Sacramento Monarchs were a WNBA team. I know that only because of the internet.
Mostly agree, but Charlotte was originally called Charlottetown, so at least there is some historical context for that one.
Actually it was Charlotte Town, so the MLS people have it correct. But I have seen Charlottetown as well, which was also the name of a shopping mall in the Midtown area now occupied by the Metropolitan.
clt is hearing we have a good chance.
Where would the MLS rank against other soccer leagues around the world? Would MLS rank in the top 10?
Wonder why they didn’t put it in Boone, NC and their 37 different TV markets
3 Likes
I’m not soccer expert but probably behind all the leagues in the biggest European nations, Brazil, and Mexico.
Probably about #10. MLS needs to stop being the end of the road for Europe’s best.
It’s working for them, though.
End of the road or not, guys like Beckham, Rooney, Zlatan, etc. have brought the league some needed star power.
They may not be what they once were, but their names elevate the league and the spotlight that they bring also illuminates some of the lesser-known players. Plus, even if they’re not top-flight UEFA talent anymore, they’re still a hell of a lot of fun to watch. I certainly enjoyed watching DCU w/ Rooney much more than I did prior to his arrival, and I’m going to miss seeing him in black and red.
I’d be very curious to know more about MLS’s 10-15 year plan and if they have any expectation of elevating past other international leagues in prestige, draw, etc. Does the league publish anything of the sort for promotional purposes, commissioner state of the league speeches, etc?
The goal is to be a top league internationally and a viable profitable investment domestically.
Right now they are starting to bring in more and more young talent from South America and Europe and selling them abroad, and hopefully we’ll see more Americans go that route too.
It’ll be interesting to see how the single-entity model works out in the long term vs. the individually owned teams model that typically uses promotion/relegation. If you’re looking to invest in a soccer team, which one do you choose: the team that can find itself out of the top league and without a solid revenue stream because of one bad season? Or the league that means you’ll stay in the top regardless of one season?
I know fans love to dream about promotion/relegation in this country, but I hope it never happens. As a fan of a team in England that is a regular relegation contender, it sucks to see teams (and their fans) try and navigate the financial fallout. Plus, the lack of relegation means managers can use the end of the season to give youth players more run and hopefully have a better following season.
As for “retirement home” stuff, both Rooney and Zlatan are leaving MLS to continue playing abroad.
I’m stoked about MLS being here.
1 Like
Suggest names.
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article238315783.html
There’s very little doubt (at least in this area code) that because of the long and endearing tradition of and passion for soccer in Raleigh and the Triangle, not to mention the relative lack of other pro-sports competition, this market would be a better fit for an MLS franchise than Charlotte. But the impending announcement that Charlotte will land the coveted expansion franchise — and Raleigh, at this point, isn’t even in the frame — is a missed opportunity that the Triangle will regret for a long time.
In an informal and unscientific Twitter poll of soccer fans in the 919 area code, 48 percent chose “indifferent” to describe their feelings toward the as-yet-unnamed Charlotte franchise. That was more than the 35 percent who said they would root for the team, willingly or unwillingly, and the 17 percent who were actively rooting against it.
Triangle soccer fans are many things, but “indifferent” isn’t naturally one of them.
MLS should have the goal of being the sixth best league behind the big five, and the best league out of Europe. Right now we are behind the big five, Brazil, and Mexico at a minimum. Netherlands, Portugal, and Austria have clubs well beyond anything what the MLS boasts.
I agree we don’t need pro/rel in the US, but we should encourage some teams to become “big” in order to more effectively compete in regional and global tournaments. If we could have a couple Ajax level teams it would actually make the league stronger as a whole.
Mr. B says that Tepper and the mayor are big fans of clt.
Ajax used to be much more of a premier team, however, more recently they have become a bastion for talent development before shipping them off across Europe for a premium. It would be pretty cool if our MLS team created an academy similar to those of Europe.
I’ll be getting tickets. Who else is in?
I’ll go to games about like I do panthers games. 1-3 a year. I don’t like sports enough anymore to get season tickets to anything but the niners.
I plan on it. I just don’t know which tier to deposit in ($50, $75, or $100) on the website, without knowing the prices for season tickets. I’ll probably go with the middle level ($75) sideline seats.