BringBackTheBlizzard Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Not 100% sure whether this is the appropriate subforum but here is a blog entry in which I describe the positive developments that are currently underway in Canadian soccer at the NASL and USL Pro sort of level and outline why if successful D2 level franchises do emerge it may eventually lead to pressure for Canada to have its own standalone national league: http://canadiansocceropinion.blogspot.com/2010/11/better-days-ahead-for-canadian-pro.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 Not 100% sure whether this is the appropriate subforum but here is a blog entry in which I describe the positive developments that are currently underway in Canadian soccer at the NASL and USL Pro sort of level and outline why if successful D2 level franchises do emerge it may eventually lead to pressure for Canada to have its own standalone national league: http://canadiansocceropinion.blogspot.com/2010/11/better-days-ahead-for-canadian-pro.html If we can get 8 well run, well supported clubs across the country, would FIFA or the CSA pressure us into forming our own league? Would you be for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted November 9, 2010 Author Share Posted November 9, 2010 It would depend on how well run and well supported the weaker links providing the filler content would be. If it were similar to the CFL scenario where even a team in Regina can attract over 20k then why not? Different story if it is 1500 fans in London, Ont. (FC London's current level of support) and a perennial saga of whether the league can continue if certain franchises fold. I don't think it's an issue that will emerge seriously at the FIFA level for a long time because getting to the point of having 8 credible full-time pro teams will be extremely difficult. It would be great to see this issue start to rear its head, however, because it would mean that pro soccer is finally becoming firmly entrenched in the sports landscape in a Canadian context. The key to unlocking that future is how to get there obviously. Just as it took a USSF sanctioned league to provide the environment where it was possible for a Canadian club to regularly draw 20,000 fans, which finally proved to potential investors you can actually make money out of the sport, much the same is true at the D2 level where crowds of 4000 or so are concerned outside of the three main metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 It would depend on how well run and well supported the weaker links providing the filler content would be. If it were similar to the CFL scenario where even a team in Regina can attract over 20k then why not? Different story if it is 1500 fans in London, Ont. (FC London's current level of support) and a perennial saga of whether the league can continue if certain franchises fold. I don't think it's an issue that will emerge seriously at the FIFA level for a long time because getting to the point of having 8 credible full-time pro teams will be extremely difficult. It would be great to see this issue start to rear its head, however, because it would mean that pro soccer is finally becoming firmly entrenched in the sports landscape in a Canadian context. The key to unlocking that future is how to get there obviously. Just as it took a USSF sanctioned league to provide the environment where it was possible for a Canadian club to regularly draw 20,000 fans, which finally proved to potential investors you can actually make money out of the sport, much the same is true at the D2 level where crowds of 4000 or so are concerned outside of the three main metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Well, we're almost half way there. The glass is half full. As for our progrssion as a country, I think talent wise, we can become as good as Serbia on their good days 10 years down the road, which is not very optimistic so any douche about to come on saying "that's very optimistic," stay quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmd Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 New to the forum. My question is why not let the CSL evolve into a D2. Enough teams are showing an interest. Who cares how many teams from the same city. If we can eventually achieve a system of Pro/Rel. Eventually the best teams will survive. Can you imagine 40 teams across canada fighting to be in the top teir & take on TFC, Whitecape & the Imapact for the Nutrilite Cup. Can you imagine a CSL team posting an upset. That would create news.That's what we need. And maybe our national sports stations will show a CSL game or two rather than giving us Poker Or Darts. Didn't know there was trainingg involved with those sports.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj52 Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 New to the forum. My question is why not let the CSL evolve into a D2. Enough teams are showing an interest. Who cares how many teams from the same city. If we can eventually achieve a system of Pro/Rel. Eventually the best teams will survive. Can you imagine 40 teams across canada fighting to be in the top teir & take on TFC, Whitecape & the Imapact for the Nutrilite Cup. Can you imagine a CSL team posting an upset. That would create news.That's what we need. And maybe our national sports stations will show a CSL game or two rather than giving us Poker Or Darts. Didn't know there was trainingg involved with those sports.... Whether poker and darts are "sports" is certainly open to question - "games" would be a better word. You haven't played either seriously though if you don't think a lot of training is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmd Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 i play poker,and darts i when i'm @ a pub/bar, but usually with a beer in one hand. don't know if the same can be done while playing a "sport" such as soccer, or any sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj52 Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 i play poker,and darts i when i'm @ a pub/bar, but usually with a beer in one hand. don't know if the same can be done while playing a "sport" such as soccer, or any sport. If you played soccer after a couple of beers I imagine you could still play but you'd be just as easy to beat as you would be at poker or darts if you were doing it with a beer in your hand. When I played a lot of darts I waited until after I beat the guys with a beer in their hands before I started drinking and nothing's easier than taking money away from poker players who drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj52 Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 They didn't get to where they are without spending hour upon hours practicing though. Plus they're not getting drunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted November 20, 2010 Author Share Posted November 20, 2010 New to the forum. My question is why not let the CSL evolve into a D2. Enough teams are showing an interest. Who cares how many teams from the same city. If we can eventually achieve a system of Pro/Rel. Eventually the best teams will survive..... That sort of slow evolution scenario works in smaller countries where you can drive from one end of the country to another in a couple of hours but it is the travel distances that are the key stumbling block to having a local semi-pro league