AEG's Vision for MLS

[Rover]

OK, maybe not AEG, but Tim Leiwicke's words mean a lot. And since AEG is the 800 pound gorilla of MLS, we would do well to pay attention to what Uncle Tim says.

Grant Wahl's SI.com interview with Leiwicke is linked here.

Interesting reading. Topics covered include:

--How SUM got AC Milan, Chelsea, and Real Madrid to play MLS teams this summer rather than have just another ChampionsWorld setup where European teams go against each other.

--AEG's 12-point plan to upgrade MLS, including scheduling.

--Player salaries and single entity.

--The Beckham-to-America question that seems to be annoying so many people.

--The measure of success: "If within 10 years from today Major League Soccer is not top four and hopefully top two or three in the conscience and the minds and the hearts and the pocketbooks of the sports community in this country, we will have failed. It's the world's most popular sport with the world's most popular athletes, and it is emerging quickly within the United States. I believe we have been given a lot of the ingredients to be successful, and I think in the next 10 years, whether it be our quality of play, our level of play or the kind of players that we put on that pitch, that's our challenge. What you're going to see out of us in the near future is a vision for the next 10 years that will allow us to take ourselves to the next level."

[Deuce]

That sounds very good.

So is it rhetoric or can we place some value in this?

[Rover]

Originally Posted by Deuce

That sounds very good.

So is it rhetoric or can we place some value in this?

Sure, there's rhetoric here. And soccer bashers will very quickly point out that NASL owners said the same kinds of things 30 years ago.

But AEG is no bit player in the entertainment and sports business, and they have thrown a lot of their own money into this investment. And they truly consider it an investment, with an expected return.

Like many others, I was concerned about how long AEG would prop up the league when they took on operation of half of MLS a few years ago. Since then they found a buyer for the CRapids, are selling DC United, are selling (likely) the Quakes, built the HDC, are building Bridgeview, and have pushed MLS partnership with international soccer to another level. They've been a big part of ensuring that new--an high quality--investors are brought in, Dave Checketts among them. I think AEG is in this for the long run.

No one knows when soccer will turn the corner to more widespread popularity in the USA, but we're already way ahead of where critics of MLS thought we'd be at this point. As one of those who has followed the sport since the 60's and 70's, I'd say we have reached a point where our viability is not seriously questioned. The soccer bashers may not like it, but those who have any real awareness of sports recognize that soccer as a professional sport in America is here to stay.

Ten years? I don't know. But I'm optimistic when I consider where we were ten years ago.

[Jose Luis Luviano]

As things stand now, the Galaxy is subsidizing the LA Kings.

So far, my only complaints about AEG are $8 beer and $10 parking at Victoria Street.

But Progress = Lance Armstrong and The Status Quo = Jan Ullrich.

[Rover]

Originally Posted by Jose Luis Luviano

As things stand now, the Galaxy is subsidizing the LA Kings.

So far, my only complaints about AEG are $8 beer and $10 parking at Victoria Street.

But Progress = Lance Armstrong and The Status Quo = Jan Ullrich.

And $10 is for the cheap parking and a long walk.

[SoccerPrime]

I think its great that MLS...excuse me AEG thinks very highly of their soccer product and that they dream big.
And although I agree with most of this (especially the schedule, Mr. Pope where are you?) I do think that Single-Entity must at some point die. Sure its useful, and its especially useful for AEG (since they own 5 of the 12 teams), but MLS needs more Checketts.

[Holla at ya boy]

Its good to see the US soccer people are not sitting on their *** that word starts with an a