Timbers Tid Bits: MLS Cup Champions Edition

by Geoff Gibson on Nov 22, 2011 12:49 PM PST

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Galaxy for winning MLS Cup. There I said it. Can we just move on already?

For those of you who watched the game, I'm sorry. It wasn't exactly an enthralling game was it? Of course most MLS Cup matches aren't so I suppose it really was no surprise. Still, Beckham has his trophy, LA finally proved they can win the big enchilada so good for them. On to 2012!

As we enter into December (the lull for MLS news) I'll be looking up and researching possible SuperDraft picks. So stay tuned for that. In the mean time, some links for you!

Timbers news

Portland Timbers Offseason Outlook
A look at the 2012 SuperDraft.

Timbers' Mike Golub named MLS Executive of the Year; Portland receives several executive honors
Timbers receive five individual awards, named Operations Staff of the Year

Portland's Nagbe becomes a fan for the weekend
Portland Timbers rookie phenomenon Darlington Nagbe took a turn as a fan over the weekend.

Former Blazers COO Mike Golub Wins MLS Executive Of The Year
TIL Mike Golub was a Blazers executive.

Other news (after the jump)

Sepp Blatter: US would benefit from schedule change
FIFA president Sepp Blatter disclosed his thoughts that Major League Soccer should switch to a European schedule for the development of the league Sepp Blatter: US would benefit from schedule change.

Montreal Impact Officially Join MLS As League's 19th Team
The 2012 MLS season begins on Monday as the offseason to prepare for the campaign begins, meaning the Montreal Impact are officially a part of MLS now!

Whitecaps leave disappointing Mustapha Jarju unprotected for MLS expansion draft
The Vancouver Whitecaps have left designated player Mustapha Jarju unprotected in the Major League Soccer

Taped E.P.L. Game Outdrew Live M.L.S. Final
Fox's rebroadcast of an English Premier League was seen by almost double the number of viewers for the Major League Soccer title match on ESPN Sunday night.

Beckham - No PSG talks
David Beckham has told Sky Sports News that he has not held talks with Paris Saint Germain.

America's Soccer Sweethearts Deliver
The 72nd-minute build-up by the Los Angeles Galaxy was brilliant (by MLS standards) soccer: nothing with La Liga flair or Premiere League speed, but effective and worth note.

MLS deserves to succeed, but there's still lots of work to be done
Major League Soccer is making some serious headway based on the response to David Beckham's first title win with the L.A. Galaxy, which attracted coverage from all over the globe.

MLS 2011: Best and worst of the season
Our suggestions for goal of the year, miss of the season, the worst haircut in MLS and many more.

Adu, Bravo Available In MLS Expansion Draft
Philadelphia Union midfielder Freddy Adu and Sporting Kansas City forward Omar Bravo are among the players left unprotected for Wednesday's Major League Soccer Expansion Draft.

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Comments

I disagree with Blatter

If the MLS moved to the European schedule, it would be in direct competition with the NFL, college football, the NBA (after the lockout lifts), college basketball, and the NHL. Granted, we already have more fans than four out of the five (although college football might be a stretch if you limit it to only BCS schools), but that’s because of our current schedule. If we had to compete for fans with just the NFL alone our attendance would take a huge hit.

Blatter needs to realize that our system works fine for our country, and stop pressuring for change. Work on his PR skills maybe.

Blazers win!

by The X-man on Nov 22, 2011 1:37 PM PST reply actions

I agree

And we had this discussion before here. The weather in a lot of MLS cities just turns absolutely dreadful for fans of teams that are already iffy on attendance to want to bother braving the elements to see their teams play.

It would be nice if the USOC ran closer to the European schedule, though. I agree with the notion that there’s too much time off in American soccer.

by vitaminx on Nov 22, 2011 1:41 PM PST up reply actions

I've looked, Boston is colder than Stockholm

Toronto, Chicago, Montreal are probably worse.

We are a continental league. And winter weather south of Stockholm [where i’ve spent more than one winter] is comparable to Utah is some respects.

Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.

by Kejsare on Nov 22, 2011 2:02 PM PST up reply actions

re: taped EPL game vs. live MLS Cup Final

Ratings are always going to be higher on broadcast networks than on cable, which is exactly why the marquee NFL match-ups switched to NBC Sunday Night after ESPN acquired Monday Night Football from ABC. And speaking of which, it’s never ever going to be a good idea to put a marginally popular sport that had a really awful marketing campaign for its final against the king of all domestic sports’ marquee game of the week.

The MLS Cup Final also started at a horrible time for most people on the East Coast. 9:20pm Eastern? Terrible planning, MLS. What were they thinking? Should’ve done it on a Saturday or something. Having a team that played/plays ugly negative football like the Dynamo didn’t help matters either, although of course that’s not the league’s fault. Just way too many things wrong about the MLS Cup that caused a game on tape delay to outdraw our “championship” final.

