Feetball In America
Part III: Viability
Six years from now the greatest sporting event is scheduled to take place. The World Cup of 2022 is scheduled to be held in the tiny arid nation of Qatar. The wise, corrupt, and now disgraced (the majority) FIFA Executive Committee handed the crown jewel of the beautiful game to a nation that A) will never qualify for a WC on its own merit, B) has a culture that is not conducive to the party that is a World Cup and C) a climate that is not favorable for dates in the park let alone exercising and playing football outdoors for 90 minutes. In FIFAs infinite wisdom they saw their error in the viability of a WC that is Qatar 2022 and instead of reopening the bidding, they moved a summer thing to the winter. The US Soccer Federation likes to champion the game in America and all the new avenues it has opened, yet its current model of the game is not practical or viable long term.
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SPF 50[/caption]
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MLS CUP IS ACTUALLY A NICE LOOKING TROPHY[/caption]
Not to pick on the MLS but it just pisses me off a lot, because like the national team it could be so much better than it is. Currently the MLS stands at 20 teams spread across two countries. By 2017 season it will be 22 teams, and 2018 either 23 or 24 teams. There are more expansion candidates further on-going at the MLS offices. FIFA states that a top tier league is capped at 24, yet in Part I of this series it was noted there are underserved regions that could use an MLS presence. Expanding to these regions is not viable under this current MLS being the top tier league beyond the confirmed expansion plans. The only possible solution is to turn the North American Soccer League (NASL) into MLS-2 and dump teams there and dare I say it, add promotion and relegation between the two levels. This would definitely take some logistical maneuvering on the part of the MLS owners who want to stay top forever and the MLS itself. 1) Get rid of the salary cap; 2) Single Table, Round Robin, Bin Playoffs, Shut Up And Like It; 3) Figure this calendar thing out. The salary cap is stupid and most of the money goes to designated players anyway. Why have a supporters shield and MLS Cup? The schedules are NOT balanced (balanced being everyone plays everyone home and away once) so what the hell does that trophy even stand for? If you’re going to keep the playoffs then switch the names. The MLS Cup goes to the team with the most points at the end of the year and the Supporters Shield goes to whomever wins the American style playoff, but the table title is 10x more important than the playoff title. The spring to fall calendar makes sense based on the climate of North America but it makes no sense regarding the rest of the world. Only current benefit of having the calendar as so is the US can have all the mediocre MLS players available for the Qatar 2022 disaster.
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WASHED MY NAME WAS LEGEND[/caption]
Another interesting way the feetball is run in America is how the MLS acquires its talent. Never mind the draft that really is better suited for the NFL and NBA than MLS, most of the talent is Europeans or South Americans in the twilight of their careers and Americans that are in the prime of their careers in European leagues. The league is quickly earning the moniker the retirement league due to its affinity to grab overage players in the name of putting butts in seats. Is it working? Probably, they keep doing it. Is it a good model? It’s a no from me. Firstly, it has crippled the US National Team to the point where our best players are Fabian Johnson and about 10–15 players under 23 and training/playing in foreign leagues. The Americans that come back generally don’t have to fight for their place and that leads to complacency. Secondly the foreign washed talent (God Bless Giovinco) also is assured a start without having to earn it in training. Brings their level down, brings the league’s level down, and brings the interest down. Also does anyone know how they allocate where the players go? Seems like the destinations are NY Red Bull, NYCFC, Toronto, Seattle or LA Galaxy only. The remaining teams get lesser known “buzz players” or a single one and got to build through conventional methods.
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WONDO MISSED[/caption]
For all the gains that the game makes in America its popularity still resembles a sine wave. The football culture in America feels more like Nationalism than real interest. During world events the country is foaming at the mouth for the kicky ball. USA-USA-USA and I Believe That We Will Win can be heard in many a bar and living room from sea to shining sea. This same activity can be seen during a summer Olympics…and even the Great Value Olympics, Snow Edition. Swimming is rarely if ever shown on TV in the States, nor is anything on the track but during those two weeks every four years nobody can look away. This applies for the USMNT as well, as we are only in the WC for about two weeks typically. The Copa America came and went in June with little real fanfare outside of the avid football fan. Many believe it is because the US Men are not good (I disagree here but that’s a later discussion) but the USWNT is the most decorated women’s team on the planet. They also can only hold our attention while they are playing in meaningful World Cup or Olympic games. Nobody stays when the US women are bounced early to watch other nations with quality players, and while the USWNT friendlies are more widely attended vs. the men’s, nobody is talking about them the next day. Women’s club football is more or less an afterthought on the back pages of sites like ESPN or Fox Sports. So I’m willing to think it’s not because the men are not good enough, the game while loved at its highest level is still incredibly niche.
Something is preventing a lasting football culture boom in the United States; is it Visibility, is it Availability or it Viability???
