Kansas City to San Antonio?

[clarette]

Originally Posted by Rover

It's the same old lazy soccer-bashing "journalism," except this SA writer has serious trouble with facts.

With inherently sexist and racist overtones, nonetheless.

Apparently women and people of particular ethnic groups aren't allowed to have a professional sport in America in which they can see "themselves" without incurring the wrath of the Cro-Magnons that dwell in the sports desks of half the newspapers in America.

And yes, yes I have been in school too much lately, obviously.

[SpiffCoug]

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

Are you on crack SpiffCoug?
The TB Lightning were one of the highest attended NHL teams in 2003 and 2004.
The NBA Magic are by no means the lowest in attendance.
However the case could be true for MLB.

Sorry, I am a Floridian, so non-resident experts make me unhinged.

But look at the Lightning's numbers in 00-02. They were awful in attendance. I missed the Magic's numbers, my bad. I was just trying to point out that MLS wasn't the only sport to struggle with attendance in Florida.

[SoccerPrime]

Originally Posted by SpiffCoug

But look at the Lightning's numbers in 00-02. They were awful in attendance. I missed the Magic's numbers, my bad. I was just trying to point out that MLS wasn't the only sport to struggle with attendance in Florida.

But by ommitting the Lightning's attendance numbers for the last 3 years, you are misrepresenting the information.

Florida sports teams DO NOT have an attendance problems, thats the point I am trying to convey to you. Sure MLB could do better, but you can find several other MLB in other states that are worse.

Floridians are so foolish, they still pack in over 15,000 to see the home games of the dead last team in NCAA Division 1 College football.

[SoccerPrime]

Plus, for the 100th time, MLS DIDN'T have attendance problems in Florida...ugh.

[Rover]

Originally Posted by SpiffCoug

And why doesn't this guy want MLS? Is he afraid he'll have more work to do? Does he not want to expand his base of sports knowledge?

In my experience, it's as simple as that. They don't know soccer, they've belittled the game all their lives, and they just don't want to learn it.

Covering soccer would show everyone just how little they know about the sport. They haven't taken the time to learn the strategies and tactics, the international structure, how players develop, or the nuances of the game.

These guys hope we just go away so they won't be forced to show their ignorance. Why do they continue to use this stuff? Because it has worked! At least until the past few years, soccer has been successfully marginalized.

But MLS, the USMNT, and the globalization of soccer coverage has changed that. They can see the writing on the wall and (metaphor alert) they're fighting a rearguard action to hold their territory.

Too bad for them that they aren't smarter about this. Real sports journalists would have learned the game and established their credentials early on. As it is, most are going to be left behind as soccer continues to grow.

[Jose Luis Luviano]

Originally Posted by clarette

With inherently sexist and racist overtones, nonetheless.

Apparently women and people of particular ethnic groups aren't allowed to have a professional sport in America in which they can see "themselves" without incurring the wrath of the Cro-Magnons that dwell in the sports desks of half the newspapers in America.

And yes, yes I have been in school too much lately, obviously.

I'm not too sure about playing the Racism card.

Most soccer-bashers are fans of a sport whose rosters are mostly Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan and probably have a couple of Asians thrown in.

Race has less to do with it than the fact that you have to stay awake, sober & away from the buffet table to cover soccer. You can't write your story from a stats sheet. For some reporters, that's a problem.

For article #3, I think we can go with "Pocho Despatriado", though.

But, I myself have doubts about San Antonio. San Antonio, or so I understand, has an even smaller group of corporations that could provide sponsors, ownership and leadership than Utah.

Isn't the biggest industry there is the Air Force? And I don't see them dropping a lot of money on MLS. They could lend us a couple of Electronic Countermeasures devices to jam the airwaves in Brent Musburger ever broadcasts soccer again. That would be helpful.

[clarette]

I'm not trying to play a card, so to speak... but I do think that there's some subconscious ethnic bias going on.

Baseball is the "national pastime", whereas soccer is for kids and immigrants, in some people's opinions. Unfortunately, many of those people happen to be sportswriters who distort the facts to make a case that soccer doesn't "belong" in America.

I just hope nobody tells them about the seedy cheetos, or some people might start calling themselves Minutemen and patrolling the HDC with shotguns.

[Aerick]

Originally Posted by Jose Luis Luviano

Isn't the biggest industry there is the Air Force? And I don't see them dropping a lot of money on MLS. They could lend us a couple of Electronic Countermeasures devices to jam the airwaves in Brent Musburger ever broadcasts soccer again. That would be helpful.

USAA Insurance is also based there, and is HUGE! It's like the 2nd or 3rd largest insurance company in the US, and likely one of the top 5 in the world. I guess it depends on whether or not they'd be interested in sponsoring that...

[Rover]

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

Plus, for the 100th time, MLS DIDN'T have attendance problems in Florida...ugh.

Don't hate me for this Prime, because I do agree with your analysis of the situation, but the issue of attendance has to be looked at in context because by most arbitrary measures Miami did not draw well.

I think the perception that you're fighting (and I'll concede that the perception may be quite wrong) comes from the fact that the Fusion still hold some dubious MLS attendance records:

Lowest ever season average attendance: 7,460 (2000)
Lowest lifetime attendance: 9,345

Miami also holds the lows for season and overall median attendance. The one positive is that they had the biggest jump in attendance, nearly 50%, from 2000 to 2001--when they folded.

To put these numbers in persepective, no other MLS team has a lifetime average of less than 11,000. Yes, that includes Tampa Bay, San Jose, and Kansas City. FYI, the best team is LA, with a lifetime average of 21,382.

I think the key with all this is that although attendance wasn't great, the owner bailed at exactly the wrong moment. The Fusion set their attendance record, fielded a Supporters Shield winning team, and had a very entertaining and talented squad. But the team folded.

The takeaway for me is that teams with good ownership have a chance in most markets with some soccer interest. If San Antonio has a good investor-operator, MLS can be successful there.

Remembering what happened in Miami makes me even more thankful that Mr. Checketts is on our side.

[bordelais7]

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

But by ommitting the Lightning's attendance numbers for the last 3 years, you are misrepresenting the information.

That's BS! Look at their attendance from this last season! :D