Ponzi Scheme? MLS?

[Unregistered]

Finally someone is shedding light on the fiscal realities of the MLS single entity model.

interesting.

http://deadspin.com/is-mls-a-ponzi-scheme-1797509617

[Unregistered]

If it's a Ponzi scheme, then only multi-millionaire owners (or prospective owners) are getting bilked.

OTOH, amazon.com lost money for YEARS after it started. Look where it is now.

But the comparisons to AAA ball are correct in one way. Unlike the NBA/NFL/NHL/MLB, it's not the top global league in it's sport; not even close--which explains why it makes more money at the gate then from television. Nobody outside of the local fanbase is going to watch the Norfolk Tides or Toledo Mud Hens on TV.

The saving grace for the MLS is that it does seem to be steadily getting better--compare it nowadays to when it first launched (one of it's most famous players 20 years ago was an actor who happened to be a decent amateur soccer player). Of course, the mountain gets harder to climb the closer you get to the top--if it's goal is to reach parity with the Bundesliga or the EPL, it has a long way to go. (It still hasn't reached parity with Liga MX, despite having a larger domestic market).

OTOH, the state of soccer fandom in the US compared to the aftermath of the 1994 world cup is heads and tails better. If soccer the US can become a "soccer country"--and a good sign of that will be production of first-rate players, and Christian Pulisic is a fine start--then watch out.

[Unregistered]

If it's a Ponzi scheme, then only multi-millionaire owners (or prospective owners) are getting bilked.

OTOH, amazon.com lost money for YEARS after it started. Look where it is now.

But the comparisons to AAA ball are correct in one way. Unlike the NBA/NFL/NHL/MLB, it's not the top global league in it's sport; not even close--which explains why it makes more money at the gate then from television. Nobody outside of the local fanbase is going to watch the Norfolk Tides or Toledo Mud Hens on TV.

The saving grace for the MLS is that it does seem to be steadily getting better--compare it nowadays to when it first launched (one of it's most famous players 20 years ago was an actor who happened to be a decent amateur soccer player). Of course, the mountain gets harder to climb the closer you get to the top--if it's goal is to reach parity with the Bundesliga or the EPL, it has a long way to go. (It still hasn't reached parity with Liga MX, despite having a larger domestic market).

OTOH, the state of soccer fandom in the US compared to the aftermath of the 1994 world cup is heads and tails better. If soccer the US can become a "soccer country"--and a good sign of that will be production of first-rate players, and Christian Pulisic is a fine start--then watch out.

Wasn't Pulisic mostly trained in Europe, or at the least, far from typical American grown soccer paths?

[Unregistered]

Wasn't Pulisic mostly trained in Europe, or at the least, far from typical American grown soccer paths?

As an older teenager--he spent most of his youth in the US, but signed with BVB's youth team when he was 16.

Former UP and USMNT player Steve Cherundolo, who played his entire pro career with Hanover, recommends this development path for top US players--in his opinion, where US youth development falls flat is in the later years of high school, where the advanced tactics of the game are taught. Our athletes are equal to anybody else's, and we've improved technically, but according to the Mayor, our youth system (including the top domestic youth academies) remain tactically deficient.