The death of my team, the Metrostars

**Macy** · 10/03/2006, 9:58 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Don't think they had a choice at the start Macy. They needed ANYBODY to start up the teams. i'm sure they'd love to have one owner one team (as is the case in all the other major sports there)

Yeah, I know, just doesn't give much options for complaint. I mean, the authorities can just say it's increasing competition in the league.

**lopez** · 10/03/2006, 10:10 AM

It's started here in Britain already with rugby union (NEC Harlequins) and even FC Barcelona's basketball team is called Winterthur FCB. Won't be long before it is mainstream in football. Emirates Stadium?

BTW, have you seen the Budweiser ads that's been on British TV, Metrostars? Takes the p*ss out of the Americans and soccer - 'Machester United? Manchester City? Why not just Team Manchester?; And we'll have to change those team names. How about the Portsmouth Pirates? (Cue cartoon pirate saying 'Aaaaaargghh!!!') And there's too many teams in London. Let's move Arsenal to the Lake District!' It concludes 'OK! You do the football, we do the beer!' Yeah, if only!

**Schumi** · 10/03/2006, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by lopez

BTW, have you seen the Budweiser ads that's been on British TV, Metrostars? Takes the p*ss out of the Americans and soccer - 'Machester United? Manchester City? Why not just Team Manchester?; And we'll have to change those team names. How about the Portsmouth Pirates? (Cue cartoon pirate saying 'Aaaaaargghh!!!') And there's too many teams in London. Let's move Arsenal to the Lake District!' It concludes 'OK! You do the football, we do the beer!' Yeah, if only!

Replace 'Americans' with 'FAI'...

**lopez** · 10/03/2006, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by Schumi

Replace 'Americans' with 'FAI'...

No way!

The expression 'couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery' was specifically written for them.

'Cork Hibs? Cork Celtic? Why not have no football team in the state's second largest city? And we'll have to change our badge, for the fifth time in twenty years, and call us the FAI-reland (aaaaaaaargghhhh!!!!

). Too many teams in Dublin! Let's bring over Wimbledon?...or f*cking Clydebank?' OK! You do the football, and we'll just get p*ssed!'

**Metrostars** · 10/03/2006, 1:19 PM

Also dont forget Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven. So it's not exactly new ground. I'm sure over time it will be fine. When I was a kid, a team I supported also changed their name. Galway Rovers -> Galway United.

As for Brits making fun of US team names, well what does it matter? They are just team names. People like "Colorado Rapids" in the US and people like "Tottenham Hotspur" in England.

In any case I think having another invester in MLS can only help the league as a whole. MLS has done wonders for the sport in the US and this has translated into success with the international side. Only a few of the older international players did not at one point play in MLS e.g. Reyna, Keller.

**NY Hoop** · 10/03/2006, 1:42 PM

Thats a crying shame. Been to see the Metrostars a few times and always enjoyed meeting their knowledgeable fans. Whether they were a great success or not is irrelevant.

The name change is horrible. Why not leave the name and have the jersies sponsored by Red Bull?

Love going to the Meadowlands but it will be just for the Jets in future.

KOH

**Student Mullet** · 10/03/2006, 2:32 PM

Originally Posted by klein4

its good to have a different point of view on the forum.

Except for if it comes from a UCD fan in which case it's patronisingly ironic.

I don't think it's fair to criticise MLS for being a franchise league, that's the way most leagues are set up in their country. One question I would have though is what, apart from the title, to the teams compete for in the league? If there's no relegation and no european places like we have here, do mid and bottom of the table games get very boring?

**Dodge** · 10/03/2006, 2:35 PM

Well its based on the tried and tested Conference style that US sports use so there's not too much difference between first in the group/conference and last...

**Student Mullet** · 10/03/2006, 2:54 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Well its based on the tried and tested Conference style that US sports use so there's not too much difference between first in the group/conference and last...

Could you explain that to me a bit more? It's divided regionally isn't it? I presume the winners of each region go on to some type of national playoff? What happens everyone else, is there a benefit to finishing second in a region?

**Metrostars** · 10/03/2006, 2:55 PM

There isnt that much of a difference between the top and bottom teams in MLS. Therefore every team has a decent shot at winning. Better parity compared to say the Premiership in England.

NY Hoop, the Red Bull wont be in Giants Stadium for long, a new stadium will be built in Harrison in the next year or two.

**Student Mullet** · 10/03/2006, 3:05 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

There isnt that much of a difference between the top and bottom teams in MLS. Therefore every team has a decent shot at winning. Better parity compared to say the Premiership in England.

I can understand that and it seems an improvement on what we have here but my question is that if a team looses it's opening few games and it becomes obvious that they're not going to win the title, have they anything left to play for? Here you have to keep playing well to try to avoid relegation or if you're a bit higher up in the league, to try to qualify for europe, i.e. does the team finishing second get any advantage or prize over the team finishing last?

I ask because that's one of the problems with the first division here. It's all or nothing at the top and boring everywhere else.

**ken foree** · 10/03/2006, 3:15 PM

i *think* (could be totally wrong) that geography/size of the u.s. determines the leagues setups. you generally have an eastern (sometimes central) and western conference in the major sports. you play teams in your own neck of the woods (league) much more frequently but also play outsider teams occasionally. i think it's to do with the sheer size of the place/travel reduction. olden days travel was much harder of course, so this likely predicated this situation. baseball teams for example go on road trips where they tour a certain region of the country playing a slew of teams on that trek (rather than playing one at a time and having to criss-cross the country more often for a series of games)

**ken foree** · 10/03/2006, 3:19 PM

Originally Posted by Student Mullet

I can understand that and it seems an improvement on what we have here but my question is that if a team looses it's opening few games and it becomes obvious that they're not going to win the title, have they anything left to play for? Here you have to keep playing well to try to avoid relegation or if you're a bit higher up in the league, to try to qualify for europe, i.e. does the team finishing second get any advantage or prize over the team finishing last?

I ask because that's one of the problems with the first division here. It's all or nothing at the top and boring everywhere else.

MLS top two (i.e. the finalists of the championship game) qualify for the concacaf champion's cup (like the old pure knockout european cup) - that's about it for now i think

**Metrostars** · 10/03/2006, 6:08 PM

MLS is currently made up of 12 teams, 6 in each of two conferences, East and West. Each club play teams from their conference 4 times and teams from the other conference twice in the regular season. 2 more teams will probably be added next year (Cleveland and St Louis/Oklahoma I heard).

4 of the 6 teams in each conference make the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs are home and away and the conference finals are played at home of the highest seed in the finals. The MLS Cup final pits the two Conference Champions at a neutral site. So unless you're team really sucks, usually all teams are still fighting for a place in the playoffs until the last few of weeks of the season. Last year the West playoff teams were decided with a month to go but the East was decided on just the last day of the regular season.

Ken is correct about the Concacaf Champions Cup, but actually starting this year, it will be the MLS Cup winners and the team with the most points in the regular season who will qualify next year. Of course it is possible that the team who wins the MLS Cup also has the most points and I think in that case the second team will be the MLS Cup losers. The Concacaf Champions cup has only been won once by an MLS team(DC in 98 I think), MLS teams have fared poorly over the years including this year probably due to the competition being played in Feb-March when the MLS season hasnt started yet.

**hamish** · 10/03/2006, 6:30 PM

Sorry to hear about your club Metrostars. I tell ya, if Athlone Town changed their name to Athlone Budweisers or something like that, I'd find it very hard to continue supporting them.

**Metrostars** · 10/03/2006, 6:41 PM

Originally Posted by sirhamish

Sorry to hear about your club Metrostars. I tell ya, if Athlone Town changed their name to Athlone Budweisers or something like that, I'd find it very hard to continue supporting them.

Newton Heath didnt do too badly after they were bought by a brewery and had their colours and team name changed.

**hamish** · 10/03/2006, 6:52 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

Newton Heath didnt do too badly after they were bought by a brewery and had their colours and team name changed.

Good point but isn't/wasn't Newton Heath also a place? Wasn't slagging your club or anything but I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to adverts on shirts, grounds being named after a company and club name changes

- reminds me of what happened in Basketball here a few years ago when you didn't even know where a club came from.

**Metrostars** · 10/03/2006, 7:06 PM

But it's the way sports especially soccer has gone over the last 20-30 years. Club teams have big sponsorship deals with shirt suppliers e.g. Nike, Addidas, coporerate sponsers e.g. O2, Vodaphone, stadiums e.g. Emerites Stadium, billboards around grounds etc. There is a lot of money in the professional game nowadays. Thats just the way it is. Not much we can do about it. Ironically US sports teams in Baseball, AM Football, Hockey, Basketball and MLS do not permit sponsors name on shirts as in European soccer. I think however the New York Red Bulls will be the first major US sports team to do so.

**hamish** · 10/03/2006, 7:13 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

But it's the way sports especially soccer has gone over the last 20-30 years. Club teams have big sponsorship deals with shirt suppliers e.g. Nike, Addidas, coporerate sponsers e.g. O2, Vodaphone, stadiums e.g. Emerites Stadium, billboards around grounds etc. There is a lot of money in the professional game nowadays. Thats just the way it is. Not much we can do about it. Ironically US sports teams in Baseball, AM Football, Hockey, Basketball and MLS do not permit sponsors name on shirts as in European soccer. I think however the New York Red Bulls will be the first major US sports team to do so.

Yeah, I have noticed that about US sports. I guess we're stuck with advertising everywhere - I notice that some clubs have two or three adverts of various sizes on their shirts and shorts and so on. At least, you have New York in the new name.

**Closed Account 2** · 10/03/2006, 8:12 PM

It's sad, the MLS has come a long way, and I know a lot people from the US who know a fair amount about the game. But with the largest city on the East Coast (and probably the most important city in the country) struggling to sustain a team it doesnt look too good. Tho by all accounts its a bit bigger on the West Coast, with some teams having their own purpose built stadiums (don't Galaxy play in their own Depot Stadium ?).

I'll try and watch a match next time I'm over there... is there a good website will all the games (inc pre-season ones etc) for the MLS teams ?