I feel like as an American, the MLS has grown in spite of its self. I think though MLS will succeed just because the amount of people that have started watching in the last 5 years is insane
@Ssweis234 ай бұрын
They keeps saying that soccer is the fastest growing sport in America but neglect to mention that the most watched leagues are the Prem and Liga MX. MLS is just riding the wave and picking up retirees. The sad thing for me is that they were starting to shake off the retirement league accusations until Messi arrived
@nateworkman43174 ай бұрын
Also as an American I think the apple tv deal is hurting MLS for me. The local tv channels did a great job of making the games accessible to local audiences while also keeping it affordable (for my team at least). Now the $90 pay wall for all of MLS even though I'm only going to watch 1 team is way too expensive. For me, I'm not there to see Messi. I'm there to root for my local team. As a result, I'm following the EPL and NWSL much more than MLS and I am actively hoping the apple tv deal doesn't go the full 10 years so I can actually be invested again
@drmythbusters4 ай бұрын
The MLS has grown because it imposed strict rules to keep itself solvent, and because, as a summer league, the only main competition it has is baseball. Its schedule also means it doesnt have to compete with Prem viewership for a good chunk of the season, and MLX is effectively an insular bubble unto itself with enough can of worms where if you werent already into MLX, you probably wont start anytime soon
@whypick1_4 ай бұрын
@@nateworkman4317 You must be in one of the outlier markets where the local TV coverage was actually decent. Seemed to be more common for teams to only be carried by the Regional Sports Network (which recently went through a slew of bankruptcies) that were in never-ending contract disputes with the carriers that would leave fans unable to watch for months on end (I know the Galaxy and the Rapids seemed to deal with that every year). I _haaaaaaaaate_ Apple, but between the >$250M/yr they're paying MLS and having honest-to-goodness global access with zero blackouts, I don't blame the league for taking that deal...now if they could just do something about finding the single most annoying ad play during every single break for the entire year...
@clickbait37534 ай бұрын
part of that is aligned with demographic changes in the U.S. Latino populations have exploded over recent years and continue to grow, and most of those people watch soccer.
@yes3_3amir4 ай бұрын
Referees fixing ad breaks throughout the game by encouraging simulation sounds about American. I wonder if Peter Rhodes got paid for it too.
@ILikedGooglePlus4 ай бұрын
That's honestly the most American thing I've ever heard
@socire724 ай бұрын
@@ILikedGooglePlusI’d say capitalism. Profit over people. Although capitalism is pretty american
@georgehh25744 ай бұрын
@@socire72 I think the problem is that football in other countries was a passion of the country to begin with and was built up from there. American football (soccer) was a capitalist enterprise from the beginning, as many things are in the USA. Even America's beloved American Foot(hand)ball suffers from the scourge of capitalism with its awful advertising system and all that surrounds it.
@psvmjohn3 ай бұрын
@@georgehh2574 Watching an American football game without ads is about the same experience as watching it with them. The game has a ton of breaks regardless. But the reason people love it over here is because it has been built up in the USA over generations. People live or die by their team, whereas in soccer the teams and sport itself just aren't old and well rooted enough to have any real culture of its own.
@antoinesilva15273 ай бұрын
@@psvmjohn To be fair, the US is a giant country, so the recruitment pool for local fans is insane.
@TheLessonless4 ай бұрын
10:48 “Can they do it on a cold, wet night in Cleveland?” does have a certain feel to it. Another great piece of content!
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Put Pulis in charge, give him a big man up front and Ryan Shawcross, and he'll turn the Lakefront Stadium into a fortress.
@mainmansentertainment4 ай бұрын
“Can they do it on a cold, wet night in Cleveland?” Isn't that every night?!?
@barmanitan4 ай бұрын
@@mainmansentertainmentYes but the idea is it's not always a cold wet night elsewhere, so away teams might not be prepared
@mainmansentertainment4 ай бұрын
@@barmanitan 🤦♂
@barmanitan4 ай бұрын
@@mainmansentertainment I don't really understand what the joke was though when the cliche already says you can assume every night is a cold wet night
@robertcarlson88674 ай бұрын
Mislabeling the Washington Diplomats as the Washington Generals is either a hilarious mistake or a world-class trolling job, lmao
@RickImus4 ай бұрын
Washington Generals being the team that played basketball's Harlem Globetrotters....
