Scholarship table
Interesting Data PointMLS games averaged more than 18,807 per game last season, more than both the NBA (17,274) and the NHL (17,455).
MLS average = 89 percent capacityNHL average = 97 percent capacityNBA average = ????Also, ticket prices:NBA average = $48.48NHL average = $57.10MLS average = $26.15
Totally agree. Certainly there is more demand for NBA/NHL tickets. The higher prices provide one clear counter point for how MLS is not a bigger sport than the NBA/NBL right now. While season attendance trends have been positive for MLS, who knows if they will continue to rise to the point where it is more competitive with the pricing of the NBA/NHL?I was just surprised that MLS was averaging higher attendance. That alone was surprising.
A little more data...http://mlsattendance.blogspot.com/2013/09/week-28-attendance-update.html?m=1holy schnikes Seattle
FIFA would hold it against the United States if MLS went beyond 24 teams? What is their reasoning?
Glad you had a positive experience with the Mexican fans.Of course, Mexican fans have also been known to chant "Osama, Osama, Osama" at games against the U.S., drown out the "Star Spangled Banner" with boos, and throw bottles full of urine at opposing players (and their fans).They're the best.(note: No doubt every fanbase has its turds)Just a handful of accounts:http://deadspin.com/mexican-fans-drill-costa-rican-soccer-player-in-the-hea-512784144http://www.uproxx.com/sports/2011/06/mexican-soccer-fans-are-boorish-animals-a-first-hand-account/http://thebiglead.com/2013/03/27/mexican-soccer-fans-threw-beers-at-american-soccer-fans-celebrating-a-tie-chanting-u-s-a-at-azteca-video/http://deadspin.com/friendly-mexican-league-match-in-las-vegas-gets-viole-667020550
You don't have to sell it to me. I think promotion/relegation would have worked here if instituted from the start, but as much as I think it would increase interest for traditional fans, the genie is out of the bottle now and there's no way you put a pro/rel cap on it.There are things we can legitimately do, and the main thing would be to conform to the European calendar. Play games from September through May. Though in my opinion, I think the best thing to do would be to conform to an Eastern European calendar. Start play in August and run for 18 weeks to the start of December. In this span, make sure you get at least 20 matches in. For the first month of the season, play on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with a few mid-week matchdays scattered in to get to 20 (probably 4 to avoid international breaks).Then take a break for about 2 months. Mid-December through the first weekend in February. This allows the MLS to avoid competing with NFL playoffs, bowl games, and most important, the Super Bowl (though returning on Super Bowl weekend with games on Saturday and daytime Sunday, when not much else is going on, may be a savvy move). When you come back, make sure the first four weeks or so of games are mainly played at southern or west coast stadiums to avoid the worst of the weather (thinking Chicago, Columbus, and NYC) while also making sure all the teams are playing about 1.5 matches per week. Finish the season in 10 weeks, which gets you to the beginning of May so they can have their playoffs in May, finishing up before the NBA and NHL Finals start, and more importantly, with time left before any World Cup or other summer tournaments.
The European calendar is one of the most critical reasons for FIFA's "displeasure" with MLS. The great irony of all that is the 2022 "Winter" World Cup talk going on. This is why FIFA is just insane, they criticize MLS for not following convention and then award a WC to a nation that even if played in the winter(non-conventional) would require cooling stoppages at the 30th and 75th minute.
It make$ you $cratch your head and a$k..."What motivate$ FIFA to $elect Qatar?"
Belgium's good for the money, but I like Brazil or Argentina to win it. Spain last cycle was the only European side to ever win the Cup not on European soil, and I just get the sense Belgium doesn't have the experience to win the whole thing.
I would never bet on them in any tournament ever. Have a great group of players but always underachieve. Too dependent on Messi. I would put my money on the Germans. Or anyone other than Spain for that matter. Time for a new king to be crowned.