What MLS Can Learn From the 70s and NASL w/ FOX Soccer's Jamie Trecker

[Stollyify]

To say the NASL was close to competing with the NFL is a bit revisionist. Maybe in the case of the Cosmos or the Cascadia clubs, the rest of the NASL was complete crap that no one cared about.

[Stollyify]

The NASL was nowhere near being as good as MLS.

[46frantz]

We need some big names international players because the teams in MLS are still young and growing. We need those internationals to help filling the seats. So at the same time I think we need to go out there scout or steal some young kids from africa, europe, and south america and bring them to come and play here while they still young and convince them to play for the states. That's our only chance right now. unless we want to wait 10 years for our kids playing in the park to develop.

[46frantz]

we need to scout or steal some young kids from africa, europe, and south america and bring them here to come and play here while they steal young.

[46frantz]

we need to scout or steal some young kids from africa, europe, and south america and bring them here to come and play here.

[ChampCarforlife]

I have to somewhat disagree that the NASL was close to competing with the NFL. They did at one point competed with NBA and the NHL but what killed the league is they didn't have the desegnated player and salary cap and they didn't have a Soccer-specific stadium in which the attendance back then were terrible.

[polskaalp]

The claim that the NASL came close to competing with the NFL is a gross exaggeration. Perhaps there were franchises (the Cosmos, notably) whose attendance figures rivaled the NFL's, but overall, the league's attendance figures were much lower than MLS's

I think most American "soccer scholars" (see: Gary Hopkins, Beau Dure) would argue that the MLS business model is sustainable and has been, overall, a great success.

btw...Did someone from USSF or MLS piss in Trecker's coffee? :P Seems so.

[dwreck1971]

@polskaalp

I think Jamie was referring to the top one or two seasons of the NASL history--not its whole history. I believe he even mentioned 1979....

But generally, you're right, many of the teams really struggled to bring in the fans...

[gt6303c]

I think this guy is wrong about MLS trying to hold on to American players. Most soccer fans in the US are US national team fans first, and pay mild attention to MLS. MLS has in interest in keeping American stars, if all the stars of the league are foreign players, trying to market the team to an American audience will suffer. If you don't believe me, look at the way ESPN sportscenter anchors condescendingly do MLS highlights with foreign players.