re: MLS owners predict league will surpass MLB

The one thing holding back soccer, the MLS, and the U.S. Men’s National Team is Title IX. A huge percentage of primary and middle school aged kids play soccer, but most stop in hs. Why? Title IX’s insanity. Most colleges don’t have scholarship men’s soccer teams. Meaning kids who are athletes are steered towards other sports like football, basketball, and baseball where more scholys are available. HS age is where the soccer athletes learn technique, and robust competitive d-1 men’s soccer would be huge for developing fans and domestic players. Instead, while most other nation’s first or second tier athletes are playing soccer, in the U.S., our 5th and 6th tier athletes are playing with far fewer resources to work with to develop them.

quote:

---

e one thing holding back soccer, the MLS, and the U.S. Men’s National Team is Title IX. A huge percentage of primary and middle school aged kids play soccer, but most stop in hs. Why? Title IX’s insanity. Most colleges don’t have scholarship men’s soccer teams. Meaning kids who are athletes are steered towards other sports like football, basketball, and baseball where more scholys are available. HS age is where the soccer athletes learn technique, and robust competitive d-1 men’s soccer would be huge for developing fans and domestic players. Instead, while most other nation’s first or second tier athletes are playing soccer, in the U.S., our 5th and 6th tier athletes are playing with far fewer resources to work with to develop them.

---

all this is wrong

College soccer isn’t the answer

We don’t need top tier athletes playing for the fact Americans are usually some most athletic players on the field

Our issue is developing those players here and out development relies to much on athleticism instead of developing players technically and making them think properly

But we would rather teach them to just beat them with athleticism which doesn’t work in soccer.

Yea they still go to school till around 16-18

It depends but the club usually send them to very good private schools or have teachers come to the club to hold classes for a couple hours in between practice and other workouts/film.

quote:

---

The league is getting more profitable, there's more teams that you need to buy a share from, trying to make sure the owners have deep enough pockets, and to make up for giving Beckham such a good deal.

And the current TV deal runs out after the 2022 season. There were only 20 teams when it was signed prior to the 2015 season. Since that contract was signed, MLS has picked up the #10 (Atlanta), #15 (Minneapolis), #16 (Miami), #18 (Orlando), #20 (Sacramento), #21 (Charlotte), #23 (St. Louis), #28 (Nashville) #37 (Cincinnati), and #40 (Austin) media markets.

---

And yet MLS doesn’t make a major dent in these media markets

EPL at 9am does better ratings

quote:

---

EPL at 9am does better ratings

---

10 am fricktard
you're about to be on relevant time again.

quote:

---

Couldn’t agree more... every little kid is playing soccer

Baseball is a dying sport

---

quote:

---

There are 4.2 million players (2.5 million male and 1.7 million female) registered with U.S. Soccer. As of 2012, thirty percent of American households contain someone playing soccer, a figure second only to baseball. Increasing numbers of Americans, having played the game in their youth, are now avid spectator

---

quote:

---

According to the Aspen Institute, which promotes youth sports participation and uses SFIA data, 13.6% of kids ages 6-12 played baseball in 2018, a 3% increase from 2015. Baseball was the second-most popular sport for kids in that age group, after basketball, which had a 14.1% participation rate.

---

Bruh all I had to do was google "percentage of american kids playing baseball and soccer." The above are the first two results.

quote:

---

all this is wrong

College soccer isn’t the answer

We don’t need top tier athletes playing for the fact Americans are usually some most athletic players on the field

Our issue is developing those players here and out development relies to much on athleticism instead of developing players technically and making them think properly

---

Parents keep kids involved in sports post middle school due to one thing and one thing only: college scholarships. Most parents assume their kids need to go to college, and see sports as a way to pay for it. Because there is almost zero chance of their kids going to college on a soccer scholarship, parents aren’t willing to pay for those recources. Why send your kid to some elite soccer camp when they have no chance at a scholy when they could send them to basketball camp and get seen by d-1 recruiters?

The fact that there isn’t the possibility of player development resulting in a free college education is the reason those development opportunities are so few and far between. There’s an entire industry of camps for preparing middle and high school aged athletes for college and major league scouts in baseball, basketball, football, and even hockey up north. If such a pathway existed for soccer, the resources would be there because sending kids to camp is cheaper than tuition.

It’s not that they’re missing the development they would get in college. They’re missing the development TO get TO college.

quote:

---

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas maintains it will be of higher quality than the Premier League and La Liga by 2045.

---

This is my wet dream because for this to happen it would mean that American players are as dominant as the global elite. The brazilians, argentines, dutch, spanish, italians, etc.

But from what we know today, this is a damn pipe dream. They are so far ahead of us in training techniques, coaches, facilities, and effort. There are 6 year olds living at soccer academies over there. It's still pay to play here. Until we have 300-400 Tyrone's that are kicking a ball around at the age of 2 in every Baton Rouge sized city across the country then this will just never happen. The genetic athleticism and population is there to be a dominant force in the sport. Unfortunately that's all we have. For the most part it's still a sport dominated by Trevor and Brayden in the suburbs because they just aren't tough enough for american football and their mommy and daddy can afford to let them play travel soccer

We will have (and arguably are currently in ) golden generations. The sport is growing tremendously here. Due to our quantity, we will be able to produce 11-15 players with enough quality to play anywhere. For MLS to overtake the premiere league though, it has to take root in the inner cities (go look where south american and french footballers are from). Baseball doesn't even have a grip there anymore. Soccer will have to take the kids from the football fields and basketball courts. I just don't see that happening

We have a great nucleus of young players. Adams, Pulisic, Mckennie, Sargent, Dest, Weah, Reyna and so on.

But go look at the french kids in that age group or the argentines in that age group. As good as our kids are we really don't even sniff the global elite. Mbappe and Dembele are already among the worlds elite and they're in that age group.

It won't stop us from competing if we can get the right manager in and actually have a sense of direction. I absolutely think we could make the semis in 2026 if the progressions continue and we catch some breaks. But having that once in a lifetime group of players is a lot different than being a consistent powerhouse. Belgium will find that out in a few years

quote:

---

Sorry but those are not taking the training wheels off

---

I said they were slowly starting to take the training wheels off - which they are. Limits on salary, payroll, international players, etc., aren't gone - but they keep getting increased.

quote:

---

The DP should be not even a thing and owners should be allowed to spend what ever they want if they really want to make it a major competitor in soccer.

---

They're getting there. The market currently can't support teams with the kinds of payrolls you're talking about. Give it some time.

quote:

---

International player limits are again stupid

---

They're in place to help the USMNT. For what it's worth, I don't think it's a coincidence that the best USMNT World Cup performance in recent history came during an era where international player limits were low, and that team was dominated by MLS players.

quote:

---

and honestly if they were serious about youth development they make a rule you need to have x amount of home grown players in your match day squad.

---

You're the same guy that wants no limit on the number of internationals and no salary cap, right? Are we taking off the training wheels, or not?

quote:

---

That and the league is entirely to big for a first division especially one that lacks in talent, especially home grown talent.

---

And yet, the level of play keeps increasing. Hmmm...