Dear american football...

[DeGrozz]

Except MLS Cup playoffs are literally in the middle of football season and they run the game on a Sunday. That's why that game usually dies a hard death in ratings. They need to figure out a better schedule. I know they feel like they need to own the summer and I don't LOVE the Mexico spilt deal, but it might be better to end in late May

I guess as a Red Bulls supporter I forget how long the play-offs can last!

 

[OrangePA]

Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

The counter to the notion that expansion will dilute talent could be that expanding the league (1) makes MLS more popular in more markets, which (2) makes the league more viable, which (3) provides more revenue to sign better talent. Virtuous cycle and all.

I think MLS probably needs local interest to help its popularity more than having a higher quality 10 teams or whatever. I know I'd care a ton more about MLS if they put a team in CT (which they totally should) than if the LA Galaxy was much better.

If a new franchisee has the money and power of say Manchester City FC and is willing to pay a $100 million franchise fee for a team in NYC, then there is nothing wrong with expansion.

And, if a guy like David Beckham wishes to put a franchise in Miami and will pay $25 million to do so, I think that's a pretty good idea as well - a very appealing place for high quality players.

I do have a problem with Tampa and Atlanta. Tampa is just not that impressive a sports town - why do they put pro sports teams there???? - and I really don't want to see MLS in the new Georgia Dome - a really bad idea and contrary to the soccer-only facility strategy that has worked very well up until now.

But the Home Depot guys - Arthur Blank - have money and want a team and you always have to follow the money I guess.

 

[TheCusian]

Except MLS Cup playoffs are literally in the middle of football season and they run the game on a Sunday. That's why that game usually dies a hard death in ratings. They need to figure out a better schedule. I know they feel like they need to own the summer and I don't LOVE the Mexico spilt deal, but it might be better to end in late May

Baseball needs to do the same. By the time October hits, I could care less about the World Series.

 

[ImperialOrange]

For all those saying soccer games need more scoring... Germany was listening.

 

[retro44]

 

[Upstate]

Another thing: It's good to get some foreign money involved in some of these franchises. The more money these places can shell out to bring in talent, the better. So long as the NYCFC remains pretty accessible, it's going to be a great, great draw in the metropolitan area. Plenty of casual fans who feel a disconnect with NYRB due to some travel issues. A quicker subway ride/Metro-North ride, and you'll get the upper hand on the Red Bulls across the river.

 

[Opus]

This World Cup *thing* is still going on?

 

[SU2NASA]

For all those saying soccer games need more scoring... Germany was listening.

7 goals in soccer is like scoring 386 runs in baseball.

 

[ImperialOrange]

7 goals in soccer is like scoring 386 runs in baseball.

Just think of them as touchdowns and pretend theyre worth 7 points. Germany was up 35-0 5 mins Into the second quarter and only stopped scoring because they wanted too. Brazil started flopping and playing dirty which p*ssed the Germans off again at which point they scored two more td's in quick succession and also had a wide open man drop a td in the endzone before conceeding a junk score late.

Its a bit like what Syracuse did to Wagner this past season after Hunt came into the game. Now pretend Wagner was Notre Dame and that's kind of what Germany did to Brazil.

 

[Opus]

7 goals in soccer is like scoring 386 runs in baseball.

How many goals is that in hockey (NHL) I misplaced my calculator.

 

[Scooch]

It's kinda funny that football is considered a high scoring sport. If you ignore field goals (which should be banned) and extra points (which are stupid and a waste of time), and just count TDs as 1 point... then most football games are like 4-3.

Mind. Blown.

 

[Bayside44]

Hartford/New Haven has been a top 5 market for World Cup ratings, and matches that have been played at the Rent have drawn pretty well.

Honestly, a club in CT would draw better than the Revolution in Foxboro.

But it'll never happen, once a league has franchises in NY and Boston, CT is out of play.

Kinda like the ACC...

 

[Stevenson]

Missing in this thread is that soccer is huge in Mexico/Central America, and that in 20 years the distinction between America and Central America will be almost non existent.

I attended a sold out friendly between Mexico and Portugal at Gillette Stadium a week before the World Cup started . The PA announcements were all in Spanish. Not a word of English was spoken. No one in the crowd seemed to care.

As the population changes, so will the taste in sports.

 

[Pyle]

It's kinda funny that football is considered a high scoring sport. If you ignore field goals (which should be banned) and extra points (which are stupid and a waste of time), and just count TDs as 1 point... then most football games are like 4-3.

Mind. Blown.

That would still be 7 TDs in 60 minutes. That's better than a TD every 10 min. Soccer doesn't even come close.

To put it in even better perspective The Little Engine that couldn't typically ran such a lousy offense that we averaged between 14-21 points per game. Or between 2 and 3 touchdowns. Let's call it 2.5 for simplicity. That's the average for total goals per WC game, 90 minutes. Grob's offense was absysmal but still outscored both teams in an average WC game. No mind blown here.

 

[Millhouse]

If a new franchisee has the money and power of say Manchester City FC and is willing to pay a $100 million franchise fee for a team in NYC, then there is nothing wrong with expansion.

And, if a guy like David Beckham wishes to put a franchise in Miami and will pay $25 million to do so, I think that's a pretty good idea as well - a very appealing place for high quality players.

I do have a problem with Tampa and Atlanta. Tampa is just not that impressive a sports town - why do they put pro sports teams there???? - and I really don't want to see MLS in the new Georgia Dome - a really bad idea and contrary to the soccer-only facility strategy that has worked very well up until now.

