I honestly didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to this week’s visit to Portland by Major League Soccer Commissioner Dan Garber. I figured he was blowing into town to drum up some support for bringing his league to our fair city and that would pretty much be that. What we got instead was a bunch of “what are you willing to do to woo me?” Reading Boaz Herzog’s article in Wednesday’s Oregonian is like reading one of those personal ads on CraigsList.
Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, who is negotiating with MLS to bring a team to Portland, said PGE Park could be updated to league standards for no more than $20 million, much less than the cost of building a new facility.
Right. The City just spent $40 million in upgrading Civic Stadium and now Paulson wants 50% more to lure a “major league” soccer franchise. And he wants a new stadium for the Beavers? Yeah, good luck with that. Paulson seems to believe he deserves the same perks (read: government dollars) the original Portland Family Entertainment received a decade ago. He doesn’t. He owns two profitable minor league sports franchises which he’ll be able to sell in a few years for a profit. No doubt those new owners will also wail that they need a check from the government to stay in town too. Those days are over. If you don’t believe me, watch what’s happening in Seattle right now with the Sonics.
Adding fuel to the fire is John Canzano. JC hosted the MLS commish on his radio show Wednesday night. Garber spent most of the segment trying to convince Canzano that not only is MLS a “major league” sport, but it also deserves some kind of special civic consideration. PGE Park, he argued, isn’t up to MLS standards and if we wanted the MLS, we’d better step up. Canzano nailed Garber to the wall by simply pointing out it wasn’t up to Portland to sell MLS, but it’s up to MLS to sell Portland. This sent Garber sputtering and Canzano ended the interview soon after. Canzano explains here.
All I said to Garber was that MLS is minor league, and he’s nuts if he thinks he can get public money to assist in bringing an expansion team here, and also, that if he’s not going to answer a simple question in a simple interview, we might as well move on and take calls from callers.
So I moved on.
He went on to explain:
I also don’t think MLS has the best soccer in the world. It’s not the best soccer. The product is inferior, even with David Beckham in uniform. And calling it “major league” is a stretch until it becomes the best in the world. I’d say the same thing of MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA etc. if those leagues didn’t have the best in the world.
The MLS is minor league.
He’s right on all counts. Paulson has the money to build a new soccer stadium himself. He doesn’t need the City to help him. And aside from giving local youth soccer teams a cool place to play when the Timbers aren’t around, there’s really no benefit to the city. None.
And despite what Garber wants us to believe, the MLS is minor league. Oh sure they have a national TV contract and play in several soccer-exclusive stadiums, but until the EPL and other European Leagues quit coming over here and poaching our best players, it’s going to remain minor league. Major leagues feature the world’s best players. And fans will seek those leagues out, which is why I’m watching the Man U match this morning.
Was it rude to hang up on the commish? Yeah, probably. And I have a feeling were his guest’s name Stern or Goodell or Selig, he may have shown a little more deference. But then none of those guys is trying to sell their product in Portland. Garber is. Canzano simply did what anyone should do when a salesman overstays his welcome. He showed him the door.
0 responses so far ↓
1 JMS // Oct 20, 2007 at 10:39 am
I have to agree. MLS should be begging Portland to host a team instead of asking what we can do for them. What we can do for them is provide a fan base that would likely grow to be larger and more fervent than that in most of their other hosting cities, the possible exception being Los Angeles. Portland is a soccer town and the fact that we don’t have an MLS team is pretty sad.
That said, the whole “major league” v. “minor league” clash of semantics is pretty pointless as this is a classic Catch 22 situation. We expect MLS to bring the big name stars, but MLS can’t get those stars without our support. Of course Europe has better soccer and attracts the star talent — the sport has had “professional” leagues over there for ages now. Kids across Europe grow up on the sport while folks of all ages wear their team colors, attend matches, plan trips to away games, etc. It’s an ingrained part of European life for a lot of people. How can we really expect to compete if soccer is continually dismissed as a “minor” class sport in the US?
