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Becham to LA for $250 mil


OCgringo

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I've not been to the arena in Carson. For those who do not know, Carson is a suburb of LA and is a 'soccer specific' venue, meaning it was built for soccer. Holds about 17-20k I think.

I have meant to go see an LA Galaxy match but frankly, the level of play is so far below what I'm used to watching english football that I can't stomach it frankly. I feel guilty about it. I want to support American soccer but its difficult when the 'product' is not good.

 

I do plan on going to see Beckham there at least once for curiosity sake. After the commotion has died down. I expect the usual big crowd initially and I'll go after that has subsided.

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Some thoughts...

 

 

The crowds aren't big enough to move games to the Coliseum. Whites attend games at the Coliseum every week for college football. I don't think that will be a problem. Raiders played there for a few years to big crowds.

 

As far as games where mexicans boo the national anthem, it happens in the Mexico v. USA games but club football/soccer is different. The Raiders have a huge mexican following and blacks, whites and Mexicans all attended their games when they were here in the Coliseum and they do in Oakland as well. Club football is city v. city, like any other sport.

 

Beckham was bought by Real Madrid to sell merchandise. He was not needed for the squad (and its one of the reasons I despise Real Madrid). The LA Galaxy is doing the same.

 

The league is different than the old NASL. The league is run by multimillionaires and corporations with deep pockets who can go more than a few years of losing money. They have the deep pockets to wait out the bad years. Its just the will that's in question, not the money. The DC franchise was recently sold for 33 million. A helluva lot of money considering the sport. The drink Red Bull bought the NY team. There is a new franchise coming in from Toronto (Toronto FC).

 

The leauge needs to stop thinking in terms of America and think globally as I suggest. I would even possibly suggest a true North American league. Get a few more clubs in Canada. Montreal perhaps, and one other city. Ask the mexican interliga to partner with them and have a big title game.

 

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i found this funny.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6260781.stm

 

"We want him to help us to be the top team in MLS and maybe, one day, become the top team in the world."

 

yeah,right....... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

 

it'll take more than the signing of a has-been to help Galaxy overtake the Madrids,Barcalona's and Man Utd's in becoming the top Team.

 

 

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THe news here is playing down the 250 mil, saying its a much lower yearly wage plus advertising , shirts etc

 

so maybe the glow is already off and he has not played a game yet !

 

Face it , it will never be up there with baseball, famerician football and basketball ,

Even hockey took forever to catch on in areas that were not in the "cold areas" of the USA

 

In Europe they have soccer and a few countries rugby ,

 

In the USA its sports everywhere and maybe not room for another major sport .

OC

 

I will take Nascar crashing myself :)

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I'm not saying this as an arrogant yank but as objectively as I can. NEVER underestimate what Americans will do if they all decide they want something.

 

I think soccer in America may have to go the way of ice hockey. It may need a 'Miracle On Ice' moment. Ice Hockey was not a major sport in America and we didn't have good players. Even though the NHL had most of its clubs in America, the Canadiens made up the vast majority of the players. After America won the gold medal in '80 interest and money poured into the sport...and now America's national teams routinely end up with medals in the Olympics and other international competitions and Americans make up a significant portion of the NHL.

 

I have a feelilng that America must do well in the World Cup perhaps third or a final to induce interest like the ice hockey team did for that sport.

 

However, no matter how interest is generated IF it does become a major sport here we WILL have a world class league to go along with it. It will take time but it WILL happen. I know it sounds arrogant and I don't mean it to be, I just know how things work here. The wages in our top 3 sports exceed football anywhere in the world.

 

Look at the sports America shares with the rest of the world: tennis, golf, athletics. Americans are either the best or near the best and they may have periods of non dominance (tennis) but it never lasts.

 

I am of two minds when it comes to soccer taking off here. I want us to do well in the world cup and have a world class league but I fear we'll ruin the sport...more than its being ruined now by FIFA. We'll force rule changes that aren't in the best interest. I think we'll do something to get more adverts. They will look at the money lost by not having time outs and do something that will enable advertisors and sponsors to get a commerical (advert) in for at least 30 seconds to a minute during the match, at least every 15 or 20 minutes, so that revenue can be maximized.

 

NFL and NBA games used to go 2 hours tops, now they regularly go 2.5 hours and the playoffs are 3 hours. The super bowl is a 4 hour event for a game designed for 2 hours. Baseball playoffs should go no more than 2.5 hours but are now 3 to 3. 5 hour events. All these extensions of time is due to adverts. And if you think that FIFA and the rest of world won't let that happen, then you're not aware of he who holds the gold calls the tune adage.

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I also think the USA soccer league will have to many good teams in their own leagure

 

I do not see us getting excited about a Los Angeles vs Liverpool march ,

 

If you look at Baseball the international games they play in Japan are not a big deal.

 

I just do not think its going to happen ,

 

But then Bowling was a big TV sport and look at Golf :)

Golf makes soccer look exciting !

 

OC

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Soccer doesn't have to be as big as the NFL or NBA. The NHL is a distant 4th in terms of popularity to the big 3, way below them in viewership, mostly popular in cities that are near Canada (Detroit, Chicago, Boston, NYC) but is still big enough to be a very profitable league that has salaries that rival 'football' overseas. They have a salary cap that is the strictest of all the 4 sports and still there are players who are making several milllions a season.

 

I think the league that needs to worry about the sport taking off in the U.S. is the EPL. Its the most watched sport and the movers and shakers here will try to take it on and become the most watched. The EPL has the history but if it takes off here, the U.S. will have the money to take it on. The MLS is no where close to being a major sport and it can already offer Beckham a huge salary.

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I think soccer has become an accepted sport already and there has been major attempts to boost it. What was the result? It became a womens sport! The league will expand to some extent and Beckham will be the flagship player for the league etc.. it wont even scratch on other sports. Lets not forget that the people who are going to the stadiums are mostly foreigners and many of them hispanic immigrants at least in New York.

 

I went to 1 game to see Lothar Matthäus play and next to me were 2 typical american couch potatoes, after 5 minutes he asked me if I knew when they are doing the first break. I said after 45 minutes, he said "wow are they playing 4x 45 minutes?"

 

When I went to a NY Mets game i was close to kill everybody. That is no fucking sports, that is a fucking family picknick, the people just go there to eat, there was probably 40 minutes action in a 4 hours event! I didnt even watch the end and I had no idea how these people came into the mood to cheer their teams! Man Baseball is boring as a fuck when you see it live!

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