@markolitvic69814 ай бұрын
Same with "Roger Moore"
@GarkKahn3 ай бұрын
So stupid that it seems to be actually on purpose 😅
@ethanwalshe7664 ай бұрын
Really feels like this channel is primed to take off. Definitely fills a niche in the football community that’s been missing since Tifo’s shift within The Athletic. Well researched, humorous, informative, and visually appealing. This is outstanding work so far and I look forward to more of it!
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Really appreciate that, for me it felt like lift off happened when the channel hit 1,000 subscribers, but all relative I guess! Glad you're enjoying the channel and hopefully more of the same on the way
@thehearingaid28 күн бұрын
Yeah this, used to love those tifo vids but they seemed to have dried up since being swallowed by the athletic.
@mets1377812 ай бұрын
MLS has survived for a few reasons. Most notably it’s backed by several NFL owners most notably the Lamar Hunt and family. Hunt oversaw the creation of the AFL which successfully rivaled and merged with the NFL (AFC today). Hunt was pragmatic and willing to take the time to make it work. Second was the salary caps that kept expenses low and then figuring how to wedge itself as waypoint for Latin American talent. This has kept from the NASL biggest mistakes Third they also figured out how to build proper venues that were also multi purpose. It’s not been a glorious or elegant rise but it’s been a sustainable one, more than can be said prior attempts. Also great video.
@mactheknife70493 ай бұрын
The United States relationship with soccer has been, and shall forever be, summed up in one sentence: "Soccer is the sport of the future here... and it always will be."
@Tylar1222 ай бұрын
No way MLS is booming. What you just described is rugby
@sirstewartwallace39172 ай бұрын
You described e-sports. Billionaires poured lots of money into Overwatch League and it no longer exists.
@Ben_the_Rosafan2 ай бұрын
@@Tylar122 Booming so much I can't even name a single player besides Messi.
@morange4922 ай бұрын
@@Ben_the_Rosafan Well there's Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba who tagged along with Messi who you might be familiar with, but that's not really detracting from your point haha
@UbuntuPersonNoMint2 ай бұрын
@@Tylar122did you know rugby is also football?
@Blockhead-lc6fr4 ай бұрын
15:09 the fact that as you were writing this you had 7 thousand less subscribers than when you released the video is crazy, the growth is insane and deserved
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
It's a bit silly really - people keep mixing up the dislike button with the subscribe button ... Nevertheless thank you for the support!
@Ihaaaaate4 ай бұрын
@@RouteNonebro- you cannot be serious. The content is great! Keep it up!
@Edgingtotenhagbridge3 күн бұрын
Yea bc it’s a bot channel
@GandWizard4 ай бұрын
12:11 Your nods to The IT Crowd are much appreciated! Another interesting video, keep up the good work.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by and watching
@mrshrimpeugene4 ай бұрын
F***ing pele i love that
@neiana4 ай бұрын
I never knew his first name until this video...
@markoplayz68943 ай бұрын
@@neiana Same
@jamesdrummond76842 ай бұрын
@@neiana even if you're a kid, you can't seriously claim that you're a football (soccer) fan and not have heard the name of Pele. come off it.
@neiana2 ай бұрын
@@jamesdrummond7684 joke //// you
@mftmss70862 ай бұрын
@@jamesdrummond7684 the joke flew right over your head
@DWEEB-FIX4 ай бұрын
Route None continuing to throw in little pro-wrestling references in each of their videos warms my heart whenever I see them.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Stay tuned for the launch of my sister channel - 'Route "One" Billy Gunn'
@lazyboy3002 ай бұрын
i always feel like american soccer leagues try to jump steps. while most soccer leagues across the world and even the 4 major american sports leagues started as semi-professional regional leagues, with teams slowly growing with each sport growth in popularity as family leisure and collegiate competitions. soccer leagues always tried to start as big business before developing roots and a culture around the game. baseball had it and easily survived the depression. the nfl slowly grown from the 20s to the 60s until reaching the superbowl era. and so on. in soccer, even the asl tried to go too fast, stealing players under contract from countries with more tradition on the sport and refusing to participate in the international structure of the sport that was already well established in europe and south america. first you need sunday league neighborhood teams and kids playing the game in school. then you need pro teams with local retail sponsors playing in small stadiums with cheap tickets for a while, with a growing culture of supporters going to games every weekend and listening on local radio and TV. then, when you make the jump to national TV, you already have a few generations of fans who grew up playing the game and going to stadiums with their dads to rely on. if you have all that, supporters will endure bad quality games and cheap stadiums. if you try to create nicknames and rivalries and chants and passion out of thin air from one day to the next, and it all feels as artificial as going to a medieval show at disneyland...
