Jeffery Marcus at the always interesting New York Times Goal blog has some interesting comments from Don Garber on the American soccer market.
There's some interesting stuff there, not the least of which is Garber's admission that MLS isn't doing quite enough to draw existing American soccer fans. This is something observers of the league have been saying for some time, and it's good to hear the boss own up to Major League Soccer's failing.
“Fans want to see stars. They want more games on TV and they want an increased quality of play. That’s good for us. We’re in the soccer business.”
A finger on the pulse of his or her target audience is crucial for any commissioner of a major sports league, and I think it's safe to say that Garber has at least that. His calling fan sophistication "good for us (MLS)" might be a bit of spin, though it's certainly better than the alternative. An uninformed public might quickly become a disinterested public; star power alone isn't enough to keep 'em coming back.
The beef most of us have with Garber isn't his intelligence (he has some) or his recognition of the idiosyncrasies of the market (he seems to have that); our beef, and the thing we grouse about most, is how the plan is being implemented. We all have our opinions on how MLS should move forward, and as the head of the beast, Garber is the easy target for all of our complaints.
A perfect example is the issue of expansion, and the resulting effect on the American talent pool; many of us worry that the league is overextending itself in that area, with possible dire consequences ahead. Not so fast, the Commish says.
“I don’t think we’re near the realm of over-expansion. When is enough? Probably 20 teams in four to six to eight to 10 years.”
It's clear that the league is going to go ahead with it's expansion agenda (the strike while the iron is hot model), and that's got more than a few people nervous. Recent issues with Portland (stadium) and Philadelphia (owner's worth) have some questioning the policy altogether, and things won't quiet down until those new teams hit the field in their new (or remodeled) stadiums. Despite all of that, we certainly shouldn't expect the league to wait another ten years to get to twenty teams. That first or second number seems more likely.
Marcus also reports that the league is considering changes to its rules to help increase quality by bringing in more foreign players; mentioned almost in passing is the idea of adding a DP slot. I'm not going to get too excited about that nugget, mostly because it's clearly just one of many ideas on the table for the Board of Governors meeting. A bunch of rich guys talking about it doesn't mean it's actually close to happening. Besides, it wasn't presented as a quote from Garber, so it's hard to tell if he addressed directly.
This is the kicker, the thing that leads me to have a certain amount of faith in the Don (despite lingering questions):
“We’re not trying to create soccer fans. We’re trying to convert soccer fans into fans of MLS.”
That's what it boils down to for MLS. There are plenty of soccer fans in this country, and Garber recognizes that not enough of them are interested in his league. Let's hope Don keeps the league on a path that brings more of them into the fold.
I know none of this is groundbreaking, but what are your thoughts? Does any of this effect your opinion (good or bad) of the job Garber is doing?