But the Home Depot guys - Arthur Blank - have money and want a team and you always have to follow the money I guess.

it seems hockey-ish to me. short sighted expansion fee windfalls.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Another thing: It's good to get some foreign money involved in some of these franchises. The more money these places can shell out to bring in talent, the better. So long as the NYCFC remains pretty accessible, it's going to be a great, great draw in the metropolitan area. Plenty of casual fans who feel a disconnect with NYRB due to some travel issues. A quicker subway ride/Metro-North ride, and you'll get the upper hand on the Red Bulls across the river.

i dont think NYCFC will hurt the redbulls at all. i dont think many NYCers are going to newark, its all jersey folk.

jersey loves its soccer and im sure the NYC team will draw just as well with a totally different fanbase.

and millhouse...no way you trade the bills for a soccer team right??

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

for the football is better because it scores more often crowd remember that the NFL has spent the better part of that least the last two decades taking away much of the defenses ability to prevent scoring. Soccer is as it was.
I grew up on football, basketball and baseball. I find football to be now tedious and boring because it takes over 3 hours to play about 12 minutes of action. it is all about selling commercial spots now rather than the product on the field or the fan in the stands.

Probably because two of my sons play soccer I have come to appreciate the game and have a little bit of ability to watch as plays develop and how close scoring opportunities are only to be thwarted. I guess that exposure has made me more of a soccer fan than a football fan at this point.

 

[Millhouse]

i dont think NYCFC will hurt the redbulls at all. i dont think many NYCers are going to newark, its all jersey folk.

jersey loves its soccer and im sure the NYC team will draw just as well with a totally different fanbase.

and millhouse...no way you trade the bills for a soccer team right??

are you on crack?

 

[Scooch]

That would still be 7 TDs in 60 minutes. That's better than a TD every 10 min. Soccer doesn't even come close.

To put it in even better perspective The Little Engine that couldn't typically ran such a lousy offense that we averaged between 14-21 points per game. Or between 2 and 3 touchdowns. Let's call it 2.5 for simplicity. That's the average for total goals per WC game, 90 minutes. Grob's offense was absysmal but still outscored both teams in an average WC game. No mind blown here.

I wasn't comparing football to soccer.

Just noting that just because football randomly awards 6 points for a score doesn't mean the sport is "high scoring".

 

[KaiserUEO]

I wasn't comparing football to soccer.

Just noting that just because football randomly awards 6 points for a score doesn't mean the sport is "high scoring".

i so want to hijack this thread into a discussion on moving the extra point back to the 25 yard line...

 

[SU2NASA]

How many goals is that in hockey (NHL) I misplaced my calculator.

Translating it to the NHL, the average number of goals per game in regulation during the 2014 World Cup was ~1.4 before the game yesterday. The average number of goals scored for the NHL was ~5.5.

Just doing a quick multiplier, that means that 8 goals in a soccer game would translate to 28 goals scored in an NHL game. Splitting proportionally, this would be like a team scoring 24 goals.

 

[Scooch]

i so want to hijack this thread into a discussion on moving the extra point back to the 25 yard line...

No need to hijack. All FGs and kicked extra points should be outlawed.

Field goals are un-American. It's the embodiment of the "everybody gets a trophy" culture. Which is why it's so funny to see so many big, tough, manly football coaches and fans defend them so vigorously.

"Oh, you only got to within 30 yards of the end zone? That's OK, you can use this 5'8", 165 lb. guy to kick the ball and get you half the points of a real score! Hooray, we're all winners!!!"

 

[Millhouse]

for the football is better because it scores more often crowd remember that the NFL has spent the better part of that least the last two decades taking away much of the defenses ability to prevent scoring. Soccer is as it was.
I grew up on football, basketball and baseball. I find football to be now tedious and boring because it takes over 3 hours to play about 12 minutes of action. it is all about selling commercial spots now rather than the product on the field or the fan in the stands1
Probably because two of my sons play soccer I have come to appreciate the game and have a little bit of ability to watch as plays develop and how close scoring opportunities are only to be thwarted. I guess that exposure has made me more of a soccer fan as I am a football fan at this point.

NFL last year averaged 4.75 TD per game.
EPL and world cup averaged 2.77 goals per game.
MLS averages 2.5 gpg.
NHL 5.3 gpg
MLB 8.3 runs per game
College Football 7.5

NFL is lower scoring that people think. I do wish soccer had more scoring

 

[SU2NASA]

Just think of them as touchdowns and pretend theyre worth 7 points. Germany was up 35-0 5 mins Into the second quarter and only stopped scoring because they wanted too. Brazil started flopping and playing dirty which p*ssed the Germans off again at which point they scored two more td's in quick succession and also had a wide open man drop a td in the endzone before conceeding a junk score late.

Its a bit like what Syracuse did to Wagner this past season after Hunt came into the game. Now pretend Wagner was Notre Dame and that's kind of what Germany did to Brazil.

Doing what I did for soccer versus the NHL, winning 7-1 in soccer, by comparing to points in an NFL game (22.6) to the 1.4 average of World Cup goals per game in regulation, this would be like 129 points scored in an NFL game. Again, split proportionally, Germany's total would be like putting up 112.

I loved the Brazil fans starting crying when it was 2-0 since in soccer, coming back from a 2-0 deficit is like staring at an insurmountable mountain. Another reason the game sucks.

 

[Millhouse]

No need to hijack. All FGs and kicked extra points should be outlawed.

Field goals are un-American. It's the embodiment of the "everybody gets a trophy" culture. Which is why it's so funny to see so many big, tough, manly football coaches and fans defend them so vigorously.

"Oh, you only got to within 30 yards of the end zone? That's OK, you can use this 5'8", 165 lb. guy to kick the ball and get you half the points of a real score! Hooray, we're all winners!!!"

it's funny that a sport whose meatheads hate soccer so much are so willing to let the game come down to a kicking contest between soccer players. at least the stupid soccer shootout is contested by the players who played the whole game