From: tfragala@cs.ulowell.edu (Tom Fragala)
Subject: Re: US Soccer News
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Lowell Computer Science
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 22:12:58 GMT

In article <1993Jan7.103520.4311@abo.fi> MLINDROOS@FINABO.ABO.FI (Marcus Lindroos INF) writes:
>In <C0F57G.13B@ulowell.ulowell.edu> tfragala@cs.ulowell.edu writes:
>
>As I've said before, regional leagues featuring semi-pro and amateur players
>will be almost as important as the professional national league. But don't
>ignore the top of the US soccer pyramid for it! A "showcase" league with onlya
>few teams, all of international class fielding US (& Canadian) national team 
>players and some well-known foreign stars is absolutely essential if soccer is
>to become truly popular. Only then will talented US-born players have a place
>to play after college. Seriously, does anyone expect the stars of tomorrow to
>playin local Portuguese-American league for "$300-$500 per game?!"Eric Wynalda
>pulls down fifty times as much money in Germany, and he is undoubtedly getting
>more satisfaction from playing in one of the world's best soccer leagues. The 
>USSF has no choice but to try to emulate what the English, Germans, Italians,
>French, Mexicans and now also the Japanese have been doing all along, namely
>create a top-class _national_ league. Surely having, say, Harrisburg
>(champions of the Eastern Italian-American League) play Little Rock (the
>Southern League champions) for the national championship is not going to 
>capture the imagination of the American public...? At least the WSA/ASL
>championship had no impact whatsoever, and these are the kind of leagues you
>seem to prefer.

You have missed the entire point of this discussion. There is absolutely no
way that any of us think that a regional low cost league system is meant to
be the division 1 of US soccer and that I think that the best US players would
play in it. Get your nose out of the air and try to understand what we are
talking about. We just think that the US needs a solid foundation of soccer
based on a regional lower division system. I obviously don't think a regional
league should be the only league in US ever. Of course there should be a 
big-time division 1 league playing in large stadiums and paying professional
salaries. A regional league is meant for player development, local fans, and
soccer enjoyment in general.
>
>Logical? The national team is averaging 30,000+ for their top matches, the
>1984 Olympic tournament was a near-sellout, the World Cup is expected to be a
>sellout, the NASL had average attendances of 10,000-15,000 for ten years...
>I would say the time is right for another try.

I have no problem with starting a national league. But it is not going to
automatically be successful as you seem to think. I hope it is an instant
success, but the idea we have been suggesting (smaller reg. league) is simply to help support the soon to arrive big-time league.

>number of clubs will be kept small at first. Only cities where the NASL was
>successful (about nine or ten) and a couple mega-markets like LA and Chicago.
>Extremely few players as well, all top-class. If we let in hordes if weakteams
>supported by indifferent fans and owned by incompetent people, use plenty of 
>mediocre players etc. then the chances for failure are actually bigger because
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>everything will be second-rate and the sponsors and TV companies will notice
>it and continue to ignore the "insignificant minority sport" of soccer. And
>just because there are only 16 big-league teams or so does not mean it will
>have to be terrifyingly expensive. The Mexicans and Japanese are operating
>decent professional "major" league without shelling out a fortune on players.
>Yes, the NASL did a lot of stupid things but the _basic_ idea behind their
>league was sound.

It obvious that a league with many "mediocre" players is doomed. Where do
you propose to get all these great players from...enough to fill every team
in this new league? Doesn't it make sense to have a regional development
league where US players can hone their skills with a "decent" team against
good competition? Don't you see the possibility of having maybe two divisions
in US? The top first division with TV and large stadiums and a regional
second division to develop players and generate more soccer interest in areas
where there is no nearby 1st division team (and there will be many). This
is the plan I was discussing. NOT demanding that Eric Wynalda play to a
few hundred bucks a game. Please get the facts straight before flaming.
Besides, we're all on the same team, so let's avoid too much arguing. Debate
is cool, vindictiveness isn't.
-- 

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| Tom Fragala  +  Univ of Massachusetts-Lowell  +  tfragala@cs.ulowell.edu |
| "To conclude, I announce what comes after me...                          |