US soccer - MLS

[strider6004]

Saw this on the BBC site, Atlanta one year old and minimum gates of 48,000 rising to 70,000.

With growth like that it will be interesting to see how this and the US national team develop.

I know from a friend though that Atlanta has a high Hispanic population so that might explain the large crowds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41726695

 

 

[TheChelseaBlues]

On 10/30/2017 at 10:50, Strider6003 said:

Saw this on the BBC site, Atlanta one year old and minimum gates of 48,000 rising to 70,000.

With growth like that it will be interesting to see how this and the US national team develop.

I know from a friend though that Atlanta has a high Hispanic population so that might explain the large crowds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41726695

 

 

I can assure you the national team will be no good until we get a new leader and pay to play

[Phillip]

I think that missing out on the World Cup will have a really big negative impact on the MLS, which might be a crippling blow to many teams in the MLS, especially the newest franchises.  I hope that I am wrong about this.   The quality level is the same as the Australian league from what I can tell, which is pretty poor, and the refs are abominable.

[TheChelseaBlues]

I don't see how it will affect MLS in any long-lasting way. Attendance is not going to drop and if anything it will help because every domestic player will be able to play through the summer, so teams keep their stars around. People will still watch the WC, just not the bandwagoners who are soccer fans every 4 years. Maybe there will be fewer converts but all in all this will hopefully help in the long run and the idiots will take a long look at the broken youth system..... hahaha

[robdog]

I know this isn't the MLS, but checkout this scene when The San Francisco Deltas won the 2017 NASL Soccer Cup

It was the Franchise's first season but maybe it will be their last because the NASL won't be a 2nd Division League next season. :(

 

ps if you look at the photo long enough, you might be able to see some players in the crowd ;)

[robdog]

Not sure if anyone saw this goal the other night but it's simply remarkable

 

 

[Skinnedy]

I’m a season ticket holder in Atlanta. AUFC just won the MLS Cup. We had 73,000 at the match, sold out every game and averaged about 55k on the season (the upper deck is closed for most games for a capacity of about 48k for most matches)

Soccer (pardon, but I’m going to use that term for the purposes of this thread), has always been huge in this town. I grew up playing with thousands of others, and now we’ve all grown up and have kids that we take to games. 

I appreciate the way that AUFC built the team with young appreciating assets rather than older depreciating assets on the downside of their career. It only makes sense financially as well. Miguel Almiron was bought for about 7M and will sell for about 30M. 

We’re a relatively football savvy crew here and we understand that getting young exciting talents for a couple of years before they move on to bigger leagues is just fine.

we can have a much better conversation about this later if you’re interested, but the oldest generation of USMNT players (think Tim Howard) grew up in an era where there was very little exposure to good training and international football. I was a decent player (relatively speaking) and I never had a coach who actually played the game. That’s what the latest generation of footballers faced. 

The level of exposure to proper training and  the highest level of play (we watch EPL every week) coupled with increased participation and the idea that one can actually make a living as a professional footballer is already working to produce better players. The U17s and U20s are both very good squads. 

I see 8-9 year olds all over the area doing moves every day in games that I’d never even heard of until I was a teenager. 

We have the scale of over 300 million people that even a small increase in exposure and participation among the nations best athletes should pay dividends on the international level. 

To sum up... no, the MLS isn’t on the same level as the best leagues in Europe... we know, and we don’t care. We love the game and we love our team. 

With the time change, Chelsea is my morning team and Atlanta United my night Team. Works out well 

[robdog]

32 minutes ago, Skinnedy said:

Soccer (pardon, but I’m going to use that term for the purposes of this thread)

You don't have to apologize for using the word Soccer. The English are the ones that came up w/ that word/term - I found this definition from google :

The word “soccer,” which is believed to have originated in Britain some 200 years ago, comes from the official name of the sport, “association football.” As other versions of the game evolved to include Rugby Football, it is believed the Brits adopted colloquialisms to distinguish each game.

[Skinnedy]

Since this initial thread was about Atlanta United, I thought this might be relevant. I put this video together after AUFC's run in the cup. I don't think anyone expected regular crowds of over 70,000+ in Atlanta (3 straight for the cup games), but the foundation has always been here. I put together a quick video if you have a couple of minutes to kill to help explain the Atlanta United phenom, and why it's not going away any time soon.

 

[City Beautiful SC]

I'm an Orlando City fan and I hate this thread. ?