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Greg

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I really like the Cali RL guys too. I've bought some merchandise and also some tickets to the game. You can buy international supporter tickets which are then donated to locals.

They are currently doing 40% tickets with the code Dec7

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/los-angeles-mongrel-v-san-francisco-savage-tickets-67354526201?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing

Making them $6 not $10 each.

DIEHARD / TITAN / MAROON / KANGAROO

 

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On 30/11/2019 at 16:01, Chamey said:

Isn't MLS a great example of pro competitions growing out of a massive player/community base? Soccer is definitely historically bottom down in the US.

 

You also need to invest resources/have a high profile team for talent to start being produced, TWP aren't there yet, and New Jersey PE teacher RL never will.

That is correct. Saying football is top down in US is flatout wrong. You could make a case that the only reason why MLS is where it is today is because of three things: massive player base going back decades, hosting a World Cup, and benefiting from globalisation through the internet and cable with all the access to international leagues that brings. It's been a beneficiary of things going on around it, not a driver of interest. 

 

On 30/11/2019 at 16:22, TIWIT said:

Soccer was always seen as a kid"s game. There were no professional teams for kids to aspire to and none of the previous pro leagues lasted long enough or cared enough to invest in youth development.

The MLS did. They had a pro team at the top of the pyramid and took advantage of the existing local soccer infrastructure to expand and reinforce interest in the game so that it eventually began to produce professional-calibre players in sufficient numbers to allow the game to continue to expand into new areas and start the process there.

But without the pro team at the top it would not work.

 

Quote

In 1967 there were 100,000 people playing soccer in the US; by 1984, that number had grown to over 4 million

1984 was still a solid decade before MLS kicked off, so your theory is incorrect. 

For what it's worth, professional leagues and clubs in soccer don't generally invest any significant amount in grassroots. That doesn't happen in England, so not sure why you think it would in the US. That is the remit of the governing body, which oversees participation.

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On 02/12/2019 at 07:19, Mr Wind Up said:

That is correct. Saying football is top down in US is flatout wrong. You could make a case that the only reason why MLS is where it is today is because of three things: massive player base going back decades, hosting a World Cup, and benefiting from globalisation through the internet and cable with all the access to international leagues that brings. It's been a beneficiary of things going on around it, not a driver of interest. 

 

 

1984 was still a solid decade before MLS kicked off, so your theory is incorrect. 

For what it's worth, professional leagues and clubs in soccer don't generally invest any significant amount in grassroots. That doesn't happen in England, so not sure why you think it would in the US. That is the remit of the governing body, which oversees participation.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. In so many ways, WRONG!

In 1984 the North American Soccer League went under – there was clearly no connect between those millions of soccer players and the professional game. The Powers-That-Be in American soccer realized that, so in their bid to host the 1994 World Cup they also promised to create a new professional soccer league.

MLS launched in 1996 and immediately stumbled. They changed too many rules, played in big football stadiums to small crowds and what fans there were realized these guys weren’t anywhere near the same skilled players who had been in the World Cup. So the soccer bureaucrats yielded control to rich businessmen (many of them NFL owners), brought in an NFL exec to run the league, and changed their marketing strategy. The league might not be up to world-class standards, but it was “ours”.

And the fans bought in. The teams promoted the game. Big city teams ensured a national TV contract. Crowds grew, the league began to thrive and expand and is now on a solid financial footing. Still not the best league in the world but it is competitive and entertaining and growing.

Which proves that the organic growth model from the bottom up does NOT work in North America. The pro teams invest in the community, sponsor local soccer, provide a pathway for talented local kids – both boys and girls – to play professionally.

Oh, there are also some 25 million people playing soccer in the US now.

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