With all the talk recently about MLS on this site, I want to shift focus to the USL, more specifically the PDL. I watched the PDL championship on FSC and these youngsters can play very well, a lot better than I expected. I believe this league will do wonders for the development of the american player (see Anton Peterlin). So, I've decided I'm going to pay a bit more attention to it. I've even found some local teams I can support so I've decided on following Seattle Wolves Football Club. The club has actually risen through the various local leagues into the USL and hopes to join the USL-2. Anyway, you can read about that here: http://www.seattlewolvesfc.com So, my questions to you are these: 1)Do you believe the MLS, which is much farther along in marketing and presentation, can coexist and/or learn or exchange ideas with the USL, which is very VERY grassroots (and I like that), and in effect improve US Soccer more than either could alone? (Wow, that was a long-winded question. Perhaps I should think through what I'm writing before I go on posting things that have no flow whatsoever) 2)If you could have one succeed over the other (if one was folding and you could choose which would survive), which one would you choose? My answer for the second question right now is actually the USL... It is much more natural and likelier to succeed in the long-run methinks
Ian I totally agree about last nights PDL championship match. I had no intention of watching the game; I just wanted to see if the Fusion was Peterlin's former team. However, I couldnt stop watching the game. The Fusion are an excellent side - great speed, first touches, and passing. And from the looks of it well coached. I hope Graham Smith stays here in the US because the guy knows how to find local talent. Very exciting game and made me even more hopeful about the future of US soccer. As far as the USL, I love it. Cleveland has a team which started as a USL -2 team and moved up to USL-1 after only two years (helped by the USL-1 vacancy left by Seattle's move to MSL). That leads to your first question. I think they already are coexisting pretty nicely. As far as your second question, I dont know. There are things that I like about both leagues. Let's hope neither happens
Yeah I would agree that they are coexisting peacefully but you gotta wonder what the head honchos down at the USL are thinking when MLS comes in with all its glamor and fanfare to steal franchises away from some cities (Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, possibly Montreal).
I don't think that the communities think of this as a USL franchise lost as much as they do a MLS franchise found. We're Seattle drawing this many fans in the USL?
No Seattle was only drawing about 2,000 a game. Now don't get me wrong I'm very glad with having an MLS franchise, but I would still be following the Sounders just as closely if they were still in the USL. Obviously the MLS has a much bigger.... everything so its no surprise to see cities of former USL franchises support the MLS teams much better. What my point is, is that the president or whoever is in charge at USL must be getting a little miffed when the MLS comes into a market with a franchise already in existence.
My personal experiences with the USL have not been great. I'm glad it exists, it serves a purpose, but hedging it as an alternative or competitor to MLS is insane. Sure, I mean playing in a high school football stadium means you get an intimate atmosphere but you're playing in a high school football stadium. At the previous stadium of the Minnesota Thunder the visiting locker room didn't have a bathroom. I was pretty surprised the first time I went to have a halftime wee and a Montreal midfielder was at the next urinal over. The league typically has at least one team, usually more, go under at the end of every season and has even been known to have to disband teams in the middle of the season.(PCB loves their business plan though) A large source for their players is the indoor league. They have this goofy 6 sub rule going on. And the front offices of teams have a tendency to make rash decisions which scream bush league. Addressing ian's question; I don't see how USL can be miffed about MLS coming into their markets. As said Seattle was drawing around 2k, now they draw 30k. Toronto drew even less, now they sell out and are expanding their stadium. They're in good soccer markets but they are clearly under serving/utilizing those markets. The leagues largest success is clearly Montreal but how much does the USL really have to do with any of it? The team exists in a soccer starved market, which is under served by sports in general, and is run by a guy with a proven business pedigree and net worth of 2.8 billion. In MLS they'd do even better.
Same as a hypothetical league 1 fan might carp about ticket prices if their team took off and was promoted to EPL over two years. There is the issue.
Spencer. The Rochester Rhinos have a good crowd, too, and also have a relatively new, soccer-specific stadium.
The latest from the USL is a little bit of mutiny. http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2009/08/3 ... for-power/ I think this will get things going on the right track as far as league wide standards are concerned.