evolve into a full-time pro national one because air travel has to be factored in at some point leading to an abrupt change in expenditures. Another key problem on the number of teams in the same city is that the population is very much concentrated into three metropolitan areas that are going to have MLS teams where there is very little sign of there being spectator interest in watching lower level soccer. The sports leagues that are often cited as having worked best in a Canadian context like the CHL in hockey and CFL in football have an entry draft that forces the players to move out to the towns and cities where there is spectator interest. One uses student athletes rather than adult semi-pro players, while the other is more comparable to MLS than a D2 league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFCRegina Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 That sort of slow evolution scenario works in smaller countries where you can drive from one end of the country to another in a couple of hours but it is the travel distances that are the key stumbling block to having a local semi-pro league evolve into a full-time pro national one because air travel has to be factored in at some point leading to an abrupt change in expenditures. Another key problem on the number of teams in the same city is that the population is very much concentrated into three metropolitan areas that are going to have MLS teams where there is very little sign of there being spectator interest in watching lower level soccer. The sports leagues that are often cited as having worked best in a Canadian context like the CHL in hockey and CFL in football have an entry draft that forces the players to move out to the towns and cities where there is spectator interest. One uses student athletes rather than adult semi-pro players, while the other is more comparable to MLS than a D2 league. Actually, the CHL doesn't use student athletes. Not really anyway. They're basically unpaid pros. You get a scholarship for each year you play but it's only good for 6 months after your final year. If you haven't entered in school, you lose your compensation. It's a professional setup. Players are on full time contracts and act as such. If they pursue education, it happens /after/ they play. My cousin is a former WHL player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 The reality is that they use high school kids and do not have an open age semi-pro format so there is no valid parallel with the CSL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpsoccer Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 When I was in high school we lived in a remote area, so out of boredom I used to spend many hours in the basement throwing darts...sometimes until my arm hurt. I never played for money, or even for drinks, but a few times at bars there were guys trying to hustle pints.... I always seemed like a non-barfly type, which was true, and I know one time in particular there was a "regular" who sized me up and was lining up for his next pint, or so he thought. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoGreen Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I hope CSA never sanctions another USL team in Canada for the future of Canadian soccer. CSL is the way to go... I'm hoping some solid organizations keep stepping up each and every year, and hopefully they branch out into other provinces. As for MLS, TFC Montreal and Vancouver are good because they are established clubs and the MLS in my opinion is a good league for Canadian players to develop in. I would prefer to support a club created for the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I hope CSA never sanctions another USL team in Canada for the future of Canadian soccer. CSL is the way to go... I'm hoping some solid organizations keep stepping up each and every year, and hopefully they branch out into other provinces. As for MLS, TFC Montreal and Vancouver are good because they are established clubs and the MLS in my opinion is a good league for Canadian players to develop in. I would prefer to support a club created for the community. Brace yourself, BBTB is about to call you an idiot in a very convoluted and illogical way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I hope CSA never sanctions another USL team in Canada for the future of Canadian soccer. CSL is the way to go... I'm hoping some solid organizations keep stepping up each and every year, and hopefully they branch out into other provinces. As for MLS, TFC Montreal and Vancouver are good because they are established clubs and the MLS in my opinion is a good league for Canadian players to develop in. I would prefer to support a club created for the community. I don't think it will ever happen here but I'd like to see a league where 51% of each club has to be owned by the supporters, like the Bundesliga. There is no better way to feel connection to your club like helping run it. We definitely would not see ticket price protests if TFC were run this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoGreen Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Brace yourself, BBTB is about to call you an idiot in a very convoluted and illogical way... Any particular reason? I'm assuming he's pro USL... I would as a matter of fact not be opposed to a 'Canadian' division within the USL though if that makes any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Any particular reason? I'm assuming he's pro USL... I would as a matter of fact not be opposed to a 'Canadian' division within the USL though if that makes any difference. Anytime somebody says something positive about the CSL, he launches into a string of unsubstantiated criticisms and attacks on the CSL and the points made for it. Never explaining logically, he simply throws out statements and expects them to be taken as fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Anytime somebody says something positive about the CSL, he launches into a string of unsubstantiated criticisms and attacks on the CSL and the points made for it. Never explaining logically, he simply throws out statements and expects them to be taken as fact. Anytime somebody says something negative about the CSL, he launches into a string of unsubstantiated boosterism and attacks on the USL and the points made for it. Never explaining logically, he simply throws out statements and expects them to be taken as fact. Seems to go both ways around here lately.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Anytime somebody says something negative about the CSL, he launches into a string of unsubstantiated boosterism and attacks on the USL and the points made for it. Never explaining logically, he simply throws out statements and expects them to be taken as fact. Seems to go both ways around here lately.. Sorry, is this me we're talking about on the USL front? I've supported the idea of FC London going USL PRO, and I think Winnipeg going to PDL is a great step, I just prefer the CSL for Canada's second division as it's a Canadian league with a new commissioner who shows promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Sorry, is this me we're talking about on the USL front? Not really directed at you but more at the general tone of a lot of the CSL boosters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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