Prediction on MLS as a world league!

[Bricktop]

What points to larger TV viewership of MLS in the future?

[Karl]

The numbers playing grassroots football keeps growing at a tremendous rate. "Catch them young...and you catch them for life!"

[Paul Marin]

Tom Brady can run? Not because James is good in Basketball mean he will make it in soccer.

US have a huge population and if they get the hispanic alone really interested in soccer(I say hispanic as they don't play football or baseball and have interest in soccer) that would start it.

You won't get inner city black kids, Do you know that at least 40-50% of kids who go on to play pro sports in America is actually from the suburbs, rather than the inner cities?

Tom Brady with his size would be a rhatid goalie or center half...and of course, no one is saying lebron would be good in soccer just because he's good in basketball, but RATHER, that soccer has to be an option for the BEST athletes America has. And do you realise that if 40-50% of pro athletes in America come from the suburbs, that's the same as saying 60%-50% of pro athletes come from inner cities? There is zero chance 60-50% of US professional soccer players are coming from the inner cities. As it is here, it is everywhere - popular team sports tend to be working class games...which includes the vast majority of hispanics...but me wi tek a mi chances with developing a little Lebron over a little Cuahautemoc Blanco into a world class balla.

[Assasin]

"60%-50%" Not true based on what I read. You have a good amount come from the rural areas. I will find the stats I saw.

[Bricktop]

The US has always had a large amount of kids playing football...not sure how that relates to increased TV viewership...

[Mosiah]

Is this a prediction like how the USA should have won the World Cup by 2010 or something like that?

[Mosiah]

I think Paul was using your stats, Sass!

[Mosiah]

Jamaica may move towards a similar system like the USA! The NPL as is is certainly not working!

[Stonigut]

Did you say that?

This is almost a slam dunk, the economics are in its favor, a regular family can hardly afford to go to an Nfl game, by regular I mean 95 percent of the people. The product is continuously improving, the attendance is now top 10 worldwide, they have twenty teams in the league and the newest ones are drawing big crowds, the minority population is about 30 percent and growing and dominated now by Hispanics and Asians, this is a different USA than twenty years ago and the sports culture is changing pretty rapidly, the last and most important fact is that the us is the richest country in the USA which also has companies hawking their products and trying to find those markets, I can see some n Madison Avenue now dissecting the potential of the 66k at the Seattle match the other day, they will see this as the core of a new demographic that marketing spend will be chasing. The "upper middle footsie fanatics" who have a lot of disposable income spend and marketers want to unlock that moving forward to the benefit of the soon to be football league giant , MLS, how can they mess that up?

[Paul Marin]

Jamaica may move towards a similar system like the USA! The NPL as is is certainly not working!

Relegation is a hell of an assualt on the wallet. It worked when clubs were community based and when tv funds were spread evenly across all clubs. Now, the business has changed. Remember the big clubs talking about their G13 break away league? Not sure what happened to that.

[Reggaedoc]

I was watching an MLS game recently and came to the same conclusion. I think most of these MLS teams could easily step up and compete in the EPL. Quite frankly, the MLS is a much more honest league, as in my opinion, the EPL is predictable and more like professional wrestling. Its mostly fixed, and I don't even watch it anymore.

[Paul Marin]

I was watching an MLS game recently and came to the same conclusion. I think most of these MLS teams could easily step up and compete in the EPL. Quite frankly, the MLS is a much more honest league, as in my opinion, the EPL is predictable and more like professional wrestling. Its mostly fixed, and I don't even watch it anymore.

What do you mean that the EPL is 'mostly fixed'? Are you suggesting match fixing or something else?

[Karl]

...the structure of the Jamiaca NPL is great as per matches (competition). It is its management of the NPL that is poor.

That may not not be surprising as the leaders are...at least in one case same who lead the country down the path of underachievement. The leadership, I believe is lacking in creativity and strong on being stubborn in ignoring best practises on marketing and product development = 'creation of the on-the-field' product'.

My thing is one should be 'inquisitive' and thus open to learning new 'things' and be able to shift through what is 'out there' and seize best methods to drive development. ...hey we never stop learning, last being the experience of 'the dying process'...skip the fear and when we must embrace the experience!!!

[Karl]

The US has always had a large amount of kids playing football...not sure how that relates to increased TV viewership...

...and you think TV viewership is not among other things related to market size (read that "market size" in any which way you must - e.g. numbers interested in the game, TV viewership market size, number of homes with TV access, number of market segment with families with someone with history of love of the game, amount of time available to watch the game, number of schools where exposure to game is x% time - casual introduction, formal introduction, competitive structure, etc., etc. - whatever...)?

...also you have no idea on whether or not that "large amount of kids playing football" is a growing number...fast growing number?

So you are not sure...?
I do not believe you really meant that!!!

[Mosiah]

All I am saying is we...they were way short on the other prediction.

I am sure they considered everything when they made that prediction, but it has not come true and will not in the foreseeable future.

And let's be clear about what makes a world-class league. Are we talking about the quality of the football, gate receipts, tv viewership, sponsorship, or what, exactly? Because, mind yuh nuh inadvertently put the V-League right up there!

For most of us, the quality of the football is the most important!