Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

I mean...Ronaldo does.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Nova2Euro wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Er...in literally every other sports league in the world players choose their teams. High draft picks are a reward for poor performance--hardly an argument for credibility as a "real league." Let me know the next time a team in one of our "professional" sports cartels actually has to win to stay in the league.

That being said...I think Messi will end up dragging ticket sales up, but the team down. I could be wrong, but I don't think he'll be a good fit in a very physical, athletic league.

Anonymous wrote:I dunno. Expansion fees in the MLS have gone up from $20 million to $500 million in 15 years, and people are still trying to create teams. There's already momentum and will continue to be so.

It won't be long before MLS is about even with the NHL in terms of popularity.

MLB will take a few decades but that will happen too.

Anonymous wrote:I think with Messi there will be a temporary boost. DH and I have always been soccer fans (even before we met) and used to go to New England Revolution games all the time. There was a spike in interest when Beckham came to LA but it was just temporary. I kind of suspect the same thing will happen with Messi.

Nova2Euro wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Er...in literally every other sports league in the world players choose their teams. High draft picks are a reward for poor performance--hardly an argument for credibility as a "real league." Let me know the next time a team in one of our "professional" sports cartels actually has to win to stay in the league.

That being said...I think Messi will end up dragging ticket sales up, but the team down. I could be wrong, but I don't think he'll be a good fit in a very physical, athletic league.

Nova2Euro wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Er...in literally every other sports league in the world players choose their teams. High draft picks are a reward for poor performance--hardly an argument for credibility as a "real league." Let me know the next time a team in one of our "professional" sports cartels actually has to win to stay in the league.

That being said...I think Messi will end up dragging ticket sales up, but the team down. I could be wrong, but I don't think he'll be a good fit in a very physical, athletic league.

Anonymous wrote:

Nova2Euro wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Er...in literally every other sports league in the world players choose their teams. High draft picks are a reward for poor performance--hardly an argument for credibility as a "real league." Let me know the next time a team in one of our "professional" sports cartels actually has to win to stay in the league.

That being said...I think Messi will end up dragging ticket sales up, but the team down. I could be wrong, but I don't think he'll be a good fit in a very physical, athletic league.

MLS seems more physical vs the major European leagues because the speed of play is so slow, the lack of athleticism and lower technical skills of the MLS players. It is not. The slow speed of play and lower technical skills in MLS means players hold the ball longer which allows defenders to make contact while the player possesses the ball. Messi like every retired European star will dominate the MLS.

Nova2Euro wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A foreign player choosing his team and getting paid by one of the league's television partners tells you just how far the MLS is from being a real league. It would be like Wemby deciding that whe wanted to be a Knick and that the supermax wasn't enough so TNT would have to throw in more and everyone just saying ok.

Can tell you do not understand how big Messi is. Name any player in any sport or any celebrity in the US and Messi is 5 to 10 times more popular.
There is no one in the world who comes close to his popularity.

Er...in literally every other sports league in the world players choose their teams. High draft picks are a reward for poor performance--hardly an argument for credibility as a "real league." Let me know the next time a team in one of our "professional" sports cartels actually has to win to stay in the league.

That being said...I think Messi will end up dragging ticket sales up, but the team down. I could be wrong, but I don't think he'll be a good fit in a very physical, athletic league.