[JakeP50]

(This will be kind of long)
Today I was watching the final day of the Premier League season which NBC and their other networks televised all of, all 20 teams played and kicked off at 10AM Eastern. That got me thinking NBC wouldn't do something like this that has never been attempted before, not even in England, if they didn't think the viewers would be there, so why has MLS not even come close to the popularity of a foreign league with unfamiliar city names attached to teams or even teams without cities in their name at all like Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Everton, when they have almost an identical number of teams with plenty of local and national exposure. As it stands right now MLS has 19 teams and will have 21 with the additions of NYCFC and Orlando City SC next year, 22 with Atlanta joining in 2017 and 23 when Miami gets a stadium deal, it's obvious their goal is 24 so this "plan" includes getting to 24.
After a relatively successful season in 2017 but lower playoff ratings,even with the years dramatic MLS Cup Final where DC United defeated the Portland Timbers on the road in penalty kicks. Commissioner Don Garber and the rest of the league's front office and ownership realize they can't compete with the new 8-team college football playoff(that's a story for a different thread) and decide a change is needed. The league votes to admit a 24th team, Minnesota, who has been stuck in an oddly 17 team NASL since the completion of their stadium which they share with the Vikings. The move helps both leagues as they both reach an even number of teams and decide to create an open league structure between the two of them that will later expand to include the lower leagues of the US and Canada. Along with a true top flight and second tier the owners decide to scrap the playoffs altogether and do what all the other leagues around the world do and crown the champion based entirely on the season standings. 2018 finally solves a majority of MLS' problems, league ratings are higher than ever and at the end of the season, the Portland Timbers dramatically win the title on the final day of the season after beating their rivals the Seattle Sounders(who held a 7 point lead over the Timbers in the table just a week earlier). And the failed experiment Chivas USA finish dead last and are relegated along with other perennial doormat Toronto FC and fallen from grace New York Red Bulls.
I don't think this will actually happen but it seems more feasible then some of the other weird things I've said. So any other soccer fans what do you think? Could this work or am I just insane?

[Purple Haize]

There will NEVER be a relegation system. Never.

A wise scholar once proposed that for MLB........

[bluedevilflame]

I love MLS and EPL but I just can't see MLS getting into the EPL's orbit anytime in the near future, the competition and passion levels just aren't even comparable. I think one of the biggest problems facing the MLS is lack of coverage in the States, ESPN runs sports like a mafia and if they don't have a deal with the league, they give them no attention (I.e. NHL, EPL, MLS). Maybe this will change with the new deal MLS announced today with ESPN but I won't hold my breath. One thing I always hear is MLS switching to the August-May schedule but I simply don't see how that would work climate wise. I mean, MLS has teams in Canada, Salt Lake City, Colorado and others, can you imagine a match being played in a foot of snow? And as far as relegation, I think it would be awesome but don't see it ever happening. They could easily do it with a partnership with the NASL as the second division, moving up the top 2 teams from each division in NASL and lowering the bottom 2 teams in each division of MLS. I think it would add a lot to the drama and meaning behind every game.
With that said MLS is leaps and bounds from its humble beginnings, who knows where it will be in 10-15 years!

[SuperJon]

The way to make it more popular:

Keep doing what they're doing now.

They're starting to get more talent. Soccer at the youth level is exploding. Klinnsman is redoing the academy system for the national team. It's all a process, and it's moving in the right direction.

The biggest key for soccer's long-term growth is going to be if they can get it away from being a rich kid sport to a sport that even the lower class can succeed in. In its current form, you have to play classic or premiere ball where you're traveling hours upon hours away every weekend to play in tournaments. That's just not financially feasible for most.

[JakeP50]

I think the deal with Fox and ESPN will help. The talent level isn't even close but the passion exists with certain fan bases and their rivals have had to match that. Seattle and Portland home games are INSANE and have gained some attention from the talking heads in Europe. Kansas City, Salt Lake and Columbus haven't had the international attention but they're pretty good too. So if more fan bases could be like them, MLS would be well on it's way. I think promotion and relegation could happen with the NASL but IMHO they would have to expand a little bit first.

[BJWilliams]

You need to be patient with the talent Jake...as Jon said, Klinsmann is completely revamping things. To borrow some cooking ideas, what some people want is to microwave world class talent in America, when the way it should be done (and more in line with what Klinsmann is doing) is slow cooking it. Yeah you want so much for it to stop cooking, but if you let it do its thing, the final product is so much better than if you went for the instant result.

[JakeP50]

I'm willing to wait for the talent to develop and most of my soccer fan friends agree with that. I know that takes time for the sports growing popularity to catch up to the pros. Then the problem of keeping those guys at home, that's where supporters groups like the Timbers Army and Sons of Ben come in. If the atmosphere at an MLS game can rival a game in Europe more world class players might stay home. And the salary cap would have to go up but that's going to happen relatively soon.

[Sly Fox]

For the record, Seattle is in a league of their own as far as fanbases go in the MLS averaging 38k. After the Galaxy averaging 23k, look who is just behind them and ahead of the supposed better crowds in KC & SLC ... the three Canadian franchises. Portland draws a nice crowd for a relatively small market but is still behind the Dynamo. Truthfully averaging 20k is pretty much the median across the leagye. Interestingly enough it is some of the league founding members that join dumpster fire Chivas USA at the bottom of the attendance standings: DC United, Revolution, Red Bulls, Fire & the Rapids. That indicates to me that the novelty of having a new franchise only last for so long. In fact, fan fatigue tends to lead to apathy. It is the same challenge facing the MLB.

