I had to get up pretty early this morning, finishing a side job, and as I traveled in my car I heard that MLS was playing their championship game today. Now I listen to the sports channel every day in my car, ESPN on most nights at home, and follow sports on the internet and up until that very moment I did not know that MLS was even in their playoffs let alone in a championship game. What's more, I learn that this is the 11th such occasion. Can anyone list the last 5 champions? I know I can't.
It appears that the Houston Dynamo won against the New England Revolution, 4-3, in what else but a "shoot out." The average attendance at a game is around 15,000, but how many people are watching? If someone who follows sports as much as I do did not know about this, then I am willing to bet it is just not that important to most Americans. Soccer may be "all" that in Europe, but over in the USA it is still a high school sport that plays second fiddle to football, basketball, and baseball.
There is always speculation that soccer is on the rise and that MLS will one day be up there with the NFL and/or MLB, but sadly this is not true. People overseas basically have soccer, rugby, and cricket. There is no competition by football or baseball. Basketball is even more popular overseas than soccer is in the US. Hopefully all you soccer fans aren't too upset with me, but as I sat and watched the NFL today I wasn't even tempted to turn to find MLS. I would almost even watch the NHL as compared to MLS and that would mean that I would be totally bored.
I'm not much of a soccer fan at all, but did enjoy some of the most recent World Cup. As I enjoyed Sunday football yesterday...I was wondering what it would be like if I were from another country where soccer was the big sport.
Time will tell if soccer will rise...but I think it's still quite a ways off.
No problem on the poker tourney. I'm open to one during the week. I'll just have to check with the rest of the clique...err, I mean the rest of the bloggers.
wow, socal is on a roll here. marbles, bro? really. hahaha. marbles, thats the line of the day, right there.
i tried to watch the world cup. i gave it a shot, just like i did hockey. but the best thing about soccer was the worst thing: no commercials. ugh, its awful.
Shooter, apparently the WNBA still exists, most likely because of all the funding by the NBA. Rumor has it that a proposition will go on the ballot along with banning same sex marriages to ban the WNBA too.
Demon, I tried to watch as well, but I just can't. I watched some of the World Cup, but if I had to watch the MLS daily I would nod off to sleep. I can watch golf easier than I can soccer. You see a hole in one as often as you do a goal in soccer.
Why does this dumber'n'dogshit blog have to show up on both my MLB and my NFL feeds, and it's not about either one?
Take off the categories that don't apply. If putting your blog into every conceivable category is the only way you can get people to pay attention, that's pretty sad.
There were two goals in overtime, and the term is "shootout" like in the NHL.
The team that won is our freaking SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES who weren't able to muster enough support here in the Bay Area so they moved.
Look, the sport is just fine where it's at. Inane marble jokes aside no one in their right mind thinks MLS will ever match even NHL. Regardless it is the most popular sport in the world and I say to you that baseball, hockey, basketball and "football" will N-E-V-E-R supplant the beautiful game in that regard.
ok, so what does this blog have to do with all the categories you listed it under. I hate it when people do this. maybe if you werent blogging about soccer someone would read your stuff.
Socal- Well what you just said, goes to show how some people will not even look up anything other than what the immediate media tells them.
There's a beautiful world(and game) out there, don't miss it because the media doesn't consider it popular!
To everyone else complaining about this being in other categories than soccer- Well idiots if you actually read what he was saying, he was saying that the MLS doesn't compare to any other leagues. Those leagues being NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL. If you are too dumb to realize this, maybe this isn't the place for you. Blogs are to be read...
Todd, dont be a ####. i was gonna say that there was no 'soccer' category. then i realised that you soccer lovin scrubs have a whole other blogsite foxsoccer.blah.blah. soccer is lame in person and even worse than the Pro Bowling Tour on TV. socal has prolly never bothered to click that stupid link to 'all soccer blogs.' of course, if he did post it with just titled soccer', no one would see the damn thing. none of us care about soccer. where's the foxcricket.com? if you were a blogger with an actual blog, you'd be interested in what Socal had to say. instead you hop on here with no history, no work and talk #### damn soccer fans.
to all the people who say to please put this in the right category, it is. I compare it to the popularity of the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Sorry if that offends you soccer guys, but the title should be enough to tell you to leave it alone if you don't like it.
North, typo, I know it is shoot out. I read the score off the internet, so I don't know how many goals were made in the shoot out or otherwise. All too often these games end 0-0 then go to a shoot out.
As for a whole nother world, my wife is Greek and from overseas. I have been exposed to soccer. My kids play the game, but it is not as popular here as people make it out to be.
Demon, thanks for the props. I wrote this on this site for my readers. The people on the soccer blogs would not appreciate it.
Last edited by socalsportsfan on November 13th at 2:31 PM.
I heard about that game. If it doesn't have Adu in it, guess it doesn't matter? Freddy Adu is just a cool name, and he was young when he signed. You know all my knowledge of MLS now.
Last edited by TheFormer88Fan on November 13th at 11:47 PM.
demonicumguzzler - get some reading comprehension lessons. My beef (and I'm not alone) is that this cutsie blog entry has nothing to do with any of the categories it's under. I couldn't give a rat's #### about soccer or pansy soccer fans. My RSS feed reader picks up the Fox MLB & NFL blogs. So when this one pops up under both of them, and it's about neither the NFL or MLB, then that's wasting my time.
And by the way, sport, please show me the rule that someone has to have their own blog to be qualified to read/post on blogs.
I lived in Italy during the World Cup back some time ago and Italy made it to the playoffs. Let me tell ya, I'm just glad that my car was parked in the garage and locked up, because there was rioting in the streets when Italy got knocked out of the playoffs. I think that Soccer will be taken more seriously when our kids get older. Alot of them play soccer in leagues now. Lets just hope our kids don't turn into soccer hooligans though. lol
Todd, its easy to slip from blog to blog slamming people and causing general consent when you dont know anything about the community. Socal is pretty respected amongst us regulars. i may not agree with some of what he writes, but its #### for some anonymous scrub to roll thru slamming Socal for Category Spamming. why is it such a big deal to you? did it inconvience your in-box? preview and press delete. we're here all the time, researching, blogging and arguing out serious issues. if you have a constructive critisim, let it fly. but slamming someone when you dont even have the sac to publish is a ####-move.
wait a tick? who the #### are you, anyways? why am i even responding to fake comment. my bad, ya'll, pretend like i never said all that.
Benjamin, it will be more popular over time, but it will never supplant football, basketball, or baseball in the US. Maybe hockey, but I doubt it.
Todd, sorry for your inconvenience. It's almost as bad as me having to respond to your worthless comments. Unless you have some constructive to say about this "cutsie" post, then your comments phase me very little. I will continue to categorize my posts as I see fit.
Demon, thanks for standing up for me, but as you said, this is not a real blogger so his rant is unwarranted and will not deter me from my general posting.
I wasn't aware of it either, socal. I do vaguely remember hearing ESPN mention it in year's past, but I have very limited interest in soccer.
The World Cup did increase my interest, but only minimally. And, even most of that was due to the Zidane headbutt incident. Hey, I actually remembered a soccer guy's name.
Doesn't that count for something?
Last edited by MeanDovine on November 14th at 2:56 PM.
I remember that Italy played France in the final and Italy won in a shoot out.
I know Portugal lost to France, I think, and I forget the other quarter finalist. The US was out in the first round robin, and that's all I know. Sad isn't it, and I have a good memory.
Hey, SoCal, get a life. You can't find anything better to do in San Diego than bash soccer and the MLS championship? There are lots of sports I don't like, but I don't put them down just to validate myself. Especially when I don't know what I'm talking about.
Maybe you haven't lived in San Diego long enough. You should have left your provincial opinions at home. Years ago Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette bashed soccer and my reply to him was: "Bob, your opinion is about as welcome here as Iron City Beer. Both suck."
SoCal, we're more enlightened here, tolerant, sophisticated, educated.
In '94, the World Cup played to 100,000 fans in the Rose Bowl.
In '99, 100,000 turned out for a women's game in the Rose Bowl.
In 2002 in Korea/Japan, the U.S. beat Mexico to reach the round of eight, a great game and result that will long be remembered.
C'mon, man. Get with it. Soccer is a much better game than you think. No timeouts. Nonstop action. Hard tackles, no pads. Kids everywhere love it. A few adults, too. No reason to slam or offend them.
Football is a great game - for oversized, beefed up, very fast men, many of whom don't give a rat's #### about you, me or any other fan. The last Super Bowl was anything but Super.
So do me a favor, take a drive down Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach, or to Point Loma, think about your position. If you still feel the same way, take your wife to lunch. Listen to her. She's probably got a better idea.
LJ, I think you need to wake up from your dreams. Did you see on here how Mean and many others did not know the game was even on. It proves my point that no one knew the championship was on.
As for the number of fans from 1994 to the number today that just means the popularity has waned. The facts are that only close to 15000 have attended most games this year. Those are stats from MLS. Don't get mad at me if they are so poorly attended. A UT football game brings in over 100,000 every Saturday. The fact is that MLS did a very poor job of advertising their finals. Can you imagine if the Super Bowl was advertised like the MLS finals? Do you deny this? If so, then maybe you need to take a trip to San Diego and stop at Seaport Village or take a cruise from the Embarcadero. Have a drink and dream about the day soccer will be embraced by the USA. That's all it is, a pipe dream.
Last edited by socalsportsfan on November 14th at 7:21 PM.
Socal- The problem is that the players in MLS suck so much its pathetic. You should try watching English Premier League and you'll have something to cheer about. Try watching the REAL pros play. I'm not a soccer fan, but just because its a low scoring game doesnt mean it cant be exciting. The real excitment does not come in the scoring, it comes in the great passes and unbelievable plays.
SoCal, Your point is well taken. Disney buys rights to many soccer games for ABC and ESPN, then does a lousy job of promoting and reporting them.
Soccer is all but ignored on Sports Center, while poker tournaments and loud-mouthed, round-table, talking heads dominate the air.
I have no easy remedy for soccer's lack of exposure. Fox Soccer Channel does a good job. Ratings were up considerably during the World Cup, while MLS crowds were down for the same reason.
Big name MLS players were in Germany, and many fans chose not to spend money on second-string teams.
Soccer might never compete here with the big three, but it's still a great game, loved by many around the world.
The game has come a long way since 1990, our first modern-day trip to a World Cup. And while crowds back then were closer to 5,000 a game, it continues to grow and gain support.
Bashing soccer should have ended a generation ago. There's no reason to hate it. If somebody doesn't like it, they don't have to watch or disrespect anyone who does.
Amp, I agree the best soccer players always play over in Europe. But that is a symptom of the problem. The best basketball players in the world play in the US. Why? Money. In Europe the soccer players are paid like Gods and they generate revenue for their sport. In the US, a big name soccer player does very little in the way of generating revenue and hence the salaries are lower.
LJRJ, Soccer has come a long way since the 1990 World Cup. It is every where in the youth leagues and intramurals at colleges and in high schools, but still attendance is lacking. You need high attendance to bring in revenue both at the gate and in the retail shops. I did not even know what the uniforms, logos, or cites the Dynamo were from or the Revolution. Marketing is critical for success and it appears that MLS is not very good at it. Not like David Stern is for the NBA or Taglibue was for the NFL.
Lastly, I am not bashing soccer. I like soccer. I played in college and my kids all play in their schools. I am just saying it will never supplant the big three. If that is bashing then I am guilty, but I honestly don't think the average sports fan cares that much for soccer. If he did then ESPN would have done a huge breakdown after the Dynamo won like they do for the Super Bowl or NBA Championship. How about Sports Illustrated publishing a special edition for the Soccer CHampions like they do for the NCAA FB champ or March Madness champ.
SoCal,
The first-year Houston Dynamo wasn't a well-known brand, even though it played some good soccer while in San Jose.
But the title game was played in a sold-out new soccer-specific stadium in Dallas. Thousands of Houston fans made the trip, painted their faces red and went home happy. Brian Ching's goal a minute after New England's Taylor Twellman scored in OT was terrific.
Our discussion has been fun and before you hang up your spikes for good, let me just say give soccer one more chance.
Disney recently signed a new MLS contract and is committed to replacing at least a few poker tournaments and "Cold Pizzas" with soccer news and coverage.
David Beckham is probably going to be here next year. He'd prefer L.A., where he has a soccer academy for kids. We'll see. If MLS can't market Becks, then you can throw in the towel.
He's earned a fortune in England, Spain and with worldwide endorsements, and perhaps he can do for MLS what Pele did for the NASL all those years ago.
I say bring Ronaldo and Zidane here, too.
Lastly, it appears Jurgen Klinsmann will sign any day now as U.S. coach. USSF President Sunil Gulati has been very patient and frankly, Klinsmann is the only candidate.
Jurgen has shown serious interest in American soccer in the past and has proven himself to be a world-class player and coach.
socal ... And with the imminent departure of Freddy Adu to Europe things are about to get a little frosty for the MLS. They haven't exactly marketed themsleves well and even with an influx of talent from South America things still haven't gotten off the ground. Suffice to say that they'll be winding up much like the WUSA did a few years back if they aren't ablew to do something positive.
