The New York Times weighs in on MLS’s somewhat tenuous position in the American sporting culture at about the same time that Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots and MLS’s New England Revolution, is negotiating to buy a chunk of the Liverpool soccer team in Europe.
And I know you don’t care about soccer, but hey… it’s my website, so you’ll just have to deal. I’ve kinda grown to like soccer, and I’m sorry, MLS, it doesn’t have a lot to do with you. Watching games in the English Premier League is a completely different experience than watching MLS games. It’s like the difference between high school football and the NFL.
But MLS people seem happy with where they are… which is odd, considering the following:
- - Attendance has not grown. In it’s first year, average attendance was over 17,000. Last year, it was 15,000.
- The league lost $250 million in the first five years, and $50 million in the last five
- Only two teams in the history of the MLS have reported having at least one profitable season
Personally, I don’t know if the MLS is ever going to get big. It’s just not fun to watch, and it has to get a lot better, in terms of the skill that’s represented on the field. I really believe that the EPL would have a much better shot at developing a big following in America than would the MLS… because it’s so much easier to watch. There’s skill there… creativity, speed, passion, teamwork… it’s just not the same in the MLS.
And I’m wondering if that’s what Bob Kraft and Malcom Glazer are up to. Glazer, of course, bought Manchester United for about a billion and a half dollars… a move which made many English folks want to murder him. And that’s not an overstatement… people actually want to kill him, as the chants of “Die, Glazer, Die” seem to indicate, as do this tremendous button. Anyway, I just wonder if Kraft and Glazer believe they can expand the reach of teams like Man U and Liverpool to America, and make some money here. I think they’d have a better shot at developing a major following than do the Kansas City Wizards or Colorado Rapids.
scaryice
MLS is slowly growing, which is the correct thing to do now considering it’s previous approach and the NASL.
They are getting stadiums built (3 already, at least 4 more on the way), which will then allow the league to control revenue streams, therefore becoming profitable. That will then give them the ability to spend money on better players, more marketing, etc., making the league bigger and better.
November 11, 2005 at 7:37 am
epp
the MLS is growing the way it needs to grow…they are already learning from their mistakes and know they do not want to repeat the failures of the NASL…give the league time, it can’t become a household item overnight.
November 11, 2005 at 8:14 am
Doug
I don’t watch soccer at all, but I was considering going to a DC United game next season as long as Freddy Adu is still on the team.
I always viewed soccer as cross country with a ball so I don’t know if I’ll like it, but it’s worth a shot. I was going to try a playoff game this year, but the tickets are just too much for a sport that I don’t really care about.
November 11, 2005 at 11:50 am
insomniac
Here’s what soccer needs to gain popularity…well, with a hotter teenager tho
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005520458,00.html
November 11, 2005 at 2:59 pm