Why no CONCACAF Champions League?
by I need more Esteban on Mar 9, 2010 12:31 PM EST
17 comments
I'm relatively new to the club soccer world. Always followed the International game, rooting hard for the U.S. but this is the first year that I've followed the club level and obviously love it. So I'm thinking about the UEFA Champions League going on and I'm thinking how cool it would be to have MLS teams in something similar, then I go and look and find out that there is a CONCACAF Champions League, and the only MLS team left, Columbus Crew play Mexican team, Toluca tonight.
I scour ESPN for some sort of news or preview or talk of the game and don't find a thing. The MLS front page doesn't have a word of it. I figure I might see something posted here but still no. So then my question becomes why not? Does no one really care about this tournament because we are not in Europe?
Just hoping to get some discussion going and become informed why there isn't more media discussion about this?
I know one thing, I would be a lot more interested in MLS if I was informed about this tournament going on and I think a lot of other Americans would too. I'm glad I know about it now and it will definitely add to the enjoyment of watching the MLS season.
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All I know is, I’m going to be at the Crew/Toluca game tonight. And. It. Will. Be. Awesome.
The problem here though is ESPN. The “end all be all” of sports media decides what gets reported on. So instead of covering one of the WORLD’S most popular sports, its covering stories that appeal to the big 4 (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, and even most times not the NHL).
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by Andrew Tolliver on Mar 9, 2010 1:39 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
very jealous
that should be awesome.
by I need more Esteban on Mar 9, 2010 2:48 PM EST up reply actions
Completely Agree
I’m from upstate NY which isn’t a market for MLS. I would follow the ‘game of the week’ on ESPN, the US National Team, and go an occasional Rochester Rhinos A League game (which was a lot of fun as a kid). These tournaments and things like the Open Cup are really interesting and a different element than NFL, MLB, and NHL don’t provide.
Since I am living in Philly now, I am getting excited about the Union (pending the labor strife). I think with the non-traditional media (blogs, fansites, etc.), it might be easier to follow these events.
The game is on FSC
if you’re interested. One reason the CCL doesn’t get much publicity is that it’s relatively new. They used to have a CONCACAF Champions Cup that lacked group play and even the, the format was always changing. There was no stability in the format for people to become familiar with. Another reason it’s not a huge deal here is MLS teams have had little success in it. They are routinely beaten and the only time they have had any success is in years with a strange format. MLS teams also don’t always take the CCL seriously and struggle to compete because of that and smaller rosters.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
Also look when the games are being played
as in now, when the MLS isn’t in season.
"The MLS front page doesn't have a word of it."?
You can also, check out Sounder At Heart and World Soccer Digest.
yeah I meant the MLS front page
of ESPN.com, should’ve probably specified that. I know there are other media outlets and shouldn’t have put ESPN as the only one. Just kind of mentioned it because ESPN Soccernet usually provides pretty good coverage from what I’ve seen.
by I need more Esteban on Mar 9, 2010 2:44 PM EST up reply actions
oh and when I posted
WSD hadn’t posted their preview yet, guess I jumped the gun a little (5 minutes to be exact). Thanks though.
by I need more Esteban on Mar 9, 2010 2:52 PM EST up reply actions
Plugging my own work
We’ve got a post-game wrap up of sorts over at Black and Red United.
by ChestRockwell on Mar 10, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions
We are growing
We are still 3 MLS sites, 2 EPL sites, a general Euro site, a world soccer site and the overall US site.
As we grow it will become more like the other sports on the site, but we need to hit critical mass in the base sites, readership, commentary etc
I am not a Supporter
I am not a Fan
I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
the tournament has not given any reason to be taken seriously yet
it’s primarily dominated by the Mexican clubs, many of whom just play their reserves. The prize money is absurdly low due to the lack of TV coverage.
by Howard the Drake on Mar 9, 2010 2:43 PM EST reply actions
makes sense
I’d like to see this change, though. I really thin, a higher prize like the Champions Leage crown, and then the Fifa Club World Cup could be something that would draw a lot more American fans. The stakes are higher when you start adding a world aspect to it and there is the opportunity for US clubs to play the best clubs in the world.
by I need more Esteban on Mar 9, 2010 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
Where's the money going to come from?
UEFA has a massive TV market— 700M+ in Europe not to mention the worldwide interest from it being the top annual event in the sport every year. The UCL final outdraws the Super Bowl.
Unless the day comes when soccer is part of the Big Four (or a Big Five) you have a market basically consisting of half-interested Mexicans and a smattering of <10M nations.
At the absolute best for the CCL (we’re talking if MLS makes strides in the next 10 years) you have the US and Mexico dominant with someone like Saprissa being an occasional threat. Even that just isn’t going to fetch any more TV dollars than the MLS domestic contract.
I like the CCL and follow it closely, but it’s never going to be a big deal. The only way that MLS clubs ever play in significant and meaningful international competition would be if they started playing Copa Libertadores, and I’m not bullish on that happening anytime soon.
by Howard the Drake on Mar 9, 2010 6:42 PM EST up reply actions
Doesn’t the EPL regularly out draw the Superbowl? I remember reading that last year a Chelsea-Liverpool match was on the same day as the Superbowl and it was watched by twice as many viewers world-wide.
Los Angeles is like Manchester. There is a red team that wins championships and a blue team that doesn't.
I think you remember incorrectly
Reports are that the Champions League final dethroned the Super Bowl for highest worldwide audience for an annual sporting event just this past year, at 109 million viewers to 106 million. If the Champions League final just barely matches it, there’s no way a random midseason EPL game, even among the Big Four, comes close.
I’m sure I heard that estimate, but I can’t be sure of how accurate it is. The first article that came up after a quick google was from 2007 and it reported an estimated 160 million viewers for that week’s Manchester United vs Arsenal game. That same article said the EPL had a penetration of 613 million homes in 202 countries for live broadcasts in 2007.
Other articles said that the total viewership for the EPL each week, counting all the games and review shows was around 440 million and the claim that a billion people follow the league gets thrown around. I think most of the numbers are close to pure speculation. Nobody has accurate numbers on viewership in 202 countries. But I also think it is safe to say that those numbers are pretty massive.
Los Angeles is like Manchester. There is a red team that wins championships and a blue team that doesn't.
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