Franky Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Richmond Kickers officially announced their move to D2 after appearing in the league final for the second time . i think i recall four other occasions where a team makes an appearnace in a final and calls it quits. 1997 Carolina Dynamo lose in the final to Milwaukee Rampage. 2002 Hershey Wildcats lose in the final to the Whinos. 2003 Milwaukee Rampage win over Richmond Kickers. Milwaukee's 2nd championship. Actually, the Milwaukee Wave and some club called Milwaukee United formed Wave-United for the following season. Therefore, if you make the A-League final, you might not be back for the following season. LOL just to recap the Lynx seasons of futility; '97 14-14 playoffs - Lost in 1st Round '98 9-19 '99 12-16 '00 13-11-4 playoffs - Lost in conference Final. '01 7-16-3 '02 10-13-5 '03 11-13-4 '04 10-16-2 '05 3-17-8 total 89-135-26 (.408) one season at .500 and one season (JUST!!) above .500 Lets just say, the Lynx tenth season should mark it as, the team's final season. we usher in a new era with the MLS, hopefully, better management, of course. Garber shall make it official on November 12th or SOMEONEs GONNA GET A HURT!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Wow, the Lynx really were horrible this season! Especially considering the previous 3 weren't all bad (31-42-11). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I thought Richmond were one of the better run sides in D1 in the USL. If they are losing sides like that to D2, you wonder how long the D1 will survive (and hence, what league the Whitecaps and Impact will have to play in). With the Lynx long term future being shaky at best, and Virginia Beach And Atlanta's attendance in the 1500 range...you gotta wonder that after Montreal and Rochester whether any of these teams can survive in the East... If D1 loses Montreal and Vancouver to the MLS, what is left outside of Rochester...and possibly Portland...as solid franchises. I would have to think that you might see a merged D1 and D2 league with regional set ups to keep travel costs down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sstackho Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 So they dropped to Division 2 voluntarily? Are travel costs the main reason for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Well, Richmond has log been a stagnant franchise which, like almost all soccer teams in NA, loses money every year. They have always been competitive and averaged around 2,500. However, the added costs of travel were thus added straight to the losses. Richmond has always seemed like a club with a regional mentality and they will be well suited for the D2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franky Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 yes, they dropped down voluntarily. the lynx futility is one of countless reasons, fans have not warmed up to the team, aside from the mediocre management. I'm sure the Toronto MLS in ten years (lets say) should (WILL!) achieve better than .500 on more than two seasons, i'm sure. its just a matter of time before MLS grants Rochester, Montreal, Vancouver and Portland franchises. These cities are all, well deserved of greener pastures and we can resume rivalries with clubs such as the CHicago Fire, DC United, the Revs, Galaxy, etc. let Francisco Marcos and the likes of Hartrells to battle it out for the scraps. Are LeHigh Valley up for expansion again or can we have another abysmal club in Maryland. Enough of these fly by night franchises and owners that think they can make it a go with measley dollars in their pockets. 'Til this day, i cannot understand how American fans have not absorbed MLS into their blood. I guess having SSS makes it a key issue, i wouldn't want to see football lines all over the place or sit in a cavernous stade, as well. Never been convinced Seattle can truly, consistently support a franchise esp. during losing seasons. MLS Changes since its inaugural season; * Kansas City changes their nickname from Wiz to Wizards (understandably) * San Jose changes their nickname from Clash to Earthquakes (fitting) * New York/NewJersey Metrostars drop cities name and are known as Metrostars only. ehh, whatever. * Washington DC United drop the city name and are knwown as DC United (fine by me) * League contracts Tampa Bay MUtiny (cool nickname and logo) and Miami Fusion (personally, they should have been called Florida) since my parents are snowbirds and head off to Ft. Lauderdale, i scope out the scene there, basically, people in Ft. Lauderdale want nothing to do with Miami the only exception is the Dolphins. * Dallas Burn change nickname to FC DAllas (never like Burn, anyways, i do think their new logo is awesome) * Added franchise in Chicago, the Fire (nice addition), Real Salt Lake (didn't see that one coming) and CD Chivas USA (not a personal favourite, but can live with it, better than US PRO 40) The way i view some of these changes, it has, sort of identified itself as the type of league it wants to become with that an American appeal w/o going totally euro/latin flavour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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