@MustacheDLuffy23 күн бұрын
You have to realize soccer started like that too but then the leagues folded. They started like that because there wasn’t enough resources/exposure to create a national league but now there is and all attempts to create a soccer league will be national
@rayelgatubelo22 күн бұрын
They're the DCEU of sports league.
@jacobsimpson74834 ай бұрын
My neighbor played for the Golden Bay Earthquakes, and my dad (who doesn't like or even watch soccer) LOVED Pele, so I was pretty familiar with the NASL growing up I still learned SO MUCH from this video. Excellent work
@5allum4 ай бұрын
Presenting the NPSL as the nWo is hilarious. That's a good one.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Glad it didn't go unnoticed. Thanks for watching!
@za_ka_ria3 ай бұрын
I noticed it a first and did a too sweet then I was confused I said wait myb it's literally theirs lmao
@gordonlong309519 күн бұрын
Just discovered this video today. I’ve read about the 1967 many times. I do think you are right about the problems of that season. The worst part was that they came along in 1967, a year of major expansion in pro sports in the US. The two gridiron football leagues had fought but declared peace and in January 1967, played an interleague championship game for the first time. The National Football League added a team for 1967, while the American Football League announced one did the next year. The National Hockey League expanded from 6 to 12 teams this year as well. And in Major League Baseball, there were attempts to add more teams by the end of the 60s as well (successfully). The National Basketball Association added two expansion clubs to become a 12-team league AND a rival league (American Basketball Association) was formed with 11 teams. So in the established North American sports, 20 new teams began play in the 1967 calendar year. A really tough year for one new soccer football league to try to establish itself, let alone two.
@kazikader4 ай бұрын
The fact that MLS has lasted a lot longer would suggest it’s here to stay. But until US Soccer goes through a hierarchy shuffle, the national team nor the sport in the US in general will grow nor get better.
@Pantalaimon914 ай бұрын
US Soccer has been holding the development of the game in the US back for a while now. The game (women's and men's) basically continues to grow in spite of the efforts of the USSF. There's some signs at shifts in behavior and attitude from the federation, but personally I won't get my hopes up just yet.
@TheRoseBoy114 ай бұрын
@@Pantalaimon91 Patience??? Hopefully??????
@senseiadam-brawlstars94653 ай бұрын
The MLS lasted so long because of the financial restrictions they placed on their teams to not overspend. Previous leagues basically kept buying super expensive players from Europe hoping to make the league grow by just spending too much money (and going bust.)
@TommyBuskulic-u2k3 ай бұрын
@@senseiadam-brawlstars9465 Another reason the MLS succeeded where the original NASL failed, is that whenever MLS expanded, the league added one or teams each time. The original NASL once expanded from 18 teams in 1977 to 24 teams in 1978. The original NASL split those 24 teams into two conferences (the American Soccer Conference & the National Soccer Conference). Each conference was split into three geographic divisions (East, Central, & West). This alignment was for the 1978 through 1980 seasons. The league was reduced to 21 teams in 1981; 14 teams in 1982; 12 teams in 1983; & 9 teams in 1984. Afterwards, there were only two teams still willing to play, but it was pointless.
@alexandermantooth1853 ай бұрын
@@senseiadam-brawlstars9465And we are seeing the overspending finally taking effect in Europe. I'd expect every league in Europe to have a salary cap in the next 15 years. Unless we want to watch the same 5 teams dominate over and over again.
@joelaraujo46422 ай бұрын
I knew nothing of this chapter in US soccer history until this video. Well done!
@BassManSTS2 ай бұрын
Soccer also had a hand in the invention of basketball in 1894. Canadian-born American Dr James Naismith originally used a soccer ball and a pair of peach baskets to invent the sport at a YMCA in Springfield, MA.
@will_from_pa4 ай бұрын
Can you imagine a world where the ASL wasn’t folded thanks to FIFA picking favorites and the Great Depression? We’d be such a powerhouse man
@1stutterafter4 ай бұрын
With great history and possibly promotion and relegation.
@TheRoseBoy114 ай бұрын
Damn you FIFA!!!
