Where are all the negative stories about the MLS from the "Canadian" media during MLS Cup week? They loved to dump all over the CFL during Grey Cup week. Where are mentions of lackluster tv ratings during the regular season (some games had lower ratings than infomercials), the 100 million dollars in league-wide losses last year that MLS had. Not a single peep from the media. Come on guys and gals in the media, you love to slag the CFL all the time. Let's give the MLS its fair share of negative news!!! :thdn: :thdn:
Who watches soccer anyways, is that what mls is?
Why do you care so much about "negative media"? I heard a hell of a lot more positive stories about the CFL during Grey Cup week than any news about the MLS this week.
Ultimately the CFL generates more interest so the media writes stories based on interest to generate viewers. Just like the NFL who gets their share of positive and negative stories because that gets people to watch.
I saw a negative story about the MLS ticket sales for the Championship, and how STH were getting bypassed/shafted. Is that what you want to hear?
The MLS is perceived as "major league" by the media while the CFL is "Canadian" only. I'm sure if Canada had any other sports leagues they'd be ridiculed and belittled just like the CFL. 
The difference is the CFL - which has had great media - and rightly so - coming out of the Grey Cup game - had some bad news stories happening during the week of the Grey Cup game - most of those surrounding the continuing struggles of the Argos in that market - and the giveaways that were needed to fill the place - which hit its peak with the Pizza Pizza fiasco and the Commissioners ill-advised comments on concussions.
In comparison this time you have a local team involved - for their first time ever - that always tends to garner favourable coverage from media - it is a game coming off an incredible conference final that had an off the charts atmosphere with record TV ratings for that league - and the contrast with the Grey Cup in terms of demand for tickets could not be more stark. So much so in fact as Liquor points out one of the few negative stories is related to problems because of that ticket demand. The other negatives I've seen related to how late in the year this is being played because of the ridiculous length of the MLS season and how weather and snow may be a factor as a result Saturday night
As for the ticket demand - from The Star
And there will be some Seattle fans in the house, perhaps more than the 1,500 ticket allotment the Sounders were given.SeatGeek.com, an internet forecaster in the secondary ticket market, says 13 per cent of people looking at MLS Cup tickets on its website are coming from Washington State.
More broadly, the game is the most in-demand MLS game that SeatGeek has seen since it started tracking the league in 2010.
And the only Toronto-based events this season that solicited more demand this year were the NBA all-star game and dunk contest in February; no regular season Raptors game last season garnered as much interest.
Saturday’s game is doing so well it’s getting into Leafs territory. According to the company, the demand is in line with the most in-demand Leafs’ playoff game during their 2013 series against the Boston Bruins.
Can't hurt that the Yank dollar is strong.
What cannot be forgotten is that both National Sports Broadcasters have an investment in the game.
MLSE owns Raptors, Leafs and TFC.
And lets be honest, it is the Canadian thing to do, to slag Canada only things.
Many members of the Toronto sports media (most of whom tend to have a national profile) have made an entire career of slagging Toronto sports teams. To be fair - they've had an easy job of it with lots of negative material to work with over the years.
The issue right now for the CFL and Argos is that the Argos are the odd man out right now.
- Leafs seemingly on the rise and a lot of fun to watch this year.
- the Jays coming off their best two seasons in over 20 years with back to back AL final appearances.
- the Raps - also coming off their most successful season ever - and a conference final appearance
- TFC - well their negative story has been unfolding for ten years and suddenly that has changed and they are having their long overdue best season ever
- the Argos - we thought maybe a good news year with the move - but that turned out not to be the case
So with those 4 other teams garnering so much positive attention - and box office - Tannenbell have their work cut out for them - and they desperately need some on field success next season for the Argos - or we'll be having this same discussion at this time next year.
Back to tickets demand and pricing for a moment. I find it truly absurd what some people are willing to pay to go to games in every sport on some of these resale sites for soldout games with high demand like this one. In some ways I'm glad the CFL hasn't reached that point. Are we the only sane sports fans around?
Just a quick check on Stub Hub and the temporary seats put in for the Grey Cup are averaging about $200USD per ticket - not outrageous - but other seats - Yikes! Midfield lower section seats are in the $400 - $650USD range and the field level seats are in the $1200 - $2700USD range. I'm sorry - I'm a HUGE sports fan - but that's just nuts.
Re: Those Stub Hub prices, they are outrageous. But they're not just built on demand but also perceived demand. Hopefully nobody bought those higher priced tickets, especially before the general sale - they're fake.
My contact who works in the ticket office cautioned guys here in the office who we're contemplating buying them. He enters in inventory himself (and his team) so they're can't be real resale tickets if the originals don't exists!
In terms of the double standard, gotta agree with Pat, the Argos are an easy target right now and the 4 teams above them are either winning or have hope (the Leafs). Keep in the mind regarding the Grey Cup game itself, the media was glowing about it.
Also, there has been some negative news about the match this weekend with long time TFC season ticket holders not being able to get their seats, simply because it's an MLS event not a TFC one. The media did pick on that too.
This Hour has 22 Minutes had a good bit (Shaun Majumder) on the MLS playoff game at BMO. It reinforced one of the feelings/questions I had regarding the two teams/games...
The point is the CFL should be getting more positive news...or news coverage in general, more in-line with the popularity of the game across Canada.
CFL TV ratings were up this year, attendance was up, the league is substantially increasing it's draw from the 18-34 demographic, most of the CFL teams are making money including the Argos with the Grey Cup profits. But instead the media has portrayed the league as withering away and dying...if only in the minds of the universally NFL-adoring sports reporters and editors across Canada.
You won't be reading that TFC lost US$9,000,000 last year while the Whitecaps and Impact are money losers too...or how TFC drew an average of 38,000 national viewers for their TV broadcasts. But just wait for...umm, umm, the new Mexican TV contract? Then all will be well in Minor League Soccer...err, futbol? :roll:
So you don't think the media should have covered the story about Grey Cup tickets not selling or the fact that there were thousands of empty seats for the game? We discussed it to death on these boards about the ticket price fiasco and the unsold seats. I would be disappointed if your media did not report it.
The TFC playoff game on Wednesday night was completely sold out with 36,000 and the championship game will be sold out on Saturday night. I don't know how you can spin that as a negative.
It has been reported over and over again that the MLS does have lackustre TV ratings that doesn't surprise any of us.
The Grey Cup had 3.8 Million viewers, that is excellent TV ratings and the media covered it.
Soccer fans in Toronto are band wagon jumpers who grew up in ethnic background homes in which European soccer and world cup is the big thing. TFC has fans which go to games but not many more. It's not huge in Toronto. Many of these fans want to act like they do in Europe with their scarves, pitch, chanting and smoke bomb things and calling it football. Reality is that they have there little fantasy but it's not a very good brand of soccer. We'll see how long this league can sustain itself with the stupid salaries. At least it gives old European wash ups a place to play and a few people in Toronto something to do.
I have zero interest in the sport. It's right down there with golf for me. CRAAP!!!
MLS is total minor league compared to the NASL that I followed in the 80's.
After it folded, soccer is of no interest to me.
My statement has nothing to do with the thread, I just wanted to get my opinion in there like you did.
Literally all the Toronto media did for the first 9 years of TFC's existence is slag the team. There was brutal press that just tore the team apart and nobody went to the games.
People need to realize that the media writes negative stories about the CFL because they care about the league and rightfully call them out when needed. The moment the media stop deeming the CFL newsworthy is the day you should worry, which is sort of what has happened in Toronto over the past 15 years. TFC is a satellite of the MLS which is an American league, so the talking point is always TFC instead of the league as a whole, because nobody in Canada feels ownership or attachment to the MLS like they do the CFL.
Although they have gained a lot of credibility in recent years, the MLS is largely the laughing stock of the soccer world. Everyone knows the MLS is not even in the top 5 leagues in the world, but I think the main difference is that in the soccer there is this kinship to your local team, no matter what league they play in, and you go support them. That is an attitude that more Canadians need to take with their local CFL teams as well who like to talk down about the league. I'll add TFC fans did not support the team through the lean years very well, so it'll be interesting to see how far support drops off when they inevitably hit some bumps in the road.
But TFC is living proof that Toronto can support a "small league team". I know people will say that MLS is top dog in North America, but if you take a broader perspective TFC fans are very similar to CFL fans. We both know we aren't watching the best of the best, but it's about local support and love of the game.
TFC went through a gauntlet of bad media until they got to this point, and so has the MLS, which is why it's such a great story.
I agree. The NASL was very good. I used to go to the Whitecaps game and they had a terrific team of veteran stars from English soccer. I can pretty much name every player on those championship teams. The new MLS team seems like a junior squad of cry-babies in comparison, albeit providing entertainment for devoted soccer fans. MLS really needs to get their house in order to become a credible league which has staying power.
MLS is doing exactly the same thing as the NASL did by signing over the hill European stars to big contracts.
This is the beginning of the end.
Not to mention how the caliber of play at best is 5th Division type.
The MLS keeps selling franchises to stupid owners and this is nothing more than a ponzy scheme, with the dominoes lying up.
That's for sure. It doesn't matter if it's the CFL, BlackBerry or Canadian TV. If it's Canadian, a large number of Canadians will run it down.