"...Yet in less than a decade professional football in the United States had collapsed, driven by its own internal 'soccer wars.' A long simmering disagreement between the USFA and ASL broke into open warfare..Two poor leagues could not match the interest created by one good one..."
From The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football, by David Goldblatt
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
George Santayana
I'm not sure I have much more to add to the news today that the Team Owners Association has filed an application with the USSF and CSA to be a recognized league in both Canada (Div 1) and the US (Div 2).
It seems like one other power play to get the USL to capitulate to the wants of the TOA. Surely they can't think that the sport is strong enough to withstand a prolonged battle between two leagues -- two leagues that are already fighting for attention in a crowded sporting landscape and against MLS (which is also fighting that battle against said sports landscape and European football).
Surely that cannot be so blinded by their own frustrations that they have failed to learn from the past.
Surely.
The TOA has a lot of good points to make – they argue that the “third party ownership” structure that they work under in the USL prevents them from growing. They want more control over their cubs – fair enough. But, blowing everything up again can’t be the answer, can it?
6 comments:
If the system is sick, the only way out IS to blow it up. Reform doesn't work.
I dont understand why the TOA gets a bad rap, the Team Owners want to make the league they play in better, if the owners dont have particpiation in the marketing, pr, tv contracts, etc. Why Invest millions of dollars? I think what they are doing is right, would you do the same as a team owner?
Because I know you and Ben enjoy Squizz's Biblical references - here's one for you:
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
This move makes no sense - both leagues will not survive...
It's hilarious that Duane has historically denigrated the USL but now can't understand why blowing it might be a good thing.
It's also hilarious that you've never actually taken the time to listen to what I'm actually saying.
Why is Vancouver joining a single-entity league, the MLS, in 2011, if they object to lack of owner control of teams? The "State Capitalism" model of the MLS is far more totalitarian.
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