At least John Harkes is gone.

by vitaminx on Nov 22, 2011 1:38 PM PST reply actions

Don't forget the emergence of ESPN3 and the coincidence that many 18-34 yr olds are willing to use it.

Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.

by Kejsare on Nov 22, 2011 2:03 PM PST up reply actions

ESPN3 is not a Nielsen tracked statistic.

Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.

by Kejsare on Nov 22, 2011 2:03 PM PST up reply actions

Google Analytics

It would be nice to know how many watched on ESPN3 like I did with three other people. You wait, as soon ESPN figures out how to monetize it we’ll hear all about Internet views.

I love Portland because everyone here takes things so seriously, sort of.

by yepyou'reright on Nov 22, 2011 8:37 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions

They already monetize it.

Their cable deals more than covers it with ISPs, along with whatever ads they slap during the broadcasts.

Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.

by Kejsare on Nov 22, 2011 9:57 PM PST up reply actions

Like the Lee Corso at the dry cleaners

promo for College Gameday that I’ve seen 1,000 times?

I love Portland because everyone here takes things so seriously, sort of.

by yepyou'reright on Nov 22, 2011 10:51 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions

In some ways I agree

What ESPN needs is someone to challenge them because they don’t care about MLS as of right now. However John Skipper a HUGE Soccer guy is now the head of ESPN and he was the one that got ESPN to nab MLS in the first place. So maybe, just maybe they might improve.

If CBS can take Hockey and MLS and really start challenging ESPN we will see a better product on both channels and better TV deals/ratings.

Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.

by Ryan Gates on Nov 22, 2011 10:56 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Not to mention MLS Cup Final competed directly with Sunday Night Football

which was also on broadcast TV.

Blazers win!

by The X-man on Nov 22, 2011 3:06 PM PST up reply actions

Galaxy are boringly good

Really, is there a more dull “super club”? HDC atmosphere, big pitch, and Bruce Arena interviews make for Zzzzz’s.

Other things…

Blatter has to say and do ridiculous things. Otherwise, nobody would care about him except World Cup bribers.

TV ratings… I watched both games. The one on Fox and then MLS on ESPN3. But why should fans care what the Nielsen is? MLS fans have to stop wringing their hands over TV ratings or apologizing if it’s not “big enough”. It’s not our job and we don’t control it. The only ones with full cable or satellite are people over 60 who just watch CBS shows anyway. I don’t need Joe Sixpack from Pretoria to validate MLS.

I love Portland because everyone here takes things so seriously, sort of.

by yepyou'reright on Nov 22, 2011 4:06 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions

Re: "But why should fans care what the Nielsen is?"

Two reasons:

1. It measures the growth of the sport in our country, which we all have a vested interest in seeing happen. There’s several reasons why, of course, the MLS Cup was rated so low which I outlined in a comment up above, but it’s disheartening to see that we couldn’t even crack 1.0 for what is supposed to be the biggest event of the year for the sport domestically.
2. Nielsen ratings = advertiser money. The higher the ratings, the more money the networks can charge for airing ads and the more profitable it is for broadcast networks to have MLS games, which in turn increases exposure, which in turn increases attendance/revenue which in turn helps raise the salary cap, pay our best players to stay stateside, increase the quality of the game, bring in good players from overseas which would stop making MLS seem like the retirement home of the world, and so on.

An overseas game on tape delay beating our big deal championship match is kind of sad, but again, legit reasons abound. Speaking of which, the UEFA Champions League final this year drew 4.2 million viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes. We can’t even get a quarter of that on cable, and probably not if it was on network TV either. The MLS is getting much better with attendance thankfully but until it can get the ratings, it will suffer financially and in terms of overall exposure, and that’s not a good thing.

by vitaminx on Nov 22, 2011 5:49 PM PST up reply actions

I get all of that

But I can’t control it, so why should I worry? Doesn’t ruin my enjoyment. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophesy or a game at this point. Some go out of their way to not watch, then go out of their way to tell you why. This includes some MLS fans who reject the final if their team isn’t playing or because they don’t like playoffs. The people who did watch then get defensive or play fantasy broadcast executive when predictably “low ratings” are announced, rather than talk about anything positive or the game itself. Happens every year. It would be the same if ratings doubled.

IMO, ESPN puts in an average effort for all soccer telecasts and almost no effort for soccer coverage in general. This includes Barclay’s, USMNT, or anything else except the World Cup. At some point this can’t be all on MLS, the broadcaster has to take some responsibility for their performance too. I’m looking forward to NBC Sports next year.

I love Portland because everyone here takes things so seriously, sort of.

by yepyou'reright on Nov 22, 2011 9:01 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions