Does anyone care about the SuperLiga?
With the finals of the SuperLiga fast approaching, I found myself asking the question of if anyone cares? The Mexican teams are more concerned with their own league, and the MLS teams are more concerned with the playoff run that is about to take place throughout the league. So what was the point of this tournament?
My guess is that the MLS is so worried about becoming a “legitimate” league on the world scene that it had to create a tournament to try and “harvest” the rivalvry that has been brewing between Mexico and the US for years now. In all honesty, who cares? The American fans are not concerned with the Mexican League, and if they can beat the MLS teams. However on the flip side it has been huge for the growing Mexican immigrant population that is present in the US. Futuristic thinking on the part of the MLS?
From the view of the American soccer fan there is more of an anticipation to watch Chelsea battle the All-Stars of the MLS than to see the Houston Dynamo take on Chivas de Guadalajara on a Thursday night. Watching world class football is great, especially in the US, but this just isn’t “world class”. There is no pride for winning this tournament yet, maybe this will change, maybe it won’t. Time will tell.
For those interested the LA Galaxy take on Pachuca Wednesday night in Los Angeles. If Beckham and Donovan play LA has a chance, but if they don’t then Pachuca will take home the $1 million dollar prize.
But does anyone care?
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Discussion - 9 Responses
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Ummmm, No couldnt give two shits, Let alone one.
I thought it musta been a Portuguese Cup, Now I think more people will know about the Liga since your post!
Having a cup competition always gives teams another chance to win, and while the league may be the ultimate prize winning a cup can itself fuel growth and interest in the sport in that region.
For a fledgling football society like the US, I think it’s a must for football, even if the fans haven’t properly warmed up to it.
The fans will come around eventually as the marketing for these events improves and as soccer as a sport takes a greater hold in the US.
It is an audacious thought to imagine soccer overtaking baseball and basketball in terms of popularity for the US market.
The presence of David Beckham may help to elevate the status a little but to develop further, America needs to have its own soccer heroes to celebrate and idolise otherwise the interest will fizzle out in no time.
I’m with Ahmed here. Although few care about the Superliga in its inaugural year, over time it will serve as a piece of a larger strategy to incentivize growth of the sport in North America. Plus, even though $1 million is a paltry sum by European football standards, that’ll cover Landy-cakes’ salary for one year.
What about Altidore?
Adu might still shine after his spell in benfica though
MLS has long since given up on trying to convert the MLB, NBA, and NFL crowds and instead has focused on the numerous existing footie fans who already exist in the US yet ignore MLS. When Cuatemoc Blanco was signed to the Chicago Fire it only took a day to sell 5000 season tickets. The Mexican national team sold out the LA Colloseum while the US team drew 7000 just across the city. Clubs like Pachuga, Club America, and Chivas Guad can draw 40K to any arena in Chi-town, LA, Dallas, Houston, or San Jose. When Barca, Chelsea and the other Euro powerhouses play here, they play in front of packed NFL-sized stadiums. The MLS has finally wizened up and forgotten about converting non-soccer fans and focused on converting UEFA and FMF fans to MLS fans. That alone would put them on the sports map in the US if you know how many Latinos and Euro transplants currently live here with money ready to spend on soccer. It was estimated that Mexican-Americans alone are worth 800 million dollars worth of spending power. That’s enough to more than carry MLS. So if you don’t like soccer now, it’s not really a problem.
I understand why people might not care. However, as a fan who actually attended three Superliga games, including the final, let me add one perspective.
The games themselves were played with passion, intensity and we quite entertaining. Good soccer was on display, frankly a cut above the average MLS fixture. What’s not to like about that? Whether certain fans “cared” or not, clearly the players did once the whistle blew to start the match.
Ultimately, if that continues, more fans will care. As a maiden voyage, it has to be considered a success.