Real Football in the USA

Which is the best footie league?

First, a preface: I don’t use the word soccer. I am a Football purist. Football is Football with a capital F and the NFL should be renamed the NTL: ‘The National Throwball League.” Happily with the availability of Setanta and Fox ‘Soccer’ Channel, real Football is starting to elbow its way past NTL games into American homes. Such coverage brings MLS into a mainstream consciousness as well. Of course the MLS has some distance to travel to overcome the NTL-- but it will and within our lifetime.

The proof:

Don’t you know more people willing to climb out of bed at 5am to watch the EPL or Serie A –LIVE-- than are willing to sit and watch a 4 hour NTL match at any time of day? This kind of devotion is contagious and will spread from the EPL and European leagues to the MLS --especially as the MLS plays more friendly matches against European opposition and more and more Americans go to play in Europe. Add to this the devotion of Mexican and South American fans seeing their clubs come to play in American stadiums (where more money can be made by bigger crowds and television audiences) and even NTL fans must admit that we are witnessing the rise of the beautiful game to its proper place in this country. And IF the US men’s team can perform well in South Africa then we may witness the crowning of real Football in America sooner than we thought possible.

Of course, the MLS’s biggest hurdle (aside from the fact that it needs to be come Major League Football or MLF) is other world Football leagues. After all, the NTL does not compete against the Canadian league and does anyone know if that arena game is going anywhere? MLS has risen despite the fact that it has to compete against a more entertaining product in Europe and possibly in South America where the talent is better and the history stretches to the origins of the beautiful game.

So, what can the MLS learn from world football and how can it use this knowledge to become bigger? In answering this question let’s consider where the most entertaining Football is found. Assuming the amount of money earned correlates with entertainment then the major contenders are the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundasliga, Ligue 1, and the league in Turkey. The 20 richest football clubs were released recently with 7 representatives from the EPL, 4 from Serie A, 4 from the Bundasliga, 2 from La Liga, 2 from Ligie 1, and 1 club from Turkey.
 

1. Real Madrid, Spain, 365.8 million
2. ManchesterUnited, England, 324.8 million.
3. FC Barcelona, Spain, 308.8 million.
4. Bayern Munich, Germany, 295.3 million.
5. Chelsea, England, 268.9 million.
6. Arsenal, England, 264.4 million.
7. Liverpool, England, 210.9 million.
8. AC Milan, Italy, 209.5 million.
9. AS Roma, Italy, 175.4 million.
10. Inter Milan, Italy, 172.9 million.
11. Juventus, Italy, 167.5 million.
12. Lyon, France, 155.7 million.
13. Schalke, Germany, 148.4 million.
14. Tottenham, England, ?145 million.
15. Hamburg, Germany, 127.9 million.
16. Marseille, France, 126.8 million.
17. Newcastle, England, 125.6 million.
18. Stuggart, Germany, 111.5 million.
19. Fenerbahce, Turkey, 111.3 million.
20. Manchester City, England, 104 million.

Of course, this does not mean that games in Holland, elsewhere in Europe, South America, or even within MLS are not worth watching but $$$ attracts talent, drama, and spectacle and thus I think it is safe to assume that the EPL, with 7 teams in the above list, is the winner.

So to return to the question now phrased more specifically: What can MLS learn from the EPL on how to be successful? The answer is easy: 1) make each game mean something, 2) attract talent, 3) TV rights, TV rights, TV rights.

Make each match mean something: In order to make each game mean something MLS has to convert to a proper league format without playoffs like nearly every other Football league in the world which is in the black. The current format of splitting the league into 2 divisions means that early matches do not count as much and the home and away rivalry goes untapped. In 2010 there will be 16 teams in MLS. If each team play each other twice then that’s 30 matches which gives the league as many regular season matches that were played this last season with 14 teams and thus enough games to make money. A proper table format should have rewards for the top 4 such as financial incentives and placement in the CONCACAF Champions league. Is it time for relegation for the bottom’s teams? Well, that requires the creation of a 2^nd div in conjunction with the USL and that is for another blog. Along with the regular season MLS should build on the US Open cup in a manner similar to the FA cup. Create the same romance and potential of the FA and sponsors will fall over themselves to get their names on banners.

Other ways to make the game in general mean something include the following ideas: 1) a men’s v women’s tournament with the new Professional Women’s Soccer League, 2) more off season matches versus the big teams of Europe (I think I have seen more of these games than actual MLS games as they are more interesting to see whether US Football is up to task. And when a team like Columbus goes to play the Everton reserves during the EPL season I want to have that emailed to me not find out about it by accident). 3) get better game commentators. The ones on ESPN are simply horrid and the fact that they make analogy after analogy to other American sports is infuriating. The Fox commentators are good or bad. Some talent there but this needs to be refined with some knowledge depth and passion. Have Nick Webster, Kieth Costigan do game commenting….and leave out the Americans….they are so boring and white bread except for Max Bretos who knows the game and loves it. Oh, and get more people like Bobby McMahon….he is a god. I could go on but this is yet another blog.

Attract Talent:

Obviously, the MLS has done a good job here. MLS will need to continue to build on the star power of players and then let go of some of them to Europe….but for God’s sake give those players a good bye publicity party so that people know that MLS raises talent capable of playing in the ‘higher’ leagues. The MLS will continue to do its great job of getting talent from US universities and colleges as well. Lastly, here, let’s get more players from overseas who have already made names for themselves. Yes, they may be older and nearing the end of their careers but players like Juan Pablo Angel and Schellotto are fantastic and draw a crowd.

TV rights:

The EPL got rich from TV contracts. The MLS should do the same. Screw ESPN –who has too long forsaken Football and persists with Champions League Commentators, who despite being European, are half way into their graves and add little in the way of history and statistics to the game at hand. Go with Fox and work together. Fox knows how to promote European Football a la Sky Sports. They will do the MLS justice. This economy may make it hard to find sponsors now but they will come…..more and more kids are playing Football and if it’s on TV they will watch but the MLS needs more publicity – more drama….yeah Beckham! (We just need to make sure the drama is handled well) This brings me back to contagious passion….sponsors will pay and people will watch. Passion grows with a better and more historic game. The talent on the field and off the field is there but someone needs to lead into the future. Who will that be? MLS executives need to step it up and get more TV time. For example, the way the Beckham situation has been handled is advantageous for MLS. MLS commissioner, Don Garber, has handled it well and the MLS’s integrity has remained intact. Oh, and all this made the league stand out and look strong –good publicity. Keep it goin Don!

No sport in this country has the potential to grow like Football. I know there is a god when I think back to 15 years ago when getting up to date info on the EPL was near impossible to now being able to watch Man U v Liverpool in my own home. Now, let’s work together such that I feel equally excited by LA Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes in my home….I’ll even settle for non-HD tv.