File :-(, x, )
Disgruntled Gun Toting Fat American Nationalist
I have a theory. I think the reason Americans feel the way they do about soccer because the MLS is like the Arena Football of soccer. If a player gets good, they will inevitably go to europe/spain/italy/france/etc.

And the only good players in the MLS are either the old players who need somewhere to finish their careers or the really young american players that havent yet gotten an offer from an overseas league.

Examples of old players: Brian Mcbride, Donovan, Peter Nowak, Francisco Lima.

Examples of young up and coming superstars leaving for other leagues: Freddy Adu, Brad Guzan, Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu, etc.

I heard someone call it MLS Kickball and i loled.

BTW, Im American and dont dislike soccer, i like international play and champions league sometimes but the NBA and MLB and NFL and NCAA are just more entertaining than the MLS which is what is our main source of soccer.
>> Anonymous
Amerifag soccer fan here.

I agree with what you said. Whenever MLS produces a good player they end up going to Europe, and thus the MLS is stuck with LOTS of mid-level players. It's the same problem with lots of small leagues around the world. Maybe in due time MLS has room to improve but as of now the MLS is a joke of a league, but I still watch it because you have to support your own countries league :P

The fans are getting a lot better though, they lot more passion. We're starting to part ways with the NFL / MLB crowd of them being totally quiet during games, and now we have fans that are jumping around, singing songs (that doesn't include clapping to a fucking organ saying "Lets Go ____!" over and over and over), waving flags and making matches so much more of an awesome experience
>> Anonymous
>>310438
They do that because soccer bores them and need to find something to pass the time.
>> Anonymous
Amerifag...the sport itself doesn't interest me at all, but if I did I would pass over MLS and find a league with a high level of play like EPL or the Mexican league. I mean...if you wanted to get into baseball, would you follow MLB or the Cactus League?
>> Anonymous
>they will inevitably go to europe/spain/italy/france/etc.
>europe/spain/italy/france/etc
>> Anonymous
>>310442
>high level of play
>Mexican league.
Uh...
>> Anonymous
>>310443
Im lolling and IM the the OP
>> Anonymous
>>310401
They just need to keep growing the brand.

- Find a superstar
- Pay him tons of money to stay in America
- Market him
- Watch league/revenue grow
- Start paying high dollar for the rest of your good players.

Problem solved. There would be no need for our talented players to leave, and we could afford to import players just like the EPL.

Marketing, marketing, marketing.
>> Anonymous
>>310444
Fuck, how the hell should I know?

Who's equal to the EPL? Are they the best league?
>> Anonymous
>Donovan

He's not old, he's just a lazy bitch who didn't want to put forward the effort in Germany.
>> Anonymous
>>310441

no its called being a passionate supporter :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBBPoyXEOhM

You don't ever see that kind of stuff in America. I went to Turkey last year and was DYING to go to a Fenerbahce match so I could experience this but I didn't have time / money unfortunately. It looks fucking fun.
>> Anonymous
Donovan...old? fuck the what?

You're wrong though, the reason people in the states don't like soccer is because 1. It's seen as a sport for little boys and girls and you will grow out of it and play real sports. 2. It's not American. 3. These hardcore people who hate soccer spread that hate and teach their children to hate soccer, so it's a never ending cycle of hate for soccer.

I do hate that our best young players are leaving the league, but I still enjoy watching MLS, in fact, much more than I enjoy watching any other league around the world.
>> Anonymous
>>310452
>Are they the best league?
There's a lot of debate depending on who you talk to, but I think so. They may not be the best, but I find it the best to watch.

They aren't diving faggots, they aren't "SCORE ONE GOAL THEN HOLD THE LEAD" faggots, and they aren't dirty players (I'm sure enthusiasts can pick out which league's which). So I like the EPL.
>> Anonymous
What the USA's domestic league needs is tradition and local teams, and a league system with relegation and promotion.
>> Anonymous
>>310466
USA don't do relegation.
>> Anonymous
>>310452

The best leagues (just in my opinion) are EPL and Bundesliga. SPL isn't as great level-wise but it's still fun to watch an occasional Rangers / Celtic match.

The Italian serie A, French Ligue 1 and Spanish La Liga (and pretty much all Mexican / Central american leagues) is plagued with everything to sport is stereotyped for: diving faggots flopping around like they got shot. There's a lot of this in every league but you won't see it as offten as these.
>> Anonymous
>>310463
WHO ELSE??
>> Anonymous
To defend Donovan a bit, I'll admit he doesn't seem to have the most heart sometimes. Anybody who watches him can tell he lacks a bit of passion for the game.

