Beckham signs with L.A Galaxy

thats retarded of him if he does, because real madrid is 500000000 times better then ANY MLS team, and the fans in europe are so much more deicated to their sport,,, but i guess if its for the money then whatever

Rooney and Crouch played their hearts out

Gah...that's fuckin hilaious...beckham in the mls...christ

I didn't know that.  Is it run much like UEFA champions league??  Like different legs interrupting their current league play.
I wish pro sports in north america eventually went that route..

I'm a huge soccer fan and I have followed MLS since day 1. Allow me to clarify a few things (in no particular order):


- Beckham's playing salary will not total $250 million. That figure includes his endorsements, sponsorships, and other non-material payments.

- MLS currently has 13 teams. There are teams in Colorado, Chicago, Columbus, Kansas City, Dallas, Salt Lake City, LA (2), DC, New England, Houston, New York, and Toronto (new this coming season). Houston are the current MLS Cup champions, DC United won the Supporters Shield (best regular season record), and Chicago won the US Open Cup.

-The All-Star Game has little stock in terms of being competitive play, as are any friendlies between MLS teams and foreign clubs.

- Chelsea and Real Madrid are great teams, but it's highly debatable that they would be best in the world. Chelsea has been struggling in the EPL the last few weeks with Manchester United holding a commanding lead over them. Madrid are currently third in La Liga behind Sevilla and Barcelona.

- the Beckham signing isn't so much about competitive play, but more about image and marketing for MLS to help it gain recognition and grow.

- MLS is not struggling in the sense many think. They have enjoyed steady growth since the leagues founding. Endorsements are up, stadiums have been built in 4 cities with 2 more being finished this summer and even more on the way. Quality of play has been improving as well. MLS is a long term investment that has lost money in the short term, but has made positive steps towards profitability.

- Beckham had many reasons for leaving Europe. He had been benched at Madrid and Steve McClaren doesn't want him in England's setup. Beckham also had an established youth academy in LA. Beckham's wife also wanted to live in the LA area.

- Beckham wasn't the reason England sucked at the World Cup. England was the reason England sucked at the World Cup. They are either overrated or underachieving.

- North America has the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but its not really comparable to the Champions league in Europe. MLS and the Mexican league are going to create a bigger tournament similar to the CL format.

dunno i bet he will get bored as shit... i bet playing in the mls is like playing soccer with down syndrome teddy bears

I doubt the toronto team will last long. Weve got pro soccer here already, and the teams largest attendances are under 5,000. Theres no way in hell to support a multi million dollar player with that kind of audience. We could get government support, but theres no reason for it, because its a bad idea. We have the largest soccer organization in North America here in Toronto (Oakville Soccer Club), but we dont go for pro sports. Pro Sports have a much better hold in the states mainly due to huge populations, but also because sitting on a couch and drinking for hours to watch fat grown men pile into each other isnt frowned upon. Its fun to go watch a game of hockey once in a while, but usually we just do it to support friends who are playing in a low level competition. Canadians are much more likely to go out and walk by the water downtown, or go see a concert, or go skiing than we are to sit our slender asses down on a couch and bring in money to the leagues by bringing in advertisers.

I disagree, recent activity shows the contrary. The metropolitan alternatives to soccer you mention are no different in cities like LA or NY. The best Toronto team you've had in the recent past competed in USL, which is the second division in the US. USL team significantly lacks the financial and marketing clout that comes with an MLS franchise. The new team is owned by the same group that owns the NHL Maple Leafs. It has been reported that Toronto FC has already received more than 5000 deposits for season tickets for the 2007 year. They already have a government granted stadium in a prime location thats is almost completed. Soccer is also looking healthy in other parts of Canada (see the Montreal Impact or Vancouver Whitecaps).

true, and pele had a huge impact on ticket sales when he came over and played in the mls

That wasn't the MLS. That was the NASL, and that league went bankrupt because of irresponsible spending.

Crowds of five thousand wont be able to support any multimillion dollar players. Also, pro sports rely a lot upon fan bases that watch the team on TV. Canadian soccer will have a tough time finding spots to show their games. Weeknights are out, and support for British or italian soccer would be too strong to have the games oust any international soccer when it gets shown on weekends.

And is the Toronto FC going to play in the stadium that was designed for the Lynx originally?

Nope, they are playing in a stadium that was designed for the Fifa World Youth Championships, Toronto FC, and the Canadian national team.

http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/t280/stadium/

And I think you're underestimating the Toronto fanbase. I personally think they'll end up being one of the stronger fanbases in the league.

not to nitpick but, Toronto has 7000 season tickets sold.  That's pretty solid.  That's better than the Argos have done in years past

Well, actually the most recent report was 6000 I think (mid December). Still, a conservative estimate completely eclipses whatever numbers the Linx registered.

*Lynx

..... yeah, we apparently have a baseball team here.  It's moving though.
Boy, was this the wrong market for that!

Though to put it into perspective, hockey teams have also pulled up stakes and left Canada (see Quebec and Winnipeg).

those were almost purely financial reasons though - if a team couldn't compete, who want's to watch it?
The problem with the Lynx (and expos to the same degree) is that nobody really cares that much about baseball here...
Pro soccer may be a hard sell here too, but a large city like Toronto (especially with it's large european immigrant  population), one would assume it has decent shot

Soccer is a tough sell in general having to compete with baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and God knows what else. MLS is the kind of organization that wants teams with owners that will be in it for the long run and can weather the huge financial burden that comes with starting up a club. Montreal and Vancouver have proven that Canadian markets have the capacity to have a good sized crowed for soccer. In the heyday of the old NASL, the Toronto Blizzard averaged over 15,000 attendance in 16 games. Toronto has a lot of market potential, it just needs to be approached correctly.

good points... the emergence of the NLL anyone? The entertainment dollar certainly gets stretched these days.

portland luberjacks fucking rock

Him signing furthers my point that the MLS is a joke.

This is big news for the MLS and thats a fucking expensive man.

the amount of money hes going to bring to the league wont be any sort of joke. i have a feeling were going to be seeing alot of him on our tvs in the near future. selling stuff.

If bringing Pele to America didn't work, Beckham has even less of a chance.

Yeah, but Pele didn't start a whole new wave of fantastically, sleek and stylie haircuts...

hahahaha

touche

can you imagine being on the board of governors or a team owner or investor called in for THAT board meeting??

 "Hey guys, I've got a gREAt idea.  Let's have everyone put in 25 million dollars in this hat and we'll go buy some European soccer stars"

the guy assigned to the task is just a bad negotiator; asked Beckham what it would take; he said "I don't know..... $50mil a year...??"; he says "you drive a hard bargain, how about 5 years?"

Bam! Highest paid player in North American pro sports, for a league that has a team salary cap of $2.1 million dollars!!

The reason for the NASL folding had nothing to do with Pele at all. The team he played for was wildly successful and incredibly popular.

it wasnt entirely a matter of being able to compete in europe anymore for beckham, he still can. and the caliber of the teams that were talking with him alongside LA goes to show that. he was linked with liverpool, tottenham, and blackburn before he decided to go to LA, those are all teams that are doing quite well in the premiership this season

way past his prime