So, what do we do? Build it and they will come…? Ha. That might be a tad optimistic, but “building it” is certainly a better start than continually expecting the other side to take the first step. At least then we’d have something to rally around, minor league or not.
2 why? // Oct 20, 2007 at 11:01 am
whew! that was close.
now the soccer gods can shift their focus away from a third-rate city.
3 MRJ // Oct 20, 2007 at 11:32 am
I agree. I’m a little concerned with MLS considering Portland. MLS shouldn’t pursue small market towns without much to offer.
4 Jonathan // Oct 20, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I’m an an American who served my country for 25 years in the United States Navy - the greatest navy in the World.
Patriotic Americans support the U.S. National Soccer Team(s) which play in the World’s most popular sport. They also support the system which develops and supplies players to the U.S. National Team (men’s) . The majority of these players come from Major League Soccer (MLS).
The majority of American’s were like me and had never been to a professional soccer game in their entire lives. This is changing very rapidly and they, like me, will be attending more and more MLS games. I grew up on baseball, basketball and gridiron and still watch these sports. I didn’t really discover football (soccer) until around 16 years ago. I lived in Europe for 11 years and have watched some of the World’s top team.
Major League Soccer is an exciting league. Many of the current MLS teams have played some of the top club teams in the World and won. For several years there were no American professional teams in the top 350 top clubs in the World. This has changed and these MLS clubs are rising in the Club rankings as they continue international play.
The league has only been in existence for the past 11 years in wake of the 1994 World Cup in the United States and after the fall of the North American Soccer League due to over expansion in the bad economy of the early 1980s. MLS is on very solid footing and unlike the NASL is intentionally expanding at a slower rate. MLS , unlike NASL has a very wide base of talented American players and also a growing international player base. Attendance is growing and David Beckham has been contributing to this. Many are coming to see David Beckham but staying because of the quality of play.
Soccer (more appropriately in my opinion called football or futbol) is the most popular sport in the World. Soccer is played in almost every country and is by far the most popular team sport in the world. The pinnacle event for World soccer is the World Cup which is held every four years.
The 2006 Men’s World Cup was aired by a total of 43,600 broadcasts across 214 countries and territories. The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany had a total cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion (24.2 billion in-home and 2.1 billion out-of-home viewers). An estimated 25% of the world’s population watched the final game of the 2006 World Cup. The United States of America’s men’s team has never won the World Cup. Our best finish as a nation was when the United States Team came in 3rd place in the 1930 World Cup.
Soccer is a sport which requires strength, explosive power, speed & agility, endurance and overall total body strength. The incredible skill required to control a round ball with your foot, body and head without the use of hands takes years to develop and refine. Soccer requires strategy and tactics.
Soccer has been played in the United States since the 1600s when it was played in it’s pre-modern form was played on the Boston Commons in the 1600s. Both groups are probably right as both forms of football was played at the time.
Soccer, in the United States, was initially played more by the upper class school boys and university students in Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale. The Oneida club, formed in Boston in 1862 is thought to be the first football club in the United States. Both gridiron and soccer football in the United States tie their origin to to the Oneida club. Since no formal rules had been established and variations kicking the ball and carrying the ball were played at the time. Soccer has enjoyed a number eras of immense popularity in the United States. The first “Golden Age” era of soccer was in the 1920s which culminated in the United States coming in 3rd in the 1930 World Cup. The great depression followed by World War II along with poor marketing brought this era to an end.
There are four times as many players participating in youth soccer than in Little League Baseball.
The United States Soccer Federation has the most registered youth players (3.9 million) in the world, with 2.3 million male players and 1.5 million female players. Germany is second and Brazil third.
Professional soccer didn’t have a resurgence until the arrival of the North American Soccer League and the arrival of Pele who most regard as the greatest player of all time. When the North American Soccer League was formed in 1968, in the wake of the 1966 World Cup, there were few professional players in the United States and most of these had been playing in European Leagues.
