Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Soccer in this country does not merit building stadiums strictly for them. If they can't be happy with M&T then I wouldn't want them to move here.
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Greg
Is there a reason they couldn't play at M&T?
That was the first thing that popped in my head. Other than the 60,000 empty seats they will have to look at for every game, I think M&T is more than sufficient.
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Greg
Soccer in this country does not merit building stadiums strictly for them. If they can't be happy with M&T then I wouldn't want them to move here.
There are either soccer specific stadiums or stadiums with an MLS team as the primary tenant in: Los Angeles, Portland, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Columbus, Philadelphia, northern Jersey, and Toronto. The only MLS teams without a stadium to call their own are New England, where the team is jointly owned with the Pats (and the soccer fans hate the stadium), Seattle, and DC.
All of those teams have such stadiums because they make the soccer teams more money. That DC United has not been able to secure its own stadium is one of the enduring ironies of MLS. And they lose tons of money each year because they do not own their stadium.
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HoustonRaven
Houston does not have a soccer stadium yet.
They just broke ground in February and it wont be done until June, 2012.
And I think we have some folks here who not understand the popularity of soccer in the US. Ted's borderline intolerant Mexican comparison not withstanding, the MLS has enjoyed quite a big and cross cultural success. Plus, they have shown profits each year in existence.
Go to Slainté in Fells Point this Saturday morning at around 7 and you will quickly get an appreciation of how popular soccer is in the states.
I do not have stats to back this up but I would say that soccer is growing faster than any other sport in the US. Just prior to the world cup I went to Phili to watch the USA play Turkey which was announced as the largest crowd (soccer) ever in the US. I was impressed
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
I would probably get into a Baltimore MLS team. The only thing that hasn't gotten me into soccer is the lack of a team to root for. I love watching the World Cup. I appreciate how tough the game is, how fast the game can be, how much finesse is involved, etc...
That being said, I would still prefer an NHL team first. Until Baltimore gets a team, I will stick with being a Caps fan.
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kyle Cactus
I'm sure DC United is hoping that the interest from Baltimore will get them a new stadium, but I'm still holding out hope that if it doesn't happen they would be willing to come here.
I think we could support a team. Apparently ratings for the World Cup were huge in Baltimore. And there's defeinitly a strong soccer community in Maryland.
I will grant you that there is not as much scoring as major American sports, and it's certainly not as violent as football or hockey, but no finesse? This is not a complaint I've ever head about soccer? Also, I'd contend it's more violent than baseball and about equally as violent as basketball, both of which have managed to be succesfull.
The one advantage that soccer has over all of these is continuous play. Addmitedly I haven't watched the MLS in a long time (mostly because there's no team in Baltimore), but when I have watched soccer from other leagues or events there are no commercials breaking up the action. I get my food and my beer, sit down, watch 45 minutes of continuous action, get more food and beer, and watch another 45. It's great.
When I watch the NFL, they play for 7 seconds at a time. Most of the time is watching players milling around or watching commercials. When I watch baseball I spend half the time watching people spitting or scratching themselves or watching the pitcher nod his head while the batter fidgets with the bat. When I watch soccer I watch soccer almost the entire time I'm at my TV.
Plus, so many people have played soccer growing up. I think soccer can become a major US sport, but I do think it will take a long time (decades).
Nailed exactly why it won't ever take off here. America is by far the most commercial country in the world, and without the opportunity to advertise, there's no value in the product.
The money is in television.
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RavensNTerps
Nailed exactly why it won't ever take off here. America is by far the most commercial country in the world, and without the opportunity to advertise, there's no value in the product.
The money is in television.
That's why soccer clubs put sponsorships on jerseys and display them on banners around the field.
Some of the wealthiest sports franchises in the world are soccer clubs so clearly they have effective ways of making money.
According to Forbes
(In billions of dollars as of last July)
1. Man U - 1.83
2. Dallas Cowboys - 1.65
3. NY Yankees - 1.6
4. Washington Redskins - 1.55
5. NE Patriots - 1.36
6. Real Madrid - 1.32
7. NY Giants - 1.18
8. Arsenal - 1.18
9. NY Jets - 1.17
10. Houston Texans - 1.15
FYI - 15. Baltimore Ravens - 1.08
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
I find this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kyle Cactus
That's why soccer clubs put sponsorships on jerseys and display them on banners around the field.
Some of the wealthiest sports franchises in the world are soccer clubs so clearly they have effective ways of making money.
According to Forbes
FYI - 15. Baltimore Ravens - 1.08
absolutely fascinating. I strongly suspect that figure includes a *huge* amount of money for the sale of Ray Lewis jerseys. How far, I wonder, would the Ravens fall on that fascinating list if it weren't for Ray's influence?
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Sure are quite a few replies for a "game" I didn't think people in America cared about. I mean I know it's popular around the world but I thought that was only people act like we do at Preakness, Football games etc..
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
NFL teams dominated the list. The Ravens were the 11th NFL team (if I remeber correctly).
Re: OT: DC United Moves to Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kyle Cactus
NFL teams dominated the list. The Ravens were the 11th NFL team (if I remeber correctly).
Huh. Perhaps because they share TV revenue?