@GarkKahn3 ай бұрын
Maybe, maybe not Whatever, if they take the right decisions it may happen in the future
@elverdaderojavier2 ай бұрын
If you watch the video with 20/20 hindsight I think the problem is clear. In 1966 the US federation negotiated with 3 different ***leagues*** instead of organizing the league itself and then negotiating with individual clubs to join a pyramid established by the federation. It's still the same problem the US faces today. MLS, UPSL, USL, NASL... for some reason Americans can't imagine a world where clubs are independent and the federation doesn't have to deal with competing leagues.
@watchman12702 ай бұрын
It’s such a shame. Fuck FIFA.
@shomnke4 ай бұрын
Love these videos, great channel!
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Much appreciated! Glad you're enjoying the content
@Cascade3654 ай бұрын
0:13 That match cut is unreal. You’re quickly becoming one of my favourite channels
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Cheers! Hopefully there's more fun transitions with a little bit of silly football nonsense sprinkled in on the way
@cam4top4 ай бұрын
Another great video. Enjoyed following football in America from a distance for many years but my knowledge of history before NASL was very minimal so it’s great to know more. IT Crowd references too!
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Cheers! Glad you're enjoying the channel. I was researching another subject when I stumbled across the NPSL / USA - really is a fascinating story!
@BigBoyDanny1234 ай бұрын
Love the initial line up of the USA league and their Americanised names
@niksutliff4 ай бұрын
*Americanized
@batraptor44 ай бұрын
The stroker a d whips
@cfcluan4 ай бұрын
You sir are incredible at what you do. Your delivery is hilarious and the depth of the research is as refreshing as it is informative. Keep up the amazing work.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Really appreciate the kind words! Thanks for stopping by and watching
@jesuisunstroopwafel3 ай бұрын
Didn't know it wasn’t just European teams dressed up as American ones. Wolverhampton as LA Wolves was cute.
@paulberry28843 ай бұрын
Nice history. As an Englishman who lived in the US for 25 years I studied the history of US association football and it's more storied than most people imagine. It also explains why MLS is the way it is and operating in the only way it would be successful. On gripe, you said at the end that women's soccer has had it's act together for decades.... that's only true at college and international level. The WPSL failed and the NWSL was only formed in 2011. 10 years ago NWSL mainly consisted of teams playing in suburban soccer parks in front of 3,000 people. Where its come since then is worth a whole video. Big downtown stadiums, an average attendance of 11,500 this season, a national TV contract and a team selling shares at a higher value than some Premier League clubs.
@TommyBuskulic-u2k3 ай бұрын
I'm relieved to see somebody who has a solid understanding of why MLS operates as it does today. There are too many people, outside & inside the United States who are ignorant about it. These certain fans demand that MLS should operate like foreign leagues, but still would never watch MLS games even if it didn't interfere with games of their favorite teams. Notice that the foreign teams that most American fans support are superclubs who have no realistic chance of being relegated.
@itsa11good233 ай бұрын
US soccer has had a very complicated history. And I know the MLS gets all the media buzz today, but I really think the best stuff happening in the US is happening in the USL. Yes the markets are smaller, but there’s a lot more homegrown talent in there. The games are affordable to go to and they’re much more exciting to be at. I think it’s much more community driven versus the very commercialized MLS. If that makes any sense. I should note I have some bias where a USL one team is moving to my home city. But I have been a fan of the MLS my entire life and I can say the USL haven’t gotten into it over the past. Few years is just a lot more exciting. Quality may not be as high as in Europe, but it’s still pretty fun to watch because again it feels more community than MLS.
@itsa11good233 ай бұрын
Plus, there has been conversation of making the USL a promotion relegation league which I think is super cool and the MLS could never lol
@paulberry28843 ай бұрын
I agree that USL is marketed at being community driven and there are a couple of teams like Detroit City and Oakland Roots that were founded by the community and teams like Sacramento and Louisville that were founded by businessmen with strong ties to the community. However, USL is a franchise league that is 100% owned by a real estate company, that takes $10 million from each new team (the rest goes into the the league) and a cut of revenue, as opposed to MLS where the league is owned by the clubs. Most of the expension bids in USL are tied into real estate deals or they're an attempt to get lucrative real estate deals "sell us that land and we'll bring a soccer team". Fresno moved to Monterrey after they didn't get the real estate they were after, San Diego were considering moving 40 miles north after failing to get the land around the ice rink downtown, until MLS gave them an excuse to fold, Rio Grande folded and the shenanigans in Indianapolis are all to do with a stadium tied into a real estate deal where the owner keeps asking the city for more tax dollars. So be careful what you ask for.
