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[uncredited male]

Seriously, what of MLS policies you would like to be implemented in the Liga Mx? Low-end skewed Salary caps? No promotion-relegation? The adoption and promotion of aging super-stars like Ronaldinho?

Not sure...

 

[Squirrel Killer]

America will win one of the next four world cups. It's inevitable.

I wouldn't even say it's "inevitable" that Germany would win one of the next four world cups.

The caveat would be that non-European teams that are far away (eg. not North African or Middle Eastern teams) would have to base themselves in Europe.

At which point, they're no longer a non-European team. Why would you call the LA Galaxy "LA" when they're based in some random Eurotown? Euros threw a hissy fit when Wimbledon F.C. moved 60 miles, how should Americans take moving one of their still small potatoes soccer teams overseas?

not having to cross Time zones makes all the difference tho

Time zones are brutal, but don't discount the effects of just long travel. Sure jet lag isn't an issue after a 20 hour N-S flight, but you still have all that airtime to recover from. You're simply not ever going to have a competition with regular long distance intercontinental travel until there's a huge revolution in transportation.

Why americans can't do like the rest of the world and insert adds in one corner of the screen (silently) or a voice over when nothing important is happening or even like they do recently like AR displaying images over the side of the field or even in the field? Subtely.

Chill. We do. We even adopted the bush league tactic of selling ads jerseys that the rest of the world uses. The guy you were replying to was either being sarcastic or was clueless.

It would help if they change the name from their handegg league, but 'muricans are too stubborn to understand facts (like evolution or the concept of social security).

...have any of you "hand-egg" people ever seen an egg?

The standard of football in MLS is gash, I am Hibernian FC supporter.... The current way it works with weird draft system and wage cap but with certain exceptions is odd as well, it makes for really unbalanced teams.

Huh? MLS is the height of team parity, or do you mean balance within the team?

What's with the RSL hate in here?

"Real" has real meaning for Real Madrid, it's just wannabe-ism for Real Salt Lake.

I have only read the first two pages of this thread so far, but many of you said that football is in decline due to safety issues. Really? Those players are like walking safety cushions. What would american parents say to Rugby?

Perhaps you should watch a game before you mock it. In part due to the stop-start nature of American football, players have enough energy on each play to be running full tilt in to their collisions. Those "safety cushions" you mock are to keep the players from literally killing each other during the game. Even with them, there are season and career ending injuries almost every game.

 

[Cormano]

"Real" has real meaning for Real Madrid, it's just wannabe-ism for Real Salt Lake.

You gotta give them credit for trying to adopt football into the USA.

I love the fact that NYC added the FC to their formal name, pretty ballsy.

 

[Mully]

The existence of players who have made the choice to play soccer doesn't negate the point. All I'm saying is that the US is more likely to lose a young soccer player to another sport than most other countries in the world, which does put it at a disadvantage (which, in theory, they may be able to overcome by the size of the population). Sure, there's enough kids to play every sport, but that doesn't mean that all of those kids are the same quality of athlete/prospect.

Unlike most European countries, the U.S. has the luxury of a large population. Yes US soccer will lose many top athletes to other more popular sports at the moment, but the difference is that the pool is so large that US soccer can take those hits and still find top talent.

The examples are already there, and growing. Donavan and Howard were found when modern US soccer was in its infancy; when MLB, the NBA, and the NFL ruled American sports. Two above average players who competed in the top league and excelled on the biggest stage. There weren't any stable soccer leagues in the US when they were growing up, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan were the most recognizable athletes on the planet, and the U.S. National Team was playing at high school football fields when qualifying.

Imagine what's going to happen in 20 years when the U.S. has proper soccer infrastructure, and a growing league.

Critics need to move on from the talking points they've been harping on for years. The problems facing the league and US soccer are over expansion, low salaries, and ownership. The league does not need to Americanize the game, or appeal to athletes who are already interested in other sports because of the points listed above. All the MLS and US soccer has to do is stay the course they're on without any radical changes while adding some nuances to the league as it continues to develop and it will grow.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I love the fact that NYC added the FC to their formal name, pretty ballsy.

There are several teams in MLS which have FC appended to their names, even though they have official nicknames like Seattle Sounders FC for instance.
Even before NYC FC, there was already Toronto FC and FC Dallas which don't have official nicknames.
Orlando City is actually the odd man out being "SC" (Soccer Club) instead of "FC".

 

[xbhaskarx]

Orlando City is actually the odd man out being "SC" (Soccer Club) instead of "FC".