In 1975 the NASL team the New York Cosmos miraculously was able to recruit the player most consider to be the greatest player of all time. Edson Arantes do Nascimento best know by his nickname Pelé came to a team of mostly inexperienced semi-professional players. With the arrival of Pelé to North American soccer many other World class players followed including such players are George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, and Giorgio Chinaglia. The league blossomed and peaked with 24 teams by 1984. This rapid over expansion, however, was also spelled the death of the league in 1984.
The recession of the early 1980s hit the young league like a gulf hurricane. In the wake the of the 1973 oil crisis then the 1979 Iran hostage crisis resulting in another energy crisis the economy stagnated. In 1980 inflation soared to 13.5% The prime interest rate, at the time a highly important economic measure, eventually reached 21.5% in June 1982. Unemployment hit a high of 10.8% in December 1982. Job cutbacks were particularly severe in the oil industry, housing, steel and automobiles.
Many new team owners were given franchises without a strong financial foundation. The expensive international players meant a very high payroll. The rapid expansion had also thinned the available talent pool. Despite an unbelievable run the dream ended in 1984 when the North American Soccer League suspended operations but the seed was planted.
Major League Soccer (MLS) was created in December of 1993 by the U.S. Soccer Federation in an agreement with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) in exchange for the 1994 FIFA World Cup being held in the United States. The league started play in 1996 with ten teams. Unlike the NASL, there was already a broad base of skilled American players although many lacked international experience. Because there was limited opportunity in the United States, many young players had gone to play in foreign leagues and did gain international experience. The league had learned from the experience of the North American Soccer League. All MLS franchises have been built on a sold footing.
If Portland were to win an MLS team, they would be very lucky and be given the opportunity to participate in the World’s most popular sport at a very high level.
5 BTCF // Oct 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm
The “logic” is mind-boggling. MLS is “minor-league” because our players are so good that they are coveted by teams on the other side of the world.
BTCF
6 PJohnson // Oct 20, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Portland is a nice town. And the Timbers Army is a formidable supporter’s group. But the truth is that Portland is not the right fit for MLS. After Seattle and Philly are announced as expansion cities next month there will only be two spots in the league left to fill by 2012. And for a variety of reasons, Vancouver, BC is a much better choice for a second Northwest club.
7 Rick_disgustedbyOregonResponseToMLS // Oct 21, 2007 at 6:22 am
What’s wrong with you people in Oregon? You are all so arrogant. If you want to be your own little piece of shit country that has nothing but rain, feel free. Just don’t ever try and cross the border in to California because we don’t need you/
8 Nick // Oct 21, 2007 at 9:45 am
Soccer’s been the most popular sport for kids for a long time (it was when I was young, and probably long before that), and that has not translated into making soccer a “big” sport in the US. It’s relatively slow, uneventful, and isn’t made for American television and/or attention spans. A fun sport to play, but not as fun to watch.
As it is, Portland is a soccer-loving town, but the MLS needs to woo Portland. I mean, the league is a complete joke, the draws are small, and it is, at best, a AA-level minor league. And they want other people to expand PGE? It’s questionable that the park would even sell out regularly, much less get close to capacity.
Real soccer fans in this country will spend the extra bucks to watch European soccer on cable or satellite.
9 jjbones // Oct 21, 2007 at 10:22 am
Canzano is a hack. That was the most unprofessional interview I’ve ever heard.
Garber should’ve refused to go on the show with the liberal hippie comments etc. There’s no way he could’ve answered “What’s in it for the city of Portland?” since nothing specific has been asked.
10 jjbones // Oct 21, 2007 at 10:24 am
66,000 people don’t show up to a AA minor league game, especially in NY. Average attendance is over 16k.
MLS doesn’t need Portland. It needs major league cities.