I just don't think he wanted to end up like almost every american across the pond, riding the bench for years at some bottom tier team then ending up coming back to MLS anyways.
>> Anonymous
How many times have you seen an MLS commercial on local/cable TV? Start marketing your players in some cool way, and you'll easily rid yourself of the "Soccer is for kids and women" image.

>Marketing, marketing, marketing.
>> Anonymous
>>310475

Unfortunately Donovan is still in his prime right now I feel he'll spend the rest of his career in the MLS / Galaxy. He's good with LA but when it comes to international play (excluding Canada / Mexico) he chokes a lot
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Bitches don't know about my 2-time Soccer athlete of the year, 4-time player of the year, and soon-to-be Golden Boot award
>> Anonymous
>>310478

I see them all the time on NBC and whatnot.

You can that beckham for that, since I live in LA
>> Anonymous
>>310523
I meant national ads, really: National ads on local stations. Local ads don't count. Those cost like 10 cents to run.

MLS needs to get its shit together and stop dancing around with their business in limbo. Grow your fucking brand.
>> Anonymous
>>310530

yeah thats exactly my point. Beckham himself won't sell MLS to America, more needs to be done. Until then we're considered the "Micky Mouse" league to the rest of the world
>> Anonymous
I agree with OP.I was on holiday in California recently and caught LA galaxy play San Jose Earthquakes.Now I love football but the quality of football was poor and the pace of the game was dull.Conversely I caught some baseball games (Oakland and Padres)and while I know nothing about baseball I enjoyed those a lot more than the MLS game.
>> Anonymous
>>310561
Sounds like you drank a few too many beers and ate a few too many hotdogs.

Try fucking going to a playoff baseball game. Nothing beats it.
>> Anonymous
>>310561
Somebody is from Seattle.
>> Anonymous
>>310561
you are this close to getting a sage and a cat
>> Anonymous
>>310561

please for the love of god don't fuck this thread up.

this is the first time on /sp/ ever we've had a soccer thread (MLS of all leagues) thats gone for this long without it being a shitstorm
>> Anonymous
>>310569
Okay. Deleted.
>> Anonymous
>>310561
You're beyond retarded if you think people in America don't give a shit about baseball. The fucking sport is beginning to catch up to the NFL in revenue, attenedance is up around the leagues in places other than New York and Boston. You don't know shit about baseball if you really understood it it wouldn't be boring. Also, Sabermetrics makes statistical analysis in Baseball better than any sport. I can't believe someone in a soccer thread is accusing Baseball of being boring.
>> Anonymous
>>310561
I <3 Baseball. I watch games on TV with teams that I don't support. I enjoy going to Major League, Minor League and Independent League games. I don't drink beer at those games, nor do I buy a lot of food. I watch baseball because it's the sport I love.
>> Anonymous
>>310548

anyway...

For MLS to improve, IMO, they need the following:

Commentators who don't use NFL terms while commentating on games, and who actually KNOW the sport.

THIS is a good example. Shit quality but still good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qormKMfFJE

ESPN used British commentators during the Champions League / Euro 2008, and thanks to them for getting it right...

They also need more teams, advertisements, etc etc too lazy to list them right now but it's pretty obvious. There is still a lot of room for improvement.

oh and thanks MLS for scheduling games right through WCQ matches, now all the games this weekend half the teams are gimped.
>> SaiGAR_Loser !!2OQL1suPfp+
     File :-(, x)
>>310471
We just did a half assed pseudo promotion which isn't a promotion at all, but it's a step in the right direction.
>> Anonymous
>Commentators who don't use NFL terms while commentating on games, and who actually KNOW the sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW2d-QrnFgA&feature=related

RELEASE THE CRACKEN!!!!!!!!!!
>> Anonymous
>>310596
i agree with most of what you said

usafag here, i've been watching european soccer matches for about 3 years after figuring out how to watch online. the last 2 years the champions league has been shown on espn2, but they use the scottish guy and an english guy.

when we show our own matches it seems like the camera angle is way fucked and too zoomed in. i prefer the style the uefa and epl/liga/etc matches are filmed. the link provided above shows this. it looks more like a kids summer soccer match than professionals.
>> Anonymous
>>310600

oh wow. that was pretty awful
>> Anonymous
>>310596

Also a league that doesn't have the same owners own multiple teams. Takes away from spirit of competition in my opinion. The NFL has ownership correct.
>> Anonymous
>>310452

The EPL is by far the best league. It's the richest, best supported and it's teams are dominating the Champions League. Man United are the biggest club in the world commercially, Liverpool are one of the most successful teams historically and no one can rival Chelsea when it comes to transfer fees and wages...well except maybe Man City who were taken over by some filthy rich arabs yesterday and then bought Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5m! ($65M)

Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are trembling beneath the might of the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE!
>> Anonymous
I think ESPN would be more than happy to show more MLS games (as long as it's not at the same time as OMG SAWKS VS YANKS OMG OMG). But they would rather show football and baseball, where literally there are points where 20 seconds after a commercial break, they go back to a commercial. But with Soccer, the only break is halftime. Less commercials = less money.
>> Anonymous
>>310637

yeah probably. I never really liked ESPN (even though I like all sports). They DO have an MLS game on ESPN2 every Thursday night, but they botched the game last Thursday because of an NCAA match.

They also have the rights to the Euro Cup and Champions League to air in the States and they do pretty good with that, but I wouldn't mind at least ONE EPL game every weekend or so. I hate having to subscribe to $10/ a month channels to watch Liverpool fail.
>> Anonymous
>>310637
>Less commercials = less money.
WINRAR
>> Anonymous
>>310649
"...I hate having to subscribe to $10/ a month channels to watch Liverpool fail."

Err well thats the case here in England and it's our fucking league! So quit your whining =p
>> Anonymous
>>310674

haha. I have to rely on shitty internet streams now. With Torres gone we're screwed for the next 3 weeks.

Keane and Kuyt? PIG DISGUSTING
>> Anonymous
>>310596

Well you have to realize that really well-established leagues have been around for hundreds of years, and the MLS only recently had their 10th anniversary I think?

So yeah, there is a long road ahead
>> Anonymous
>>310600

RIISEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

ahhahaha holy shit
>> Anonymous
>>310649
lrn to myp2p.eu, watch them free
>>310674
yeah i watch your shit for free, thanks for the free entertainment britfag. i hope i'm inadvertently stealing your tax pounds.
>> Anonymous
I <3 TVU
Fox Soccer Channel - free
GolTV - free
Setanta - free, only works when theres a game but who cares, still quality stream
>> Anonymous
>>310600
Why would he say "Release the Kraken"? In no context would that make sense.
>> Anonymous
>>310960

He's just one excitable son of a bitch. Honestly, I prefer someone who flips out and starts shouting random shit to the wooden, English commentators. Nothing beats the crazy Spanish or Brazillian ones, though. They just inject so much passion into the game. Makes it a whole different experience.
>> Anonymous
>>310455
>>310401
DONOVAAAAN IS GERMAN FOR DOUCHEBAAAAAG
GERMAN FOR DOUCHEBAAAAG
GERMAN FOR DOOOOUUUCHEBAAAAG
>> Anonymous
>>310600
lols, Max Bretos is funny. He imitates the Mexican/south american commentators without realizing that it doesn't translate into english.
>> Anonymous
>>310491
No, we don't know about them :/
>> Anonymous
>>310603
I do think the Champions leauge and Premier League have outstanding tv-coverage... Some UEFA Cup too, but, at least here we get Primera division and Serie A in 4:3, but CL and PL in 16:9 and perfectly zoomed
>> Anonymous
>>311110here
Forgot to say, because of the 4:3 in Spain and Italy it just doesn't look as good.
>> Anonymous
>>310401
It's more like Pinball...
>> Anonymous
A couple of thoughts:

1) Relegation/Promotion isn't going to work until the USL and MLS go out of business. They are competing leagues although I much prefer the USL because it allows for more freedom. (MLS refused to let New York buy a player from Atlanta because they felt it would give the USL too much merit.)

2) The current sports landscape prevents us from ever moving in a single ownership league. NASL (sort of) tried it. The Cosmos got super popular and the rest of the league failed.

3) There is no reason you shouldn't go out and support your nearest club or look for a pub to meet some foreign ex-pats and pick up a foreign team. Watching on your couch fucking sucks.

4) Don't bitch about American commentary. English commentary is garbage. (Ray Hudson is fucking awesome though.) Spanish commentary is better and I don't even know what the fuck they are saying.

Go to :45 seconds for hilarity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7gu-7WXvI&feature=related
>> Anonymous
>>311171
Ray Hudson is a legend and anyone who argues is a faggot. He should be the commentator for every game ever.
>> Anonymous
>>311171

ray hudson is my fucking idol.

but sorry, American commentary has always sucked. especially that one faggot on FSC that goes "YEEEAAAAHHH" everytime a goal is scored.

Oh, here. Listen to 0:14 to 0:18 and you'll see what I mean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KC69U2SriI
>> Anonymous
>>311171
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7gu-7WXvI

That is so fun :)
>> Anonymous
>>311171
>stupid hollywood actors
<3 :D
>> Anonymous
>Ray Hudson

FUCK YES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjDyQeICLfY&feature=related

0:59

"ORGASMIC JUBILATION"
>> Anonymous
Ray Hudson needs to be cloned