Nope, Chicago Fire SC has been around since 1998, and the Columbus Crew added SC to the end of their name a few months ago...


So some teams use FC, some use SC, and some use neither. Because WHO CARES ABOUT SOCCER VS FOOTBALL IN TEAM NAMES.

 

[Milchjon]

I have only read the first two pages of this thread so far, but many of you said that football is in decline due to safety issues. Really? Those players are like walking safety cushions. What would american parents say to Rugby?.

Yep, if one of the richest and most popular sports leagues in the world is facing real doubts about its future existence and half of the arguments for its survival boil down to "well, there'll always be poor kids who see no other way out", then it is obviously hilariously safe.

Good thing you figured it all out, smart guy, and we can ignore decades of scientific research cause "lulz, they wear like, helmets and shit"

Edit: Just fyi, there's been serious arguments made by respectable, independent people to get rid of helmets in order to make the sport safer.

 

[PdotMichael]

America will win one of the next four world cups. It's inevitable. Huge population size, unparalleled sporting culture, a massive sports/training infrastructure, and the growing popularity of the sport. An entire generation of kids will go through school realising it's a a better route to take than conventional American sports, as even if you don't "make it" you can still make a living in a decent league anywhere in the world. That and you don't need to be over 6'5" or be willing to get concussed every week like in basketball or US football respectively.

Well, America is like two continents big.

 

[Nesotenso]

Well, America is like two continents big.

.....

 

[TheGrue]

Nope, Chicago Fire SC has been around since 1998, and the Columbus Crew added SC to the end of their name a few months ago...


So some teams use FC, some use SC, and some use neither. Because WHO CARES ABOUT SOCCER VS FOOTBALL IN TEAM NAMES.

Yep. My team, the Colorado Rapids, is technically the Colorado Rapids Soccer Club. There's a mix and it doesn't really matter in the end.

 

[ReplacementPelican]

True that is all that matters, and the top leagues are obviously in England, Germany, Spain, Italy, France... so that explains why Spain did better than than the US at the 2014 World Cup, France did better than the US at the 2010 World Cup, and England and Italy did better than the US at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.....


2010 World Cup final standings
12. USA
13. England
26. Italy
29. France

2014 World Cup final standings
15. USA
22. Italy
23. Spain
26. England

Oh and here's 2002, back when MLS was barely surviving as a league and had recently contracted from 12 to 10 teams.

Just so that we're clear, are you legitimately trying to argue that the US has a better national team than Spain, Italy, France and England?

 

[xbhaskarx]

Just so we're clear, do you understand the English language, and did you read the comment I replied to?

 

[xbhaskarx]

Insider Notes: Klinsmann's fitness ask irks MLS clubs; Ronaldo to MLS in '18?

Ronaldo to MLS after Real Madrid?

File this one for down the road, but multiple sources tell me that Cristiano Ronaldo’s current plan is to come to MLS after he finishes at Real Madrid, with one source saying he would likely arrive on a free transfer in 2018 once his current contract ends.

Ronaldo would likely be coming off a World Cup and would be 33 years old, older than David Beckham (32) was when he came to MLS but younger than Frank Lampard (37) or Steven Gerrard (35) will be when they arrive this summer. Ronaldo’s main interest lies in cities you’d probably expect: Miami, Los Angeles and New York.

His agent mentioned the possibility in January:

According to a report in French outlet Telefoot, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes said a move stateside by the Real Madrid star and Portugal captain may be possible when his newly signed contract at the Santiago Bernabeu is up in 2018.

"After that, perhaps he will go to the United States. Only God knows what will happen," Mendes said in the report.

Retirement league, obviously European teams like Tottenham, AC Milan, and PSV would have no interest in Ronaldo so he'd have to go to MLS... if they would have him surely Ronaldo would prefer to spend his time in Sunderland over Miami.

 

[DOBERMAN INC]

Insider Notes: Klinsmann's fitness ask irks MLS clubs; Ronaldo to MLS in '18?



Retirement league, obviously European teams like Tottenham, AC Milan, and PSV would have no interest in Ronaldo so he'd have to go to MLS...

I'm willing to bet Ronaldo at 33 is still in the top 1-5 best players in the world and would be a huge coup for an MLS team.

 

[entremet]

Just so we're clear, do you understand the English language, and did you read the comment I replied to?

Lol

 

[rekameohs]

Yankee Stadium (still occasionally used for baseball, just not in the playoffs)