United FC will pay U at least $1M to use TCF Bank Stadium

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bottlebass said:
World cup takes the cake for atmosphere! Those and Euro Cup games are pretty awesome too. Not sure that's a fair comparison bringing in national teams...

The MN United up in Blaine had a better atmosphere than any twins game I've been to since game 163 and better than any Twolves game I've ever been to in my life. Soccer just has more passionate fans, I can't wait for them to move into their own stadium and pack it with passionate fans. I'm hoping for some fun new traditions too, we'll find out tomorrow.
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Well sure, if your comparisons are the Twins and the Timberwolves, two of the dullest atmospheres in professional sports, almost anything will fare well by comparison.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Well sure, if your comparisons are the Twins and the Timberwolves, two of the dullest atmospheres in professional sports, almost anything will fare well by comparison.
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You don't think comparing the MN United to the Twins and Timberpuppies is acceptable?
 

Much like organized religion, soccer keeps the proletariat sedated and off the streets.
 

Oregon Gopher said:
They wisdom that 40 years ago with the NASL


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I agree it's going to take an earthquake for MLS to attain the level of MLS in ten years. Thomas Cahill said in the 1920's for the ASL to be the best pro league in the country the owners needed to build their own soccer stadiums and not play in baseball stadiums. At the time the ASL was the second biggest pro league in all of America behind MLB, the depression killed off all the industrial textile companies and poof their went soccer-football in this country. They had poured hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing, sponsoring and owning ASL clubs.
 

GopherHomer said:
By what metric? Local TV ratings for the teams involved? National TV ratings? Attendance? Ad money? Just curious about your prediction.

I dislike soccer, but am not "anti-soccer." In my opinion the MLS will always be second class in this country because it is a sub-par league (in soccer terms). It's like watching AA baseball. Also, it will only become easier to access sporting events from different parts of the world, so the die-hard fans will prefer to watch the best level they can...mostly out of Europe.

I don't think it will ever generate big time ad revenue mostly because the continuous action doesn't allow for commercials. I do believe it will do pretty well attendance-wise because it so popular in this country with families that aren't really that invested in sports but still want their kids to get exercise, and has a low cost barrier.

I mean, really, to get back to your original prediction - in 20 years each individual's experiences will likely be so completely curated that the NFL will be the only mega-national sport (assuming it still exists). Everything else will just be fed directly to its strong, loyal fan bases.
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Earlier, I said soccer culture in this country probably is on it's second generation, pretty soon third generation. It's going to take one for sure two more generations before soccer will be on the level of Europe. If by chance the Americans win a World Cup in the years ahead then I foresee a major uptick in soccer culture in America.
 




GopherHomer said:
By what metric? Local TV ratings for the teams involved? National TV ratings? Attendance? Ad money? Just curious about your prediction.
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Across all metrics you will see substantial improvement - baseball is dying like I mentioned earlier and hockey will always be a regional sport so it has a ceiling on popularity.

GopherHomer said:
I dislike soccer, but am not "anti-soccer." In my opinion the MLS will always be second class in this country because it is a sub-par league (in soccer terms). It's like watching AA baseball. Also, it will only become easier to access sporting events from different parts of the world, so the die-hard fans will prefer to watch the best level they can...mostly out of Europe.
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Americans are used to watching the best, the NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB are unquestionably the top domestic leagues worldwide and by a significant margin - the talent level will continue to improve here but the real coup will come when a superstar, in their prime, comes over.

GopherHomer said:
I don't think it will ever generate big time ad revenue mostly because the continuous action doesn't allow for commercials. I do believe it will do pretty well attendance-wise because it so popular in this country with families that aren't really that invested in sports but still want their kids to get exercise, and has a low cost barrier.
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Licensing and other revenue streams are massive windfalls for sponsors on the other side of the Atlantic - I don't think American business will have a problem monetizing soccer as it grows.

GopherHomer said:
I mean, really, to get back to your original prediction - in 20 years each individual's experiences will likely be so completely curated that the NFL will be the only mega-national sport (assuming it still exists). Everything else will just be fed directly to its strong, loyal fan bases.
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NFL's growth potential is just not there internationally, I'm way more bullish on basketball exploding in popularity than a NFL Europe renaissance.
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
Across all metrics you will see substantial improvement - baseball is dying like I mentioned earlier and hockey will always be a regional sport so it has a ceiling on popularity.



