USA vs. Scotland soccer

[dougskiles]

[fsquid]

I'd rather be in the national team rotation than have a MLS team.

[blizz01]

Agree.

[Ocklawaha]

The Tea Men didn't do bad their first year in town, drawing more then many other teams. The following year, the team suffered from a weak league and Tuesday games which pretty much killed the franchise. I did get to see Pele play when the New York Cosmo's came to town. Sorry that the team and then the league folded. It would appear that we have come a long, long, way since those days.

Attendance: ..............total.........average

Jacksonville Tea Men   152,111   9,507
California Surf        132,777   8,299
Toronto Blizzard        116,590   7,287
Atlanta Chiefs        99,022   6,189
Los Angeles Aztecs   93,031   5,814
Dallas Tornado        74,716   4,670

[Adam W]

I did get to see Pele play when the New York Cosmo's came to town.

Not likely (at least if the Cosmos were playing the Tea Men) -  Pele played for the Cosmos in the 70s.

I loved going to see the Tea Men, but there wasn't  much in the way of atmosphere. I think the MLS seems like a vast improvement over the old NASL.

If given the choice, I'd much rather have a (well-supported) MLS franchise over getting regular USMNT games. Sure, you'd get to see players you never would see otherwise, but international football isn't all that great. Club football is much more fun to watch. Plus, with the USA being in CONCACAF, almost all competitive matches you would get to attend would be against lame teams (with the exception of Mexico).

[blizz01]

The MLS seems to take a back seat because of the 2nd rate stigma globally.  They need to continue to shed that perception in both officiating & players alike as Americans expect to pay to see the best of the best.


Our more successful sports seem somewhat proprietary.While not always the most popular globally, the most successful leagues in the United States boast the best of the best regardless (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL).  We'll have a cup of coffee with cricket or rugby, but there's not much of a foothold there either.  Case in point with motorsports in comparing the NASCAR circuit vs. the international flair of open wheel racing/Formula 1.

[Adam W]

The MLS seems to take a back seat because of the 2nd rate stigma globally.  They need to continue to shed that perception in both officiating & players alike as Americans expect to pay to see the best of the best.


Our more successful sports seem somewhat proprietary.While not always the most popular globally, the most successful leagues in the United States boast the best of the best regardless (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL).  We'll have a cup of coffee with cricket or rugby, but there's not much of a foothold there either.  Case in point with motorsports in comparing the NASCAR circuit vs. the international flair of open wheel racing/Formula 1.

I have real issues with the MLS, not least of all is the fact that it is franchise-based and has no relegation. That said, I still like it. And the quality has been improving drastically. Sure, it may be the league where old European players go to die, but a few of the marquee names (Henry, Beckham... even Keane) are still in decent form.

That said, MLS soccer is not as much of a 'special' event as international soccer. Jax would probably do better hosting the occasional international match, where lots of people can make the trip in and it's more of a one-off than a regular commitment.

A lot of the reason why 40k+ tix were sold for the Scotland match was b/c of people travelling to Jax from all over to watch the  match. You probably wouldn't get as much of that for the MLS. I think a minor-league soccer team might be a good thing for the city, though.

On a separate note, I watched the match on ESPN and enjoyed it thoroughly. But the pipers sounded way out of tune when they played Flower of Scotland and the woman who sang the Star Spangled Banner was terrible! Did it sound that bad live?

[blizz01]

the woman who sang the Star Spangled Banner was terrible! Did it sound that bad live?

YES - possibly the worst ever.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/singer-victoria-zarlenga-butchers-national-anthem-us-victory-201809017.html

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/victoria-zarlenga-sings-worst-usa-national-anthem-ever-pre-51-rout-scotland/

[Adam W]

the woman who sang the Star Spangled Banner was terrible! Did it sound that bad live?

YES - possibly the worst ever.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/singer-victoria-zarlenga-butchers-national-anthem-us-victory-201809017.html

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/victoria-zarlenga-sings-worst-usa-national-anthem-ever-pre-51-rout-scotland/

They should've just followed normal football protocol and played they music without the words (thereby allowing the supporters to provide the vocals).

It was nice to see so many people there for the match - though if you watched it on ESPN, there weren't any shots of Jacksonville

The team's new kits are excellent, though. I hope they stick with that general design for awhile. Simple and classic.

[fsquid]

The game was not broadcast on ESPN

[Adam W]

The game was not broadcast on ESPN

It most certainly was here in the UK.

[fieldafm]

My first soccer game I've ever attended, it was surprisingly easy to follow.  Seriously a great weekend, spent most of my time downtown(handing out flyers for the food truck rally at Burrito Gallery Saturday June 9th) talking with Scots and the smattering of track athletes floating around.. Was a great weekend. 

[tufsu1]

The game was not broadcast on ESPN

NBC Sports (used to be Vs.) broadcast the game....and sadly used msome stock footage of downtown (still said Modis on building)

[mikew]

The Tea Men.  That name was about as inappropriate for the area as the Jazz is for Utah.

Now, if they had been called the Jacksonville SWEET Tea Men....

[JaxByDefault]

They should've just followed normal football protocol and played they music without the words (thereby allowing the supporters to provide the vocals).

It would have been preferable.

The violations of football protocol (or at least the UK/Western Europe version of it) are legion at US games. Music is played in the stadium so loudly it drowns out chanting; the PA system is --to put it mildly-- overused; people in the stands around me (club seats, USSSC section, mind you) tried to keep a ball that had gone into the stands and then booed the security person that asked for it back; I couldn't get my stand to do any cheer but "USA, USA" and someone behind me referred to our effort to get "You're not singing anymore" going in the stand after the second goal as "mean" (it's probably the tamest taunt in all of football); club jerseys were everywhere, and US fans are getting a lot better but still don't have sit-stand protocol down pat yet. I usually prefer seats where I can follow the game better, but I'm considering moving to the American Outlaws section for US home games in the future.

That said, it was a fun night and I hope that we land more games here in JAX.  The member of my crew who dressed as Where's Waldo must have had his photo taken with umpteen Scotland and US supporters, and we had good time buying a few rounds for and talking soccer with Tartan Army visitors around town. 

As for hopes of a growing support for soccer in the US, I was especially heartened to see how many people came out to see the open practice on Friday.