11 Duane // Oct 21, 2007 at 10:42 am
don’t get me wrong, soccer is fun to play…. BORING to watch. socially, the ONLY advantage over other sports is that it’s relatively INEXPENSIVE to finance. all you really need is a ball. other sports require a lot more. football (american) started out that way. but with wealth and the always associated fear of getting hurt, equipment (helmets and padding) was added. i’m surprised that the pampered kids of american soccer moms haven’t already inquired into the possibility of some sort of soft helmet for when their kids suffer head injuries from heading the ball. nonetheless, that doesn’t change the fact that so much effort goes into scoring one, repeat ONE, goal. zzzzzzzzzzzz
12 Will // Oct 21, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Portland is a minor town just like San Antonio, Texas.
A top flight league such as MLS doesn’t need such a small town like Portland. Go after real cities like Philadelphia and second franchise in NYC.
13 BluBru2 // Oct 21, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Portland would benefit more with an MLS team. Soccer would give Portland more of a International footprint than any other sport. Think the Trailblazer’s name recognition and multiply it by ten and you start to understand the potential. Just ask yourself how many people in this country know who Manchester United is and you will get a better response than if you asked someone in Europe or Asia who the Tennessee Titans are. The MLS isn’t begging to be in Portland. It’s the other way around, buddy.
Also, let me school you on soccer/football in the rest of the world. Teams raid players from top leagues all over the world. By your understanding that makes them all minor league. Of course if you want to talk about how both the U.S. lost in the Baseball World Cup and Basketball, I guess that makes us minor league. Thank goodness the NFL has no world competition to lose or else they will be minor league too.
So explain your position on minor vs major sport in this country. If a sport has it’s own stadiums, is recognized by the governing body of the sport to be the major league in their region, has television broadcasts, been in existence for a decade, and whose players are a sizable part of the national team participating in the world’s #1 sporting event, is not major league? There are executives in the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA that would disagree.
Portland will lose more than the MLS will if the city doesn’t get a franchise. After all, do you really believe that your city can’t compete against Philly, St. Louis, San Diego, or Atlanta?
14 Felix // Oct 21, 2007 at 10:23 pm
HAHA! You laid a big turd on Garber you think? More like the turd landed on your face by sounding like such a douche. Garber is a respectful man who has a calm demeanor and can actually explain things so everyone can understand. There was no reason to be so disrespectful like a little tard in a third grade class in a small city that could use some more attention.
15 Chris Snethen // Oct 21, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Soccer would give Portland more of a International footprint than any other sport. Think the Trailblazer’s name recognition and multiply it by ten and you start to understand the potential. Just ask yourself how many people in this country know who Manchester United is and you will get a better response than if you asked someone in Europe or Asia who the Tennessee Titans are. The MLS isn’t begging to be in Portland. It’s the other way around, buddy.
You’re going to compare the Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake with Manchester United? Are you serious? Ask that same fan who knows Man U play soccer in England to name what sport the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls play and I bet they couldn’t name it. There are more kids in Asia wearing Tennessee Titans jerseys than are wearing Colorado Rapids jerseys. You can bet on that. Putting an MLS team in Portland isn’t going to give us any more name recognition internationally than promoting Derby County to the Premiership gave Derby. In fact, I’d suggest Derby County’s promotion gave them ten-times more international publicity than promoting the Portland Timbers to the MLS would receive.
Of course if you want to talk about how both the U.S. lost in the Baseball World Cup and Basketball, I guess that makes us minor league.
What in the heck are you talking about? The best players in the world play in the NBA and Major League Baseball. They leave their home countries, which have established “major leagues” to come here. Do you believe the Japanese are watching the best players on the world when they go to a baseball game? How about the Spanish? Are they watching the best basketball players? You’re talking apples and oranges. I’ll stack the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Red Sox up against any other team in any league in the world. You know why? Because those teams have the best players in the world. Same as I’ll take AC Milan, Manchester United, or Real Madrid over the Houston Dynamo.
Just because you say your league is major league doesn’t make it so.
Portland will lose more than the MLS will if the city doesn’t get a franchise.