Americans are used to watching the best, the NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB are unquestionably the top domestic leagues worldwide and by a significant margin - the talent level will continue to improve here but the real coup will come when a superstar, in their prime, comes over.



Licensing and other revenue streams are massive windfalls for sponsors on the other side of the Atlantic - I don't think American business will have a problem monetizing soccer as it grows.



NFL's growth potential is just not there internationally, I'm way more bullish on basketball exploding in popularity than a NFL Europe renaissance.
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Baseball isn't dying.
 





In the time it takes to read this thread there has been one goal attempt
 

I've been trying to pin down why soccer doesn't appeal to me. I've watched the usual big games: World Cup etc. The running clock and "extra time" added on at the end makes absolutely no sense to me. Why not just stop the clock when a player flops or runs out of bounds to get a ball so everyone, fan/players/coaches know how much time is left? The flopping is a problem. We see it from time to time in football but its neither as obvious or as frequent. The slow pace for me is much worse than baseball. With every pitch you might have a homerun. With the beautiful game as soon as a shot on goal fails you know you have time to go the bathroom/get a beer/change the oil in your car before something exciting happens again.

So, not having grown up playing the game, not having been to the UK and sung the old tunes with a lot of other very excited and presumedly intoxicated people, I don't see the game catching on with my or older generations. The younger folks, the immigrants may change that over the next 20-30 years and I have no problem with it. Different strokes for different folks.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
I've been trying to pin down why soccer doesn't appeal to me. I've watched the usual big games: World Cup etc. The running clock and "extra time" added on at the end makes absolutely no sense to me. Why not just stop the clock when a player flops or runs out of bounds to get a ball so everyone, fan/players/coaches know how much time is left? The flopping is a problem. We see it from time to time in football but its neither as obvious or as frequent. The slow pace for me is much worse than baseball. With every pitch you might have a homerun. With the beautiful game as soon as a shot on goal fails you know you have time to go the bathroom/get a beer/change the oil in your car before something exciting happens again.

So, not having grown up playing the game, not having been to the UK and sung the old tunes with a lot of other very excited and presumedly intoxicated people, I don't see the game catching on with my or older generations. The younger folks, the immigrants may change that over the next 20-30 years and I have no problem with it. Different strokes for different folks.
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Well, I'm a soccer fan but did enjoy this post. The oil-change comment made me laugh. Of course, this is where the soccer fans will tell you that you "just don't get it", but I'll take a different approach.

Flopping in soccer is ridiculous. It does take away from the game.
Running and Extra time are not really an issue, but definitely odd. As it stands now you can't stop the game with certain conditions so a hard stop timer like hockey wouldn't work. Could do more like football I guess (play/situation starts before clock ends then continue until play/situation ends).
You forgot to mention promotion/relegation which is something all sports should adopt. It is awesome.



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I don't follow it closely enough but I like the idea of it. It seems like it would be a struggle for relegated teams to keep/sign players with the lower income? And then when promoted be at a disadvantage for at least a couple years? I don't know how they handle the revenue sharing to make it somewhat equitable.
 





Why is there snow on the field. Didn't they turn on the heating coils? (or can't they handle too much snow?)
 

West Fargo Gopher Fan said:
Soccer is called football in every other country. It belongs on the football board.
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I have been watching this MSL soccer game on ESPN2 for about 30 minutes and the field is completely covered in snow and it does not appear to be melting at all. The snow did not start until about an hour before the game, but how is it possible that they did not have the heating coils engaged for days, as it has been warm out and this is the much anticipated opening MLS game

The heating coils were sold as being one of the big benefits to the Gophers for allowing the Vikings to use the stadium. I cannot imagine they would not maintain them or tear them out. There have been several very cold games at TCF in November where heating coils would have proven to be a big benefit.

I had doubts about the status of the heating coils during one game late last year when the seats were all filled with sleet and an ice coating. The field was not nearly as bad as today at the soccer match, but it did not look like the coils were engaged at.

Does anyone know for sure what happened with the heating coils? Are they still there? Is it just that only the Viking's have any competence when it comes to turning them on and using them correctly?
 


35,000 at the game, that's only 3,000 less than the Northwestern game. Good crowd.
 

Soccer is a lot more fun in person than on TV, it still isn't my thing but I wouldn't mind going to a game from time to time (as long as its not cold and snowing). I'll put it on par with the saints in terms of my interest level. Not going to follow it, but won't mind checking out games in person.
 



The gophers seem welcoming:

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