From: MLINDROOS@FINABO.ABO.FI (Marcus Lindroos INF)
Subject: Re: US Soccer News
Organization: Abo Akademi University, Finland
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 16:37:08 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.24

In <1993Jan5.075249.26226@leland.Stanford.EDU> melcat@leland.Stanford.EDU writes:

> Recent postings regarding the viability of training the 94 US national 
> team have mentioned the need for a national league.  This brings me 
> to my thought/observation.
> 
> What is the best solution to establishing soccer teams in the US?  When
> I hear the term "national league" I envision something akin to the NASL, 
> a large league in which the teams really do not have any substantial tie
> to the community in which they play.  To me, at least, this does not appear
> to be a profitable solution.
> 
> Instead, it seems to me that a better solution would be the establishment
> of several regional leagues.  The US is too big a domain for one league-
> the travel costs are just too high, especially since soccer, as of yet, 
> does not generate sufficient attendance to pay for this.
> 
> Out west, we used to have a regional league.  I do not remember the name of
> it, but one (if not the only) surviving member is the Bay Area Blackhawks, 
> who still play in the current national league.  The original league was
> a semi-professional- only the top-caliber players were paid- and since
> all the teams were on the west coast, travel costs were low.  I cannot
> speak for all the teams, but the Bay Area team did do its part to create
> ties with the community and as a result received a moderate amount of fan 
> support.  This league peaked at about 9-10 members, at which point it merged
> with an East Coast league (the new American Soccer League) and proceeded
> to shrink to its current six(?) team size.
> 
> My thought is this:  would it not be best to establish several regional 
> leagues.  This would 1) minimize expenses and 2) help to create a tie 
> with the community.  Perhaps the winners of the leagues could meet in some
> sort of US Championship (a la EC 1).
> 
> To sum up:  my logic is this-  the US is roughly the size of Europe.  If 
> Europe can sustain several leagues, why can't the US?  

...because we don't have any pro leagues in baseball or American Football, 
and damn few in basketball and hockey for that matter. No college sports
either. Soccer is the only major league sport in town over here. In Europe, 
even a lousy semi-pro team can generate a
lot of excitement. Why should Americans watch sandlot soccer when they have
truckloads of pro and college teams playing other sports? You don't have to
dislike soccer to ask that question.

> To make a league
> that lasts, we should start small and let it grow naturally.  In other
> words, not be in a hurry to have a NATIONAL league (the European leagues
> did not spring up overnight, did they?)

The main problem with your proposal is we don't have enough American players 
for the system to work. If you have been following this newsgroup for awhile
you've probably seen my proposal for a new  North American league. I only
included 16 teams in my plan (three of them in Canada, with mainly Canadian
players), yet I sometimes wonder if permitting "only" four foreign players
per team will be enough! Soccer in the States has been improving by leaps and
bounds since the 1960s, yet there is not enough players, fans or general
interest in the game for 50 or 100 "major league" teams to survive. But 
there should be a _minor_ league system modelled on the same pattern
as baseball's A/AA/AAA system, I agree about that.
---
IF soccer wants to become a major league sport, it will have to provide the
kind of entertainment the NFL, NBA and MLB do. That is why a small league
preferably owned by major corporations will have a better chance to survive.
At least the NASL managed to raise a few eyebrows and almost succeeded in the
end. The APSL (with its "natural growth" and "small is beautiful"
philosophies) never got off the ground. We, um, _you_ need a "sharp", exciting
league to cut through the indifference that surrounds the sport.

MARCU$ 
 
> Melind Joseph John
> Stanford University
> Junior-Political Science