davidnark

Fully agree. It is unlikely we are going to get to a point this season where you can have a normal crowd, so what is the purpose of creating any level of increased risk by adding a small group of scattered fans in an indoor setting? The good news is that it appears that there is now a good outlook for normalcy the following season.

I am not one who normally gets too concerned about whether SLU and MU play, although I think it is lost opportunity to generate revenue and promote interest in both programs within the largest market in the state. However, with all the craziness and complexity of the COVID situation, travel restrictions, etc., it is absolutely insane that the two schools have not just picked up the phone and scheduled a game or two against each other over the next 6 weeks. It is the safest and logistically simplest option for both schools, and it would add a quality nonconference game for both schools. I guess sometimes the simplest solutions are the hardest.

The only reason Charter and UVerse have the regional Fox Sports right now is because their contracts signed pre-Sinclair acquisition were longer that the streaming services. Dish Network and every streaming service that has come up for renewal since the acquisition has dropped them. Unless Sinclair changes their demands, it will eventually be off all of the services, and then it will come back.

I am pleased to see no FSMW for now. Incompetent Sinclair pulled it from YouTube TV (and Hulu Live TV).

He is a recent SLU Law grade and new attorney at Lewis Rice downtown.

Ironically, Collins may turn out to be the best player among all of these guys.

There were actually Looligans who opposed MLS because it would diminish their personal significance (which only existed in their minds anyway.)

Between the U-17 World Cup and SKC, I have probably seen Busio play 10 times. I don't see anything exceptional for an attacking player. His dribble is good, but not great. His passing is average. His speed is good, but not game-changing. His shot is good, but not great. I haven't seen him have much success trying to play direct. I keep hoping to see something and am always disappointed. By contrast, every time I watched Pomykal and Brenden I am truly impressed with their skill and creativity on the ball in tight spaces and their vision to find teammates out of it. Plus, they both have engines that don't quit. They are both truly elite among North American players.

Busio - it just doesn't make sense. Never seen a thing there. Brenden and Pomykal - future Bundesliga starters. Love both of their games.

You do realize MLS has been around 25 years and is considered financially stable for both a short and long term with a demographic in its core fan base that is the envy of the long-standing US leagues? Comparing it to the XFL concept league doesn't make any sense. MLS has franchises worth over half a billion dollars. In a sport with literally 1000s of pro soccer leagues throughout the globe, MLS is generally considered a top 15 league. In 2019, it had an average game attendance of 21,310, which was higher than the NBA and NHL. In the US, soccer polls as the 2nd most popular spectator sport among 18-34 year olds (trailing only American football) and is a close third (behind football and basketball) with 35-55 year olds (sorry baseball and hockey).

Plus, using a name that builds off the city/region allows the association to be emphasized and provides an opportunity for the team's supporters to organically develop an unofficial mascot or nickname (which is how Billiken became associated with SLU BTW).

I am fairly certain every MLS franchise goes through a similar exercise. If they didn't, their marketing people would be really bad at their job.

The obvious answer is Saint Louis United SC/FC with a logo that uses the colors of the St. Louis City flag. I have no inside info, but that seems to be the odds on favorite.

Guys, please stop the political tangents. I just deleted a dozen posts.

New thread. No politics. Please respect Steve, the Moderators, and the other posters by sticking to basketball only. https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/billikens-return-to-court-well-conditioned-but-with-restrictions/article_e15ac7ea-fea9-5d1e-aebe-b36243c8dfbc.html

St. Louis will now have a top division US soccer team playing in a brand new stadium. Why would any fan ever want to risk having our team relegated because they have a bad season? I used to follow Bolton when Stu Holden was there; it is now an irrelevant club. Plus, in US soccer you would never tank to improve your draft position because player pool comes from the development academies and the global market with hardly any meaningful players coming out of the draft system.

No, I stand corrected on Leicester City. The source I found must have published that statement before their surprise championship a few years back, which most consider the most unlikely regular season championship in the history of major sports. I think Promotion/Relegation is fine and interesting in the many leagues where it exists today, but I still don't understand how it solves any competitive problems in the US. On his podcast this week, Alexi Lalas was pointing out that with the championship streaks by Bayern, Juventus, and PSG (together with the duopoly in La Liga), the so-called top leagues are actually the lease competitive pro leagues in the world at the top. So what would you rather have? Real competition at the top or battles for relegation at the bottom?

Really? The most exciting thing in sports was deciding which 3 of the 4 were worst among Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Watford, and Norwich City? Or whether Leeds or Brentfor was going up? This is truly romancing of something that has zero impact on the actual quality of the league? Fun fact -- a promoted team has never won the EPL.

I am in adamant disagreement about this position, and believe it is fool's gold perpetuated by insecure US fan's who are commonly referred to as "relegation truthers." I have yet to see any valid data or argument that shows how it will help the league and growth to trade a team owned by billionaires in Orlando, San Jose, Philly, or--what would have been the case in 2017--DC United or LA Galaxy for teams owned by less financially viable owners in places like Ottawa, Charleston, etc. Plus, it disincents wealthy American owners from investing in teams. The real opportunity for MLS is to eventually lessen the absurd salary limitations and rules so that ambitious teams and owners can truly compete in the global market for top talent. It is the real chicken and again paradox for the league; they cannot secure a top TV deal unless they have a product with top talent, but they are not willing to less than salary restrictions and invest in top talent unless and until they have top TV money. At some point, one of the US networks and the league are going to have to align on a plan that will pay top fees for TV with some kind of conditions that a huge percentage of it will be reinvested in dramatically upgrading the player pool. When that happens, this league has a chance to be top 5 globally.

I am unaware of formal supporter sections at other US sports teams that consistently have thousands of members in a dedicated section of each stadium with organized cheers, flags, drumming, etc. These groups have organized pre-game events and marches. They create giant, wall-size banners called "tifos." They stand the whole game and are diverse, welcoming, and enthusiastic. After each match, the players walk over to them and saute and clap for then. NBA, MLB, and NHL have nothing akin to this across the league. DC United, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, and LAFC are among the best. Here is a video from LAFC's group:

The STL MLS name, logo, colors, etc. will be a brand they are building that will represent the team and city indefinitely. Think about what the Raiders brand stands for, the Yankees brand, Barcelona FC's brand, Liverpool's brand, the Celtics, Lakers, etc. A silly mascot or name is just something to sell kids' shirts and hats. The most important thing is that the name builds a brand that develops equity associated what the owners and community want to represent. This is probably more important in professional soccer than any other support because the supporter's group and fans have a relationship with the team that is unlike anything seen in American professional sports. It is probably most akin to the relationship between high level college basketball teams and their student sections. I hope it isn't St. Louis FC, but I would embrace a name that represents inclusion in all regards.

I'll take any variation of a name that can become a symbol and mechanism to invite diversity and regional inclusion. This could be STL United, 1764 STL United, STL Gateway United, STL Confluence, etc. Atlanta United has used this brand for this exact purpose, and the result is truly amazing. I have no desire for another mascot-based team name such as Cardinals, Rams, Steamers, Stars, etc.

After 18 straight years with U Verse, I made the switch to Charter High Speed Internet and youtubetv.com back in February. Best home service decision ever. My internet is way faster, I have every channel I need and can watch anywhere on my phone or ipad, and I am saving over $100/month!!!!!! Separately, I also pay less than $15/month for the additional streaming package of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu and have Netflix and Amazon Prime. I use Amazon Fire sticks to on all my TVs to access everything. I cannot fathom needing any other media at this point.

The feeds of the media who cover slu are auto linked to the front page. If you don’t want to see all the content, then don’t read it and link straight to the message board. I reviewed his tweets, and he isn’t saying anything inappropriate even if not everyone agrees win him. I am going to lock this thread to preempt a political discussion.