the links between US Soccer and MLS are clear, there is nothing tinfoil-hat about it. They are basically one and the same at this point. That's the problem. I'll eat my hat if Bob Kraft is left holding an empty bag, but he was the honorary chairman of our bid and he's also one of the worst owners in MLS. what a coincidence.
I'm not a fan of the Foxboro location, but Boston as a destination city blows away places like Indianapolis, Cleveland or Detroit. you can't think it's a conspiracy that one of the biggest sports cities in the country is going to get games.
because it's good for the growth of the game nationwide? US Soccer represents the whole country not just the coasts and the south. I see that your city is already represented so I can see why you're being such a twat.
my city is very much on the fringe of getting a game, and I won't claim conspiracy if they don't. I'm looking forward to using this as an excuse to take a trip anyway.
and I don't know how I'm being a twat. you're ignoring the clear formula that was used for selecting and deciding to believe some conspiracy instead. you're just coming off as extremely bitter that your region wasn't given a handout.
Boston is almost as large as the entire Indianapolis MSA; Boston’s MSA is more than 5 times as large. It’s good for the growth of the game to go where the people are, not where the land is. Philadelphia is no lock to make the cut.
I'm traveling to see the US for sure. Probably will hit up Atlanta or Miami for other group games. Probably Atlanta since its closer.
right, but if your city doesn't get a game you have literally 3-4 venues you can drive to still in the running
it's one of the reasons I like where I live and it costs what it does to live here. this isn't something independent to the World Cup bid.
FIFA has made the claim in the recent world cups that they want as many areas of the country to experience the games. It's why the Bloemfontein got to host in SA, Manaus got to host in Brazil and Kalinigrad and Yekaterinburg got to host in Russia. It's a new FIFA though so we'll see if they continue that trend. Half the reason FIFA wanted to spread out the games to these small cities is so they'd have to build stadium/infrastructure that FIFA and their sponsors could profit off of. Obviously you wouldn't need to build much if anything in the US cities.
Manaus is the 7th largest city in Brazil. It’s isolated, but it’s not like they bypassed top ten cities to give a game to the 33rd largest city.
and those people from boston can drive to new york. people in minneapolis, madison, and milwaukee are going to have to drive to cincinnatii or nashville believe it or not people do exist in the middle of the country.
FIFA is much more worried about people coming in from across the world than they are people having to travel within their own country.
Maybe they should have lobbied Chicago harder to stay in. It’s a one hour flight or six hour drive, we’re not talking about a three week expedition in a covered wagon.
thanks sepp, but fifa didn't choose what cities made the cut, the people who supposedly care about the domestic growth of the game did
how is it selfish thinking that MLS and US Soccer colluded to pick cities/regions with an MLS presence? It's not even an argument about the MIdwest, it's everywhere.
Or, and just hear me out here for a sec, MLS has a presence in areas that are conducive to providing the most interest in and support for the most popular soccer tournament in the world.
I've posted the actual FIFA report rankings in here. Those are the factors they care about. One of the major ones is airports and hotels. Now you seem to have pivoted to local support being more important over international visitors. If that is true then putting the games in cities that support soccer is important and would certainly gravitate toward MLS cities and cities that have successfully hosted US matches. Either way, the list is about as good as it can be with the eligible cities and some good cities will get cut.
FIFA didn't make the cuts. they can make their rankings, but any city that meets the requirements can be included in the bid.
Should we go with Minot or Billings for the 10th site? The U.S. is the 3rd/4th largest country. You can't cover all regions with ten cities just on the surface, let alone factoring in all of the important metrics involved in hosting the most popular international sporting event. Also, the Midwest is still covered. Cinci counts and KC is close. There is no region being ignored at this point.
Good point, it would be a really smart move by the organizers to give a body that was searching for any excuse not to award the World Cup to the United States a bid that ignored their ranking criteria.
FIFA and US Soccer shills, the lot of you. sad state of affairs. Oh, and MLS sucks. Your league will be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Considering the fact that cities are lining up to pay $150 million to get into MLS, I don't think the league is going anywhere anytime soon.
it's dong garber's house of cards. A day will come when you think you are safe and happy, and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth. And you will know the debt is paid
Jesus this is an abortion of a thread. Don Garber has it out for Columbus, I hate the man and I don’t see this conspiracy. I also don’t think Columbus would’ve been an ideal city to host. The airport is OK, we have less hotel rooms than Nashville according to a quick google search. I don’t know if they’ve fixed it but I know the Shoe had an issue with field size to meet FIFA requirements at one point. We hosted an ICC match 2 years ago of PSG/Real that was about 80% full and they at the same time had a concert at the basketball arena (Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato and Mike Posner) and it was a complete clusterfuck. Traffic was shut down anywhere near the area and a normal 15-20 minute drive took my brother 2 hours to get to the stadium for the game and that doesn’t include time to park or get into the stadium.
of course, because fran made an argument that that is why Phoenix wasn't picked, which is stupid. Phoenix has an excellent track record of hosting giant sporting events and Glendale doesn't lack for accomodation. Also, comparing Ann Arbor to Foxborough is asinine. Ann Arbor is a city and home to a major university, Foxborough is a town of 20k, but Bob Kraft.
haven't seen a meltdown from Thoros of Beer like this since he guaranteed ND would blow out Miami. This is fun. also, my city is likely getting a quarterfinal or semi-final game
your city is drowning, enjoy it while it lasts. also i never predicted such. i said miami fans suck, which is objectively true.