Minor point. Fox Soccer actually bid more than NBC. MLS opted for the greater exposure of NBC.

And I don’t think that’s a minor point at all. It’s irksome, as an MLS fan, the ridiculous amount of pressure MLS gets from outsiders to grab that big brass ring of major TV ratings before that’s realistic. That sort of false urgency has killed many an upstart league (including the NASL), and I can’t think of many leagues that got a large television audience before they were a mature, multi-generational league.

The NFL got lucky that they’d been around for 35 years before any significant number of American homes even got television sets (and obviously baseball much longer), but for whatever reason the NBA and NHL were allowed to toil in relatively untelevised obscurity for decades without it being nearly the cause of fretting that it is for MLS today. But if you look at the sports products that tried to get bigtime ratings right out of the gate, you’re looking at a laundry list of spectacular crash-and-burn efforts–the NASL, the USFL, the XFL, etc.

I would say MLS has been around long enough to ensure its own survival, but then there’s that pesky WNBA gotta ruin my point.

MLS is going nowhere, it has survived and grown without a sugar daddy of the NBA to fund and promote it. According to ESPN’s polling, MLS has gone from a 2.8% avid fan rate amongst US sports fans to 7% in the last 12 years. 7% is still small, but it’s a lot bigger than 2.8%, and if MLS were going anywhere, it would have gone then and not now.

Americans like to see the best of anything. With resources like time and money being stretched further every year supporting an inferior soccer product like MLS would be tough for the Atlanta soccer community to get behind.

Right now the MLS shouldn’t sweat the ratings. They should worry about attendance figures, which seems to be the case and which is going fine. Their best hope is if that knock off “European” environment they think they have in Seattle is contagious.

Also, stay out of Florida and Atlanta. Worst markets ever. Miami? Common. Miami lost a MLS Team and a WNBA team and their most famous Miami Heat fan is a chair with a blanket draped over it. Marlins attendance has always been shit. Be a shame for them to open that new Baseball stadium and only have it half full. Good thing it only seats 30.000. that way the 5,000 won’t look as depressing. They don’t support THE U unless they are winning. Basically MIAMI is Los Angeles East. Except instead of Mexicans it’s full of Cubans.

Atlanta? common. Lord Bill Simmons has said this is the worst sports town. Blah.

ps

Columbus Crew stadium is a dump. Home Depot Center is in the sticks. New York’s stadium is in Harrison, New Jersey? Yeah, nice Geography New York Teams. All your Football Teams (JETS,Giants,REDBULL) are belong to us –New Jersey

Why would anyone want to watch the brute force kickball the MLS peddles to American audiences?

90% of those guys can’t trap the ball consistently still

This is why I prefer to watch Euro soccer. Euro vs. MSL on a fundamental level is like watching the NBA vs. the WNBA.

90% of those guys can’t trap the ball consistently still.

If you are a general sports fan who wants to pick up soccer, are you going to watch MLS which conflicts with everything you normally watch or just watch the EPL on Sat/Sun mornings before football?

The latter, although I did check out a few Sounders or Galaxy games because it was usually after what I normally watch.

No — have you been to Crew Stadium? That place sucks.

They have done much better in the recent expansion markets. I’ve been to LA, Seattle and New York and greatly enjoyed all three.

No — have you been to Crew Stadium? That place sucks.

I’m what American soccer fans call “euro snob”. Ive taken my fair share of potshots toward the mls, but ive paid more attention to past two mls seasons than at any other times I can remember. And for the first time I am a bit bothered that mls doesn’t have a team in Atlanta. I think I would actually show up to watch mls games if they were in town.

I think that is a definite barrier for a lot of fans.