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Henry Kendall

Henry Kendall

All-American
Dec 3, 2003
8,736
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Watching Philadelphia vs New Orleans. NO coached by Larry Fedora, Zach Smith on the roster. Zach has not played, the starter looks terrible so far.

Overall pretty bad football, but teams have only had 3 weeks to practice. Apparently all games are played in Birmingham, AL…which is good for the tens of people in attendance.
 
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HuffyCane

Heisman
Dec 25, 2004
28,488
14,605
0
Okietch51 said:
I like it. Guys giving great effort!
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It’s a weird deal. They are only paying players $45,000 a year. Pretty good money for 4 months work for a kid just out of college playing QB3.

Terrible money if you are a starting QB or risking a life of crippling injuries on the line.

So they aren’t attracting the best players who didn’t get picked up by the NFL. They are attracting the most desperate. There’s dudes on some teams who haven’t played college ball in 6 years and never camped as a pro.

There’s no way this survives as a business model.
 
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HuffyCane

Heisman
Dec 25, 2004
28,488
14,605
0
I will say that things can turn around quickly if they get a special player or moment.

MLS was essentially bankrupt. They were deep in debt and teams were folding.

They lost their national TV deal and essentially paid ESPN for unwanted air time to show both their games and a highlight show. They borrowed money to do it and so for two years, you watched a sports broadcast on ESPN and it had commercials.

What it really was was essentially an infomercial. ESPN made no revenue from those commercials. They got their money up front from MLS and MLS gave away the commercial time to existing team sponsors stinging from their losses to make it look like a legit sports broadcast. Two hours of time paid for by MLS rather than ESPN paying MLS and then selling commercials.

Then boom. Europe wants Freddie Adu but the rules won’t let him play for at least two years. MLS exploits that and millions come pouring in. The league is saved.

A couple years later and they offer David Beckham an ownership option worth between nothing and $35 million depending on how you look at it at the time, to play two seasons while nobody else wants him. Hundreds of millions come pouring in. The option was worth $150 million when he exercised it.

Now the league is worth over $1 billion all because Posh wanted a reality TV show based in LA for a UK audience.

So I wouldn’t discount the USFL. Especially since the NFL doesn’t have the social power it once had. One player or moment can build to something big. People once said baseball would always be the biggest sport in America. Not even close today. The same could very well end up true for the NFL.

It wouldn’t be bizarre if they signed Colin and Baker would it?

Tell me you wouldn’t watch if that happened? Tell me you wouldn’t look forward to them playing against each other? It wouldn’t be super bowl numbers but they would get nfl regular season numbers.
 
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D

DuderMcduderson

Junior
May 1, 2007
1,119
398
83
HuffyCane said:
I will say that things can turn around quickly if they get a special player or moment.

MLS was essentially bankrupt. They were deep in debt and teams were folding.

They lost their national TV deal and essentially paid ESPN for unwanted air time to show both their games and a highlight show. They borrowed money to do it and so for two years, you watched a sports broadcast on ESPN and it had commercials.

What it really was was essentially an infomercial. ESPN made no revenue from those commercials. They got their money up front from MLS and MLS gave away the commercial time to existing team sponsors stinging from their losses to make it look like a legit sports broadcast. Two hours of time paid for by MLS rather than ESPN paying MLS and then selling commercials.

Then boom. Europe wants Freddie Adu but the rules won’t let him play for at least two years. MLS exploits that and millions come pouring in. The league is saved.

A couple years later and they offer David Beckham an ownership option worth between nothing and $35 million depending on how you look at it at the time, to play two seasons while nobody else wants him. Hundreds of millions come pouring in. The option was worth $150 million when he exercised it.

Now the league is worth over $1 billion all because Posh wanted a reality TV show based in LA for a UK audience.

So I wouldn’t discount the USFL. Especially since the NFL doesn’t have the social power it once had. One player or moment can build to something big. People once said baseball would always be the biggest sport in America. Not even close today. The same could very well end up true for the NFL.

It wouldn’t be bizarre if they signed Colin and Baker would it?

Tell me you wouldn’t watch if that happened? Tell me you wouldn’t look forward to them playing against each other? It wouldn’t be super bowl numbers but they would get nfl regular season numbers.
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It was just a matter of time before they got rid of the idiocy of suburban games and dumbass 1 on 1 end of game determinations. I have never understood why the Americans can't understand why there is nothing wrong with a draw in regular-season play. It is ridiculous.
 
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TU_BLA

TU_BLA

Heisman
Mar 8, 2012
29,576
13,860
113
TulsaRulzOSUdrools said:
It was just a matter of time before they got rid of the idiocy of suburban games and dumbass 1 on 1 end of game determinations. I have never understood why the Americans can't understand why there is nothing wrong with a draw in regular-season play. It is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Changing all the team names to sound more like legit football clubs helps with the international audience as well. I mean the Kansas City Wizards was a joke. Sporting KC, while lacking the initial brand recognition when they changed, now is a legit club with a top notch stadium, and the best uniforms in MLS. You still have some of the nicknames like Sounders and Timbers but those fan bases are among the best in the world.

The one thing holding professional soccer back in the US is the lack of pro/rel...which because of the exorbitant expansion fees paid by MLS clubs, is something that won't happen for 10+ years if it ever does. The last week of any Euro league is as compelling for the teams trying to avoid relegation as it is for the teams competing to win the title. The excitement of those fans if their team avoids relegation, the fervor from the fans of the teams in the 2nd division who have that chance at promotion on that last day of play. EVERY GAME IN THE LEAGUE BEING PLAYED AT THE SAME EXACT TIME!!!! Maybe the only thing that comes close in the US is the Thursday/Friday opening the NCAA basketball tournament.

Can you imagine a final week of the USL Championship season and FC Tulsa has a chance at promotion to MLS but has to beat Louisville City to get that spot?
 
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HuffyCane

Heisman
Dec 25, 2004
28,488
14,605
0
TU_BLA said:
Changing all the team names to sound more like legit football clubs helps with the international audience as well. I mean the Kansas City Wizards was a joke. Sporting KC, while lacking the initial brand recognition when they changed, now is a legit club with a top notch stadium, and the best uniforms in MLS. You still have some of the nicknames like Sounders and Timbers but those fan bases are among the best in the world.

The one thing holding professional soccer back in the US is the lack of pro/rel...which because of the exorbitant expansion fees paid by MLS clubs, is something that won't happen for 10+ years if it ever does. The last week of any Euro league is as compelling for the teams trying to avoid relegation as it is for the teams competing to win the title. The excitement of those fans if their team avoids relegation, the fervor from the fans of the teams in the 2nd division who have that chance at promotion on that last day of play. EVERY GAME IN THE LEAGUE BEING PLAYED AT THE SAME EXACT TIME!!!! Maybe the only thing that comes close in the US is the Thursday/Friday opening the NCAA basketball tournament.

Can you imagine a final week of the USL Championship season and FC Tulsa has a chance at promotion to MLS but has to beat Louisville City to get that spot?
Click to expand...
The rest of the world is desperately trying to figure out how to get rid of pro/rel. With some small changes to the US tax code, and some major venues dumping field turf, all of world football would move to the US in a heart beat. In a heart beat.
 
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drboobay

All-American
Dec 4, 2003
14,594
9,433
113
HuffyCane said:
The rest of the world is desperately trying to figure out how to get rid of pro/rel. With some small changes to the US tax code, and some major venues dumping field turf, all of world football would move to the US in a heart beat. In a heart beat.
Click to expand...
Unfortunate. I think it is the best way.
 
D

DuderMcduderson

Junior
May 1, 2007
1,119
398
83
TU_BLA said:
Changing all the team names to sound more like legit football clubs helps with the international audience as well. I mean the Kansas City Wizards was a joke. Sporting KC, while lacking the initial brand recognition when they changed, now is a legit club with a top notch stadium, and the best uniforms in MLS. You still have some of the nicknames like Sounders and Timbers but those fan bases are among the best in the world.

The one thing holding professional soccer back in the US is the lack of pro/rel...which because of the exorbitant expansion fees paid by MLS clubs, is something that won't happen for 10+ years if it ever does. The last week of any Euro league is as compelling for the teams trying to avoid relegation as it is for the teams competing to win the title. The excitement of those fans if their team avoids relegation, the fervor from the fans of the teams in the 2nd division who have that chance at promotion on that last day of play. EVERY GAME IN THE LEAGUE BEING PLAYED AT THE SAME EXACT TIME!!!! Maybe the only thing that comes close in the US is the Thursday/Friday opening the NCAA basketball tournament.

Can you imagine a final week of the USL Championship season and FC Tulsa has a chance at promotion to MLS but has to beat Louisville City to get that spot?
Click to expand...
Lots of international teams don't have FC in their name.

Promotion and relegation would have changed everything about that sport. I would have been amazing but the MLS just wouldn't be interested especially given what the buy-ins are now and what they are spending on the stadiums. You can buy some premier league teams for less and that is solely for the risk of moving down.
 
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drboobay

All-American
Dec 4, 2003
14,594
9,433
113
TulsaRulzOSUdrools said:
Lots of international teams don't have FC in their name.

Promotion and relegation would have changed everything about that sport. I would have been amazing but the MLS just wouldn't be interested especially given what the buy-ins are now and what they are spending on the stadiums. You can buy some premier league teams for less and that is solely for the risk of moving down.
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Unfortunate imo.

I don't follow MLS because I am all about Tulsa. Getting to play your way into MLS would immediately make me interested.
 
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Henry Kendall

Henry Kendall

All-American
Dec 3, 2003
8,736
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Has anyone else been watching the USFL? The play has gotten better.

The NO Breakers benched their starting QB in the first half yesterday, Zach Smith came in and did what he does. Moved the team down the field for a score. Unfortunately injured his wrist so his day was done, but he looked like old Zach.

I‘m enjoying watching football in the summer, as I don’t watch baseball and I’m boycotting NBA.
 
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TU Sepp

All-Conference
Feb 8, 2004
22,043
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Maybe they should just turn into the minor league for the NFL and take guys that quit college and guys just out of high school that don't want to go to college.
 
TU 1978

TU 1978

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Jan 30, 2009
13,618
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TU Sepp said:
Maybe they should just turn into the minor league for the NFL and take guys that quit college and guys just out of high school that don't want to go to college.
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So a NFL developmental league to compete with the NCAA teams? Sounds legit.
 
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