The phrase "mixed signals" is so often used, that it may have lost its bite a bit. Still, it's very clear in its meaning:
Unclear message; usually two contradicting messages.
Don Garber, he of the designer suits, Don Flamenco hairdo, and rosy league outlook, has suddenly reversed himself. Instead of the usual rhetoric about the glorious future of MLS, Don is now voicing just a little concern on what the current economic climate (aka the CEC™: I'm trademarking that); don't get too excited, he says, we still don't know if things will work.
"I think it is impossible to tell," says Garber, who will celebrate his 10th anniversary as league commissioner in August. "It's unusual for us as Americans to wake up this way, because we're born with an optimism that exists just as part of our character, and a lot of that optimism has been knocked out of the system. We wake up every day thinking tomorrow is going to be worse instead of better, which is unusual in our society."
Hey Don, what are you trying to say? Should I be worried? Is there something we don't know? If things are so up-in-the-air, then why expand rapidly (which I'm all for, but still), and risk overextending the league?
Don? Hello?
"We're a long-term play. The times we're going through, while challenging for all of us, are temporary. We need to be sure when we come out of the recession we're positioned for growth, with strong investors in the right markets and good facilities."
Okay, so expansion is positioning for growth? Wait, isn't expansion "growth" itself? Sure, the recession is bound to be temporary, but what if it becomes protracted? I'm so confused. What good is all of this expansion, exactly?
"It's a very positive story," says Garber. "From the geographic standpoint, our sport is built on rivalries. It drives the game of football in England, it drives it in Italy, in Spain, in Brazil and we need it to drive it in our country, too. Now that we have a team [Vancouver] just up the road from Seattle, which is obviously doing very, very well, bodes well for the future of our league."
Whew. There's the old Donnie. I was getting a little worried there, with all of that talk about recession and uncertainty. You had me a little scared, Don. Don't do that to me again, I don't think my heart can take it. I feel much, much better.
And I need a smoke.
Read the original article from which I borrowed these quotes and used them completely out of context here.