I agree that the fan experience at MLS games is the league's best selling tool. Overpaying for some Euro has-beens is not the recipe for success. Turning MLS games into events like HBCU football has done with their classics would be the best way to give the league the push it needs to advance.

The biggest challenge facing the sport is the fact that the markets they are entering are generally already saturated by pro sports. Creating a niche is tough. Suburban soccer fans tend to drift away from the sport after high school. Immigrant fans don't often maintain their loyalty to MLS franchises like they do their clubs from their homelands.

[flameshaw]

What's MLS?

[JakeP50]

DCU's attendance woes are a special case. We were the premier fan base in the league until Seattle showed up. The ownership won't invest in winning talent until they have a stadium. They've been bleeding in RFK for too long. DC has made it impossible. They have to get a stadium to reenergize the fan base, bc they won't bring in the talent until then. DCU fans are pretty snobbish. We were spoiled by the club's first decade of dominance. We expect beautiful soccer. We expect winning, and we all know why it's not happening right now.

I love DC United but they NEED that new stadium, the plans are in place but there's been to much hype that only lead to disappointment for me to get my hopes up yet. RFK is nearly empty for most games it's time for them to move and if DC city government won't cooperate they need to look elsewhere.

For the record, Seattle is in a league of their own as far as fanbases go in the MLS averaging 38k. After the Galaxy averaging 23k, look who is just behind them and ahead of the supposed better crowds in KC & SLC ... the three Canadian franchises. Portland draws a nice crowd for a relatively small market but is still behind the Dynamo. Truthfully averaging 20k is pretty much the median across the leagye. Interestingly enough it is some of the league founding members that join dumpster fire Chivas USA at the bottom of the attendance standings: DC United, Revolution, Red Bulls, Fire & the Rapids. That indicates to me that the novelty of having a new franchise only last for so long. In fact, fan fatigue tends to lead to apathy. It is the same challenge facing the MLB.

I agree that the fan experience at MLS games is the league's best selling tool. Overpaying for some Euro has-beens is not the recipe for success. Turning MLS games into events like HBCU football has done with their classics would be the best way to give the league the push it needs to advance.

The biggest challenge facing the sport is the fact that the markets they are entering are generally already saturated by pro sports. Creating a niche is tough. Suburban soccer fans tend to drift away from the sport after high school. Immigrant fans don't often maintain their loyalty to MLS franchises like they do their clubs from their homelands.

Seattle's attendance is so high because of the NFL stadium they call home, give Portland and LA Galaxy a stadium that size and they would come a lot closer to that 38k number.

[Sly Fox]

That might apply for Portland at the moment (i.e. shiny new toy), but the Galaxy are averaging around 4k below capacity in Carson.

[JakeP50]

Portland has only been in MLS for 4 years but the Timbers have in Portland on and off since the 70's. And this current incarnation of the Timbers(same franchise) has been around since 2001, it folded at the USL level in 2010 and joined MLS as an expansion team with the same owners.

[JakeP50]

Oddly enough the Screaming Eagles (A DC United supporters group) just posted the link to this. It's a lot more of what Sly said than what I said.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1177 ... er-america

[flameshaw]

Maybe if they had Lingerie MLS, people would watch. Would rather bob for apples in a bucket of kerosene that watch a soccer game. B-O-R-I-N-G.

[bluedevilflame]

The stadium renderings for DCU look ahhhhmazing. As for RFK, they desperately need out of that abomination of a stadium, it should have been demolished years ago. You'd think the DC area would want to cling to its only pro sport team that's done something in the past 20 years

[SuperJon]

Maybe if they had Lingerie MLS, people would watch. Would rather bob for apples in a bucket of kerosene that watch a soccer game. B-O-R-I-N-G.

You're also 200 years old, right? Ha.

[Purple Haize]

I have loved International Soccer since college. I tried but just can't get into MLS. Whoever said it lacked the pageantry and emotion of its international counterparts was spot on.
Bring on the World Cup. More vuvuzela's!

[4everfsu]

I have loved International Soccer since college. I tried but just can't get into MLS. Whoever said it lacked the pageantry and emotion of its international counterparts was spot on.
Bring on the World Cup. More vuvuzela's!

+1

[ALUmnus]

I have loved International Soccer since college. I tried but just can't get into MLS. Whoever said it lacked the pageantry and emotion of its international counterparts was spot on.

I'll give you one exception. Watch a Seattle/Portland game. Incredible atmosphere and the "traditions" are so unique. In many ways it's better than a college football rivalry.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Paragraphs are your friend, use them.

[flameshaw]

Maybe if they had Lingerie MLS, people would watch. Would rather bob for apples in a bucket of kerosene that watch a soccer game. B-O-R-I-N-G.

You're also 200 years old, right? Ha.

Very close.

[jbock13]

I have loved International Soccer since college. I tried but just can't get into MLS. Whoever said it lacked the pageantry and emotion of its international counterparts was spot on.
Bring on the World Cup. More vuvuzela's!

+1

[ATrain]

The simple answer is: import more Euros and Latinos into the general population

[lynchburgwildcats]

The simple answer is: import more Euros and Latinos into the general population

Racist!

[JakeP50]

I don't think more Euros and Latinos helps long term, eventually they would just go back to supporting their club from back home. Just like transplants within the States they don't change teams when they move, most of the time. I think with the growth of soccer the way it is right now, I give it 5-10 years before MLS is competing with the Premier League for American viewers.