[thetrinity]

why on earth are they competing with the nfl the next 2 sundays for their semifinal round then a 2 week break b4 they play on the same day as championship saturday as ncaa football.

[face]

totally agree, hate mls, ball bouncing all over the place, no one can keep the ball; australian league soccer is awesome to watch, way more speed, aggression, power totally different sport you should check it out late night.

[ColdBeerHere]

wow didn't even catch that till I scrolled upon this thread...Last thing on my mind for betting this sunday was mls......

NFL, NBA, and maybe some EPL

[thetrinity]

i duno why they are tryin to compete with football. put it on midweek and compete with meaningless hoops games

[Nova99]

why do you mean? MLS is not competing for viewers against the nfl, the tv ratings are so low for mls that it really doesnt matter what night it is on. There is a hardcore set of fans who will watch it no matter what, but most soccer fans will not watch the mls playoffs just because it is on, that level of attraction and interest is just not there yet.

If you look at the viewer count, the sunday games actually attracted a higher total than the other nights... http://www.tvmediainsights.com/2012/...tings-in-2012/

[RubberKettle]

I still watched it, much better than watching Vick and Romo or the turnover fest that was last nights game.

[easyliving]

if your watching MLS soccer instead of European Leagues you got issues. MLS is absolutely crap. The only true MLS fans are up west. Saw a portland timber pregame a few weeks back those fans are pretty into it.

[Dark Horse]

The level is not that bad anymore. Galaxy could probably compete (not contend) in all but the top European leagues. Jose Altidore, who I always thought of as pretty clumsy, was actually among the top scorers last season in the Dutch national league, playing for AZ (you know, Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord).

[Nova99]

This is a good article at why some Americans would rather watch MLS. Some teams do have a bond with the local community and players. Overall the MLS players are all very approachable and humble, and if the right matchday atmosphere exist it provides an unique live experience for the fans that they simply cannot get from a television game or some of the major sports in the us.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...6e2_story.html

[JumpoffJoeBeezy]

... MLS isn't as bad as a lot of people think. The top teams in MLS could probably compete in at LEAST the Scottish Premier League.

[thetrinity]

i agree that the quality has went up over the past few years.

its still the minor leagues, and if you want a casual fan to watch it they will be more likely to watch it when its not going up against football.

like one of the other posters said, the die hards would watch it regardless, so why not put it on midweek for the playoff games and hope to attract some casual viewers? people in america love tournament/playoff style of anything. i cant believe that they wouldnt get higher ratings midweek now that its not summer and more people are likely to stay inside and watch tv.

[thetrinity]

This is a good article at why some Americans would rather watch MLS. Some teams do have a bond with the local community and players. Overall the MLS players are all very approachable and humble, and if the right matchday atmosphere exist it provides an unique live experience for the fans that they simply cannot get from a television game or some of the major sports in the us.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...6e2_story.html

this article proves my point even more. i cant tell you how many i know like jimi butler who have at my urging began following soccer and enjoyed it after they started to watch and understand it more. no casual sports fan is going to say "should i watch the ravens and steelers or the galaxy and the sounders", so why give them the choice? if the games on a wednesday night and its going up against duke vs god knows who coast in the 2nd game of the season, you at least have a chance to get them to watch.

[bruceBRUCEbruce]

why do you mean? MLS is not competing for viewers against the nfl, the tv ratings are so low for mls that it really doesnt matter what night it is on.

of course they are, don't be silly...if the MLS playoff were held in the middle of the summer, and not during the sports-saturated late fall, their ratings would undoubtedly be better.

[RubberKettle]

if your watching MLS soccer instead of European Leagues you got issues. MLS is absolutely crap. The only true MLS fans are up west. Saw a portland timber pregame a few weeks back those fans are pretty into it.

MLS never really overlaps time-wise with Euro CL so you can watch both.

[Nova99]

of course they are, don't be silly...if the MLS playoff were held in the middle of the summer, and not during the sports-saturated late fall, their ratings would undoubtedly be better.

I cant say I agree with this because mls had national broadcast all summer and they were no better than the fall or the spring, often the games involved teams with DPs and local rivalries. Plus 8 out of 14 playoff games were not played on Sundays but their ratings sucked, 2 of the top 3 games ratings wise (all involved the galaxy) were on Sunday... its just an assumption these casual sports fans would watch mls when they are bored, there is no proof this viewer base actually exist.

I believe MLS knows that unlike the major sports where you can attract the casual fans during the playoffs the same model doesnt work here because the players involved are just not a big draw to the casual soccer fan unless its ny vs la (beckham, henry, donovan). In baseball, football, basketball and hockey you usually have teams and players that are more or less the best in the world. mls cannot sell its playoffs the same way, their strategy is to build interest in various cities and hope a subset of fans will help boost the ratings even in games their team is not involved in.

[Optional]

totally agree, hate mls, ball bouncing all over the place, no one can keep the ball; australian league soccer is awesome to watch, way more speed, aggression, power totally different sport you should check it out late night.

Never thought I'd see the day anyone thought that.

[thetrinity]

i still say you should in theory be able to get decent ratings for david beckhams last game in america with a championship on the line no less, but you stick it against a virtual semifinal in ncaa football?

its no surprise summer ratings suck for mls, tv watching is not big in the summer months for anything.

no one will watch this game except for dynamo fans and galaxy fans, casuals probably forgot its on with the long layoff.

[DHB]

totally agree, hate mls, ball bouncing all over the place, no one can keep the ball; australian league soccer is awesome to watch, way more speed, aggression, power totally different sport you should check it out late night.

really?
im aussie and think the a-league is pathetic.
u should watch the EPL or la liga if u think aussie soccer is good.

[jules11]

Final's are tomorrow!
Many goals in this one. Going with Houston!

[face]

really?
im aussie and think the a-league is pathetic.
u should watch the EPL or la liga if u think aussie soccer is good.

i like A league. to each their own. sure i watch EPL too.

i think A league players are risky and take crazy chances and make goals out of nothing. i don't mind the chaos. the thing i cant' stand about some teams is the time wasting, and the leagues with tons of back passes back to the goal keeper all the time. to each his own.

[hurricane1091]

I am an American. I am watching AMERICAN soccer, not some European stuff. The quality is up for sure and our national team is very competitive. I like football and hockey (hockey the most), but I like me some soccer too. Go to an MLS game that is sold out with 25k+ and tell me you didn't have a hell of a time.

[hugh613]

of course they are, don't be silly...if the MLS playoff were held in the middle of the summer, and not during the sports-saturated late fall, their ratings would undoubtedly be better.

That would mean playing regular season games in places like Chicago and Toronto in the middle of February. Don't think that would work out too well...

[Inkwell77]

I agree the league is definitely incompetent
It took 10 years to get Portland in the league lol

The fact remains that these fanbases are amazing and the league will continue to grow based on the passion of the fans.

[gangeriver]

MLS is not soccer. in europe spectators watch the game, in USA players watch too

[LordVodka]

Wow this board is dead. No posts in a month.

[Vaughany]

Wow this board is dead. No posts in a month.

what?!

[Sweettooth]

DYNAMOS ALL DAY HTOWN REPPPP lol