And that’s the bottom line problem you’re having. You went on and on about nothing and you’ve yet to explain exactly what Portland will “lose” by not joining the MLS. What have Salt Lake City and Kansas City gained by membership that we’re missing out on?
16 Chris Snethen // Oct 21, 2007 at 11:11 pm
There was no reason to be so disrespectful like a little tard in a third grade class in a small city that could use some more attention.
The one comment I keep reading is what small potatoes Portland is. Why then does Garber keep sniffing around here? And I’m still waiting to find out what Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Columbus have gained with membership in your club.
17 jjbones // Oct 22, 2007 at 6:41 am
Salt Lake City gained friendlies with Real Madrid and international matches against their club. Columbus gets preferential treatment from the USSF and has hosted US-Mexico for the last few years. Both have the chance to qualify for tournaments like Superliga, Copa Sudamericana, and the World Club Championships.
Kansas City played and narrowly lost to Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and got a 40,000 person US World Cup Qualifier. They will get more when they get their new stadium. For soccer fans, getting a MLS team changes everything. It gives you access to the soccer world.
18 Victor // Oct 22, 2007 at 7:20 am
To the point of Garber sniffing around Portland; the fact is, the Timbers are a very well respected soccer club in this country albeit, a minor league soccer club. It would be an injustice to not be due diligent with respects to Portland expansion.
Lets be honest, with Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia, NYC #2, Las Vegas, Seattle, St. Louis all sniffing around MLS, it is true that Portland has a very small chance of expansion – and so it’s not what MLS can do for Portland, rather the other way around. If Portland can get their stadium issue resolved (whatever means necessary), and can prove to have a stable and committed ownership group, then they will be given strong consideration.
Also, it bothers me when people start spouting off “major”/”minor” when clearly people don’t understand the dynamics of soccer around the world. The NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL are the only major leagues in their respective sport. For soccer, that’s not the case because every country has a league, and several divisions within that league. Would it be fair to call Coventry city a minor league team because it plays in the Cola Championships and not the English Premier League? I don’t think so. Would it be fair to call Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona, FC Porto, Club America, Boca Juniors, River Plate and Sao Paulo minor league because they don’t play in England? Again the answer is no. Is MLS the EPL? No. But its also not “minor” league in the true sense of the word!
The bottom line is, John Canzano was very disrespectful to the commish of MLS and unjustly so. He should be ashamed and to be honest, should be reprimanded by his employers. That was distasteful, arrogant, and completely inappropriate. Not to take away that it was counter productive to what “Investors” in Portland are trying to accomplish.
19 Tmeuz // Oct 23, 2007 at 11:51 am
“Garber sniffing around”- now that’s funny. And just plain ignorant given that it’s the other way around. There are currently groups in at least a dozen cities lobbying MLS for future franchises. Unfortunately for Portland, San Jose, Seattle and Philly are locks or virtual locks for being awarded franchises for 2008, 2009 and 2010, all with viable stadium deals in place.
Like it or not- MLS is here to stay- MLS is not following the free-spending NASL model of the 70s. Look at the numbers- MLS attendance is already on par with NHL, and growing. The business model is viable, the existing franchises are stable, and many of them are now turning a profit. If you don’t like it, just don’t attend. We’ll be fine.
Oh yeah, and the whole “soccer is boring” comment is really lame. Especially from the country that invented baseball and considers that its national pastime.
20 armis71 // Nov 7, 2007 at 3:25 am
I for one would like to have Portland join the MLS and only for the sake of the Timbers fans who have been waiting for so long to have a prof. soccer team.
But the truth is that… MLS DOES NOT NEED PORTLAND.
Bigger markets like Seattle which is already getting a MLS team by 2009, then Vancouver, Montreal, Philadelphia, etc. Those are the cities that have investors wanting to have a prof. soccer team. The MLS will survive without Portland who believe they’re too major league for the MLS.
Also, if you really want to support the growth of soccer in this country then by all means support the MLS that needs to develop more american players instead of turning up your noses and following a foreign league.
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