Robert Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Will the MLS turn into the NASL II? There seems to be a lot of speculation regarding MLS expansion. Is this American league going to follow in the footsteps of its long deceased predecessor, the NASL. It also started small, expanded, srunk and died. Will the original founding principles of staying American and growing slowly, be compromised by greed, expanding rapidly and beyond the U.S. borders, only to become a memory by the year 2020? It seems to be heading in that direction if you believe the word on the street. Three Canadian entries would sure be a move in the history repeats direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 MLS operates on a completely different business model from the NASL, on what basis are you so pessimistic if the MLS were to include Canadian teams and where does greed come into the picture with centralised ownership, a player pool and regulated salaries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Robert, why are you being so negative? MLS started at ten teams, expended to 12 fairly quickly, had the common sense to contract the two Florida clubs, and are now back to 12 teams. They will then expand to 14 in 2007. How is this greedy? The players are still getting paid modest salaries, they are building small intimate stadia (rather than relying on gigantic football stadia that cost a lot of $$$), and seem to have a real plan on how to succeed, S-L-O-W-L-Y. The only Canadian city mentioned in official terms by MLS has been Toronto. Montreal and Vancouver are even less of a reality at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis_Rancagua Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Robert, there is one thing that separates the NASL and MLS all together, and that is the single entity concept of business management. In fact, the NASL were about to introduce the single entity concept one year before the league folded. Unfortunately, it was too late for the NASL to save itself from financial chaos. Nevertheless, the CUSL (that if it did go through) were also planning to bring about a single entity concept to manage the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Oranje Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 The market for world class soccer in North America today is much better than it was in the 1970s. The MLS, if it became NASL2 would probably be far more successful than the original NASL was; provided, it had good stadiums and a means to keep salary growth in line with the growth of the league. The quality of North Americian players (Canadian and American) are better today than they were in 1967-1982. North America is far more exposed to European leagues today than they were at the time of the NASL. We have a much larger foreign-born population today than in the 1970s. I don't even think you can fairly use the lack of success of the old NASL as evidence that this concept would not work today. Many people forget that the NBA was also in trouble in the early 1980s and was saved essentially by the introduction of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to the league. Look where it is today. Many people also forget that a North American lacrosse league failed in the 1970s along with its Toronto franchise, the Tomahawks. Still the Toronto Rock seem to do well in what is a fringe sport today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgary Boomer Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the expansion choices this time around (Chivas LA & Salt Lake) I still think the league is a far cry from the NASL. At least MLS has somewhat embraced soccer's traditions around the world, and not tried the shootout or the wacky points system to "make the game more exciting". I also like the limited ownership structure because it puts equal importance and value on every club. I also don't think it's such a bad thing to have players like Youri Djorkaeff (NYNJ) coming over at the tail end of their careers. The big problem the NASL got into is that they became too reliant on aging overseas stars instead of developing local talent, which MLS is not only doing, but profiting from by owning players rights and selling them overseas if that's what they desire to do. As for Montreal and Vancouver one day being in the league...I don't think that's as far fetched as some people think. I could easily see the Whitecaps, Impact joining other current USL clubs (especially Portland, Seattle & Rochester) down the road when the league gets to 20 teams. I wonder how many people on this board would change their tune about MLS if Vancouver Toronto and Montreal were all in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I don't have any trouble with the idea of a continental league. It would probably benefit Canada more than the USA or even maybe Mexico as it would provide a much higher level of competition for Canadian clubs and players than would any domestic Canadian pro league. That doesn't mean we should give up on the idea of a domestic national league but we should accept that any such league would without doubt be at least one level down from a continental league. Europe after all has had national leagues for eons and only in fairly recent years have they successfully launched continental leagues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Canuck Oranje Many people also forget that a North American lacrosse league failed in the 1970s along with its Toronto franchise, the Tomahawks. Still the Toronto Rock seem to do well in what is a fringe sport today. The rest of Canada is certinly doing well in the NLL today. Look at all those teams. Signed, Ottawa Rebel Montreal Express Vancouver Ravens Every other city that thought of having an NLL team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Oranje Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 And they (the cities) all thought they could be successful based on the unexpected success of the Toronto Rock in what is even a fringe sport in Ontario albeit more popular in the central Ontario than anywhere else in Ontario. My point still stands. The environment (demographic and business-wise) for sport in Canada has changed from the 1970s. quote:Originally posted by DoyleG The rest of Canada is certinly doing well in the NLL today. Look at all those teams. Signed, Ottawa Rebel Montreal Express Vancouver Ravens Every other city that thought of having an NLL team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 Funny the talk of teh contracted two Florida teams. The Munity would still be in the league if the Quakes hadn't won the MLS title. You can thank DeRo for the demise of the Mutiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.