Quote:
Originally Posted by tredadda
I am not disagreeing with you that it took time for the MLS to take off, nor can I disagree that it was women's earnings that were used to prop up the MLS (precisely because I don't know enough about it to confirm or deny what you state).
I am not against helping prop up a women's pro league either. I question how successful it would be long term. There is zero precedence showing that it will and I still think you are not grasping the difference between a national team that people will rally behind and support due to national pride and local teams. Just because the USWNT is successful does not mean that their success will carry forward. We can debate why women's sports are money losers all day, but the reality is they are. Maybe (and I don't know for sure) women's college basketball is self funding.
Some of the USMNT players get big contracts in Europe, many do not though. They rely on MLS salaries which are far less in most cases. We live in an era of the internet, it is easy to follow almost anything now. People are not ignorant of local teams, they just don't show up in numbers reflective of the USWNT's popularity. This again goes back to the national support vs local support.
European teams have and for the foreseeable future will continue to poach the best American talent and the state of women's soccer won't impact that even in the slightest. Soccer here is arguably team sport #5 on the pecking list, and unless that changes we will continue to lose the best players. Think Japanese baseball players. The best in Japan always move to MLB if given the chance as the best of the best play here.
Now I am not judging women's pro leagues. I have a passing interest in soccer. I will watch a game or two now and then, so I am not in the "women's soccer sucks" category. I keep beating this horse or "Bronco", but attendance numbers and history do not lie. There are enough people out there who can grow and sustain the game......they just aren't. It's not a self fulfilling prophecy to say that the investment isn't there due to a lack of popularity. If women's soccer stadiums were selling out or being filled above capacity, the incentive to build bigger ones would be there. Media would line up to stream or broadcast their games and advertisers would line up to get ads and endorsements.
Lastly, using what works in Europe as a gauge for what will work here does not fly. The US is not Europe, especially when it comes to sports. Could pro women's sports leagues succeed? Possibly. But I was born and raised in Missouri, so "show me".
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Nah, appreciate the discussion. I get where you're coming from and you make lots of good points. Not knocking you at all for seeing it as a risk. It is.
I just dont think it's fair to suggest that the league should thrive without investment and that investors aren't investing because they don't see potential. You have to have stadiums in good markets with good promos and experiences, and then you need expansion to build scale for better TV and sponsorship deals. It's an unusual situation where the balls out urgency to build MLS made that very challenging. So over the next year's we'll see where it goes now that they're serious about trying. That's a better benchmark than the past. Initial results are promising. International popularity is growing exponentially which means more money, sponsorships and prizes. Newer markets are pulling 15-20k per game which is way more than the highest wnba market (and they've been actually trying). Kc current is building their own stadium. And probably the biggest litmus test, two expansion teams are paying a $50m expansion fee which is really substantial. It's just so different from the wnba which was given time and investment and flat out failed. Or us softball which was never even popular on the national stage. There's teeth to this one.
I also think the situation is way more favorable for the US. There's no reason why we couldn't be a premier women's soccer market. Unlike men's, there's little competition for the best athletes. It is THE sport right now for girls. And there's no competition with other women's leagues which have proven to be totally unviable. And I don't think there's as much competition for men's sports as we think as their market is very different.