Have at thee, varlets: Beckham wants to leave MLS

Any particular reason attendance is lagging? Don't they have the pockets to try to fill the stands, or is it just the product?

 

I blame soccer.

 

Say what you will, his set pieces still are instant scoring opportunities.

 

I'm just fired up about the Sounders! Now I don't have to root for FC Dallas anymore. What sucks is Seattle is coming to Dallas the weekend of state track so I will have to attempt to get down to Houston later in the summer.

 

My biggest complaint is that the season is just way too long. It starts in March and ends the week before Thanksgiving. That's just ridiculous. I can't even imagine what attendance is like late in the season.

It should be over by the time the NFL's regular season starts.

 

With Chivas USA, "the product" includes more than just what happens on the field. There was concern that calling it "Chivas USA" would lead many fans to regard it as a cheap copy of the original. There's also the Galaxy's established presence.

They just haven't been able to make a real dent in the market, for whatever reason.

More Becks:

http://www.insidesocal.com/soccer/2009/02/the-failures-of-david-beckham.html

And, yahoo's guy is mad his meal ticket is flying the coop (though not as bitter as his columns when the move to Milan originally happened):

http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news;_ylt=Aq4TqPhBzy4yG_FeyisGFwsmw7YF?slug=ro-byebyebeckham020409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

I'd argue market saturation. I usually don't like cities having two teams in a league, even in leagues that I'd consider highly prosperous (NFL, NBA, MLB). I especially don't like it in a league that's not a cash cow.

Los Angeles has not shown it will support two MLS clubs. I'd suggest moving the team to a town that will more than likely support a team (St. Louis and Portland, Ore. anyone?).

 

I think teams could do well in second-tier sports towns (Sacramento, Las Vegas, Portland, Hartford, Milwaukee)

I know the Denver team has done well since moving to the new stadium, but I doubt there are too many cities with four major pro franchises that can support a soccer team.

 

Doesn't soccer draw a different kind of demo than the other sports?

In competition for corporate dollars there would be cross over, but would there be when it came to attendance?

 

It's more family friendly than any of the big four sports.

 

Contracts: Bend 'Em Like Beckham

 

I'm not quite so sure about this. The guy opened a lot of eyes last season. He might be the best player the league has ever had.