@paulberry28843 ай бұрын
@@itsa11good23promotion and relegation was taken off the agenda because the owners didn't even want to talk about it. That's how far it got.
@fotoeinsКүн бұрын
Thank you for this illuminating video, and a big "yes" for a future video on the NASL. A young wae lad was I in Vancouver, I learned about the rivalry between the city's Whitecaps and the neighbouring Sounders in Seattle. All that from the NASL, and yes, the idea of a SuperTeam (c) was already well in vogue with the New York Cosmos in the attempted assemblage of Beckenbauer, Pelé, and Chinaglia. But no surprise, the runaway effect of trying to overspend on aging football legends partly caused the NASL's eventual demise in the mid-1980s. But at the very least, I got to see a championship side (major premiers) in the Whitecaps with guys like Grobbelar, Ball, Valentine, and a home-grown lad like Lenarduzzi.
@RainXbox3 ай бұрын
Glentoran fan here. We as a club remember our time as the Detroit cougars fondly and every 10 years a reunion dinner would take place the most recent one being the 50th anniversary in 2017. We also travelled back over for a friendly with Detroit city with some of the original cougar's making the journey. Detroit was a very welcoming club and we have made new friends in them.
@RouteNone3 ай бұрын
Absolutely love that. Thank you for sharing!
@alliedatheistalliance67763 ай бұрын
Detroit City is a nice club, and they have similar colours to my team Heart of Midlothian (PS went to a pre season friendly against the Glens, good times!)
@RainXbox3 ай бұрын
@@alliedatheistalliance6776 I was at that match too
@SpeedyFire22922 күн бұрын
Detroit City FC has also been doing very well ever since they joined the USL Championship 3 years ago making the Playoffs all 3 of those years and even beat 2 MLS teams in that span.
@thehylianloach94734 ай бұрын
That piss-take at the end asking if a league that's existed for almost 30 years now will survive not withstanding, excellent work and research on this. Love hearing about the beautiful game in 'Murica
@glassowaterful3 ай бұрын
you never know honestly, to me MLS has never shaken its planted and too polished image. I mean have you ever seen vids of MLS soccer ultras? it’s tough to watch
@Donster211 күн бұрын
@@glassowaterful MLS is currently the 5th most profitable soccer/football (Whatever you want to call it) League in the entire world and is only behind the big 4 European leagues and is very slowly catching the latter 3 in profit the last few years. But still it is catching. Along with it also catching the MLB and NHL in the US for new and young viewers the last few years ( actually is ahead of one of them currently for new and young viewers for the past few years). They are not going anywhere for a good long while if anywhere at all. I will say though moving everything to apple TV of all places is stupid to me but at least everything is on one platform. Something the other leagues in the USA can't say. Making it actually a little easier to watch if you want to pay the 1 subscription vs paying multiple subscriptions and cable to watch the other 4 US leagues
@Donster211 күн бұрын
@@glassowaterful MLS is the 5th most profitable soccer/football league in the entire world and is very slowly catching the latter 3 of the big 4 European leagues along with slowly catching the MLB and NHL so itis not going anywhere anytime soon. But I will say the apple TV move has hurt it's growth a little, like why would you put your entire league on a platform that no one gives a damn to even think about let alone go buy
@CSLucasEpic3 ай бұрын
2:45 reminds me of when the Colombian league did the same thing and a lot of European and South American players left their clubs to sign a contract with the Colombian teams, who ignored any previous contract the players had with their current teams.
@ContextFootball_4 ай бұрын
For me its not your editing, but your narration and clarity. Lot to learn from you. Great video, as always!
@drewekstrum26374 ай бұрын
St Louis is pronounced with a s at the end, Personal pet peeve aside, great video and as an American i am utterly unsurprised that the attempt to do soccer here didn't go well for the reasons provided. Seattle Pilots failed for similar reasons.
@kleptrep944 ай бұрын
So Meet Me In St Louis is pronounced Meet Me In St Lewis? Well I never knew that.
@MouseDrink4 ай бұрын
Yep, it’s pronounced Lewis. American English is kind of dumb 😅😅
@jong37544 ай бұрын
It isn’t dumb, just not derived from French
@kleptrep944 ай бұрын
@@jong3754 And the difference is???
@barmanitan4 ай бұрын
I also went to correct this, but am now considering whether it's on purpose to get pedants to comment lol (or maybe I give him too much credit)
@colepetersonmusic4 ай бұрын
US Soccer will finally be at full form when either the MLS and USL leagues merge and begin promotion/relegation or when the USL starts promotion relegation on its own. My city has a tier 3 USL team and I’ll hitch my wagon to that team more than the MLS team I grew up with.
@redm914 ай бұрын
Unfortunately, MLS is both too scared of itself to make it happen, and the "Owners" of MLS teams have spent WAY too much money for the possibility of relegation in the future. MLS is soccer, Americanized, with franchising and a minor league/major league system over a pyramid.
@dania2014 ай бұрын
Sounds way too capitalistic-in the US, ironically sports are the only area we seem to assume needs to operate like a welfare state
@SubmachineOP4 ай бұрын
We do not need to be like the European leagues to be a full form league. We don't need pro/rel Any mls club would go straight back up and the usl team would almost certainly go down immediately. The funding difference is way too much and it can also cause a conference balance issue if too many west Coast teams go up or vice versa. It would cost so much and be unfair to investors that paid to join MLS. This is what makes our league unique, you don't see the other sports in America switch to pro/rel why should we? Why should we try to be similar to Europe when we can succeed being unique and refreshing twist on the sport. This is America not England I'm sorry, but promotion relehation wouldn't ever work for MLS and it doesnt need too either.
@frontrowviews4 ай бұрын
@@SubmachineOPthis is completely backwards. The funding difference is huge BECAUSE there is no pro/rel. If there was pro/rel the investment in football would be much more spread out over the entire country
@bnb68684 ай бұрын
Will never happen cause US sports is built upon owners making money of the franchises they've created or bought. A relegation system would be counterproductive to that endeavour.
@abdullahaanawaleh3 ай бұрын
Great video! Love the way you look back on history and your humour. Keep it up!
@darkknight99913 ай бұрын
Awesome video. Glad to be recommended your channel :)
@RouteNone3 ай бұрын
And happy to have you on board! Thanks for watching
@sirstewartwallace39172 ай бұрын
The St. Louis team also had to compete with the Cardinals, who won the World Series that year.
@ColchesterPT4 ай бұрын
I love the I.T Crowd reference!
@Trargent_084 ай бұрын
Another video, another short and entertaning football documentary Keep going
@zimbase4 ай бұрын
Truly the best footy content on youtube. Hope you get all the growth you deserve and more
@samarpsp4 ай бұрын
This is just genuinely my favorite channel right now. Incredible content, incredible topics, the pacing, graphics, everything. I'll be rooting for you you deserve so much more.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Thanks for that! Glad you're enjoying the content, and appreciate the support!
@KTEFilmsIncАй бұрын
Love all the wrestling references here! Especially the nWo style logo for the NPSL.
@RobMcDougall3 ай бұрын
At first glance I thought you had put the green dot at 1:22 on Oneonta, NY - the former (and first) home of the US Soccer Hall of Fame; but it looks like your dot is more near Syracuse.
@----xo2bm4 ай бұрын
these videos are so high quality i love it man keep it up! youre gonna get big for sure
@evanthesquirrel2 ай бұрын
8:45 Toronto is an honorary American when it comes to professional sports.
@bryannacaldwellsoccer3 ай бұрын
Thank you for the video!
@oppenz37234 ай бұрын
Hope to see more of this. Your video has insane production quality and the content itself is very educational on top of being very interesting.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Really appreciate that! Thanks for taking the time to watch and hopefully there's more that you'll enjoy down the way
@offbrandurbanism4 ай бұрын
Love your channel, another great video for the hot streak! Excited to see a video on the US and our wacky history with the sport. Can't wait for the Soccer Wars video and 100k subscriber celebration! If you end up doing a video on your thoughts on MLS, I hope you take an expansive view on it from an American's point of view. I'm jaded from the 100th Englishmen telling me the problem with MLS is pro/rel without digging deeper on either 1) Why we don't have it beyond just greed and 2) What that would look like. Also God I wish I was a 10th as good of a visual editor as you.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment! I would love to do a video on the MLS, but it'd have to be the right angle ... probably the formative years. Then again, as you say the last thing MLS needs is another opinion from a Brit. Anyway, thanks for watching!
@weilerharