppet the Cat wrote: Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:40 pm Is it not a problem for the MLS though John that they can never be more than the 5th popular sport (unlike in Europe and South America), although I'm not sure what the order in popularity of the big 4 are ?

I'd guess 1st - NFL, 2nd - MLB, 3rd - NBA and 4th - NHL...…………..or does it really depend whereabouts you are in the country ?
Given how big a land mass the U.S. is, its a very regional thing. From a commercial & TV stand point, NFL is king across the country. However, here in St. Louis and many other midwestern cities, baseball rules 12 months a year. The bigger metropolitan areas (NYC, Chi, LA) are huge NBA territories. If you go to Minnesota ("State of Hockey"), the NHL is king. Here in St. Louis (often referred to as the original US Capitol of Soccer), we are closing in on finally securing an MLS team. I think MLS is clearly trending up. We lose sight of how new and underdeveloped the league is. Its amazing to think what the NBA was pre-1980 or so in terms of facilities, interest, TV presence etc compare to today's NBA. Even the most legacy clubs in MLS are < 25 years old. Hell, some clubs are just now starting to see their first academy "graduating" classes coming through the ranks. What is encouraging for MLS is the fact that there are some seriously big money owners making big investments and betting on the growth of the league.
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