End on a Hinote
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They were in Columbus before Blue Jackets.
Really? I actually never realized that.
The league should do more of this. Putting teams in under served markets is one of the reasons why it's growing so well
They were in Columbus before Blue Jackets.
Maybe this is all just a momentary blip on the radar, but it feels like this is could be a real moment in the history of US soccer. Between this and the national team World Cup disaster last week, we're starting to see behind the curtain a bit more - and what we're seeing is a runaway blend of incompetence and complete indifference towards anything other than the bottom line.
Certainly, a lot of people were already there in regards to their low opinion of USSF and/or MLS. But I think these 2 weeks could very well do a lot to move many more people over to that end.
It's not just that we didn't qualify for the World Cup - it's that folks like Gulati and Arena have reacted with thinly veiled disgust at the idea that they're facing criticism. it's not just that MLS is executing the soulless, corporate NFL playbook - it's that they're doing this to one of the OG's of MLS. They're doing this to Columbus, they're doing this to community that has real historical importance to really anyone who has followed American soccer at least for the past two decades. If Columbus can be dropped, then really nothing matters and nobody is safe in pursuit of profit maximization.
MLS has pretty cynically weaponized our concern for the 'fate of American soccer' over the past several years. They know that a lot of us remember what it was like when we legitimately weren't sure whether MLS would survive, or if soccer had a future in this country, when the only way to follow the sport was to try to follow along on BigSoccer megathreads and watch shitty streams or go to cavernous football stadiums where you and a couple of dozen others were the only fans on offer.And they've bottled up that anxiety and tried to keep MLS fans in that mindset forever.
From a business standpoint, it was a brilliant strategy. Your MLS fan is on average that much more passionate about their favorite team's business model than pretty much anyone other than Ted Westervelt - they will go to the mat and never stop fighting when it comes to arguing what is ultimately the right of Stan Kroenke or Bob Kraft or Anthony Precourt to maintain a central role in the direction of soccer in this country with a vision that includes little to no concern for either the players (labor who must be crushed) or fans (just consumers, and worth selling out for a bigger pie chart), heavily regulated cost-controls to minimize investment where possible, and taxpayer funded stadiums.
And if you complain, you'll just get the NASL failing 35 years ago as the permanent and unavoidable boogeyman. Now Columbus will go by the wayside too, all for the 'greater good,' which isn't the good of the sport but just what's good for the pockets of a handful of millionaires and billionaires.
We are talking about one of the original franchises and one of USMNT's best locations. This was the FIRST city to buy in and go SSS for the league.
The Crew started in 1996.Really? I actually never realized that.
The league should do more of this. Putting teams in under served markets is one of the reasons why it's growing so well
Really good post from r/mls I thought, pretty much sums up how I feel....about how cutthroat of a move this is. We are talking about one of the original franchises and one of USMNT's best locations. This was the FIRST city to buy in and go SSS for the league. I think they deserved better treatment than Garber and co leading them on for three years and then plopping this on the front step during the lead-up to the playoffs.
What surprises me about how cutthroat this is, is that the pasture isnt obviously greener......this isnt the StL Rams moving to LA, or the Thrashers moving to Winnipeg. Austin is legit unknown at this point.
Im also amazed at how many are still carrying MLS's water here, and really supporting the move because its good for the league. I never realized how much MLS' branding had created league fans until today. Its something you dont see from the other leagues....
One wonders if this would be happening now IF USA hadn't lost to Mexico in Columbus this time around. I kind of think US Soccer is itching to put that WCQ in Seattle or Orlando next time around.
Yeah, that's silly stuff.
My Twitter timeline is chock full of angry MLS supporters. The caveat: this is a younger crowd. Instead of being tied to franchise relocations the way we bounce those talks around here, I'm looking at a core of people who are fans despite their disdain for the business of sports. Oh, BTW, since I'm living in Portland, we know all too much about the business of sports. MLS risks a lot here because it does not understand it doesn't have a fan base with the same expectations as the NHL and the other big 3 have. From this angle, MLS will be punished for this.
To me the CFL is minor league in the sense that there's a pretty clear ladder up to the next 'domestic' league (obviously not technically, but c'mon... it's Canada and the USA, it's domestic).
Certainly there's some (hi, I'm an example), but I don't know how much.So was there overlap between Crew and Jackets fans??
Sounds like he's about as honest about wanting to make it work in Columbus as Clay Bennett was about making the Sonics work in Seattle.
Sounds like he's about as honest about wanting to make it work in Columbus as Clay Bennett was about making the Sonics work in Seattle.
The reality is FAR from this.
When he bought the team several years ago, he hid an "out clause" in the deal specifically for AUSTIN TEXAS. No one seems to have known about this either. Since then, he signed a strange TV deal on a provider that half of the people in Columbus don't have access to which also included a blackout radius of 70 miles.
The sad part is that people will use this to say that MLS is a joke..... although MLS is absolutely complicit in this. Don Garber has been trying to take advantage of hot markets.... and there's no doubt he is looking to have Cincinnati replace the Crew in Ohio. The Crew are an original MLS franchise that had the first soccer specific professional stadium in the United States... the Men's National Team has a great record there. This is just an honest outrage.
The logic that the MLS has been complicit in this using Cincinnati as an an example isn't too strong considering this owner purchased the team way before Cincinnati was even a thing.
If what you're saying is true, I would hope the MLS would step in to prevent it as it would set a really poor example in the future from a PR perspective.
MLS seems rather obsessed with Newer Bigger Shinier Stadiums at the moment; maybe they think the chances of getting that in Austin are better.I think it's more of a convenience thing for MLS. It's pretty obvious this guy bought this team with the plan of moving it to Austin.... right now, MLS has no incentive to stop him because of the impending MLS franchise in Cincy. Maybe that's why this is happening right now.
That's being worked on, particularly with hooking up with the Monsters in Cleveland as our AHL affiliate. That said, the "home team of the city of Columbus" bit is of overwhelming importance to this town, because a lot of us here are easily drawn in by the idea of "we're not playing second fiddle to Cleveland/Cincy again".The Blue Jackets primary goal being kind of centrally located in Ohio's State Capital is to be Ohio's NHL team and not just the home team of the city of Columbus. Both Cleveland and Cincinnati have long pro hockey histories and that state has NCAA Division 1 teams. With the MLS moving out the Columbus that NHL Ownership Group needs to be judged by the NHL of how good of a job they are doing for the league in those regards.