OT: Atlanta United

[EngDawg]

Opens play Sunday at a sold out Bobby-Dodd stadium. What kind of on and off field success do y'all expect from MLS in Atlanta?

 

[biscuit.sixpack]

I hope they do well. I've been looking for an MLS team to pull for so I'm going all in. ATL!!!!!

 

[Starkopolis]

Have no idea, but have been following them on twitter etc even though I gravitate towards TX teams. Would like to see the new stadium at some point.

 

[dickiedawg]

I feel similarly. I haven't been able to get into MLS at all (despite really enjoying soccer in general) but I've been following ATL on Twitter and am decently excited about it.

I think one of the things I love most about EPL though is waking up early on Saturday and having it to watch. That obviously won't happen with MLS.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

The nice thing with MLS is it's mostly played in the spring and summer when there's not a lot (football wise) going on.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

St Louis is trying to get a team as well.

 

[L4Dawg]

Opens play Sunday at a sold out Bobby-Dodd stadium. What kind of on and off field success do y'all expect from MLS in Atlanta?

On the field I expect they will struggle this year, expansion teams almost always do. Off the field I think they will draw well this year because they are new. After that they will draw just like every other Atlanta team (and most other teams in every city). They will have big crowds when they win and small ones when they don't.

 

[mcdawg22]

Shouldn't they be Atlanta Delta?

 

[dawgoneyall]

Opens play Sunday at a sold out Bobby-Dodd stadium. What kind of on and off field success do y'all expect from MLS in Atlanta?

I thought this was a sports board?

 

[The Maroon Pug]

So far ATL is playing pretty good. Lots of intensity and a couple of good saves.

 

[patdog]

Played pretty well for most of the game but fell apart in the last 15 minutes. Impressive crowd though. Hope they're building a soccer stadium. Bobby Dodd is far too narrow.

 

[EngDawg]

Played pretty well for most of the game but fell apart in the last 15 minutes. Impressive crowd though. Hope they're building a soccer stadium. Bobby Dodd is far too narrow.

Played well, but choked in the end (sound familiar for Atlanta teams?).

They are going to play in the falcons new stadium once it is completed later this year.

I think they will be supported well if they win consistently, but Alanta is famous for not supporting mediocre teams

 

[The Maroon Pug]

Honestly, I found myself rooting for them towards the end. I think ATL United will help increase the popularity in the south.

I still dont understand why the MLS wont buy out some of the lower tier leagues (NPSL, NASL, etc) and allow regelation/promotion for smaller markets with teams (Birmingham, Memphis, Chattanooga, New Orleans, etc etc) that could potentially have really good pro teams.

 

[dickiedawg]

I still dont understand why the MLS wont buy out some of the lower tier leagues (NPSL, NASL, etc) and allow regelation/promotion for smaller markets with teams (Birmingham, Memphis, Chattanooga, New Orleans, etc etc) that could potentially have really good pro teams.

The current MLS owners surely won't vote to implement a system that could make their team a lot less valuable. Though it would make the late season a heck of a lot more interesting if more than seeding were on the line.

 

[The Maroon Pug]

If the MLS truely wanted to grow the sport they would have already implemented pro/reg. They are scared their clubs are not good enough to stay at the top portion of the league.

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

^^^ This. They won't risk $$$ to make the league better.

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

It's great for us and MLS viewer ratings, but puts us in weird spot with the rest of the soccer world.

 

[The Maroon Pug]

MLS Confidential: Players polled on pro / rel, Beckham Miami team, salaries, Donovan return, Giovinco snub, more http://www.espnfc.com/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3073497/2017-mls-anonymous-player-survey
via @ESPN App http://es.pn/app

The players have some interesting opinions about pro/reg.

 

[patdog]

Interesting. Promotion/relegation will never happen in MLS. The owners invested millions of dollars to buy into the league. They're not going to agree to just be relegated out of it with no compensation. And with the parity in MLS, I'm not even sure it's truly comparable to any other league in the world. The difference between the best and worst MLS team was only 29 points last year. That's less than the difference between 1st and 9th in the Premier League right now and they've still got 1/4 of the season remaining. MLS's biggest problem is the salary structure, which the players almost universally hate. Spending millions on aging stars who are past their prime isn't helping the league develop at all.

 

[aTotal360]

[TWEET]835517680954269697[/TWEET]

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

The high % of players in support of Arena is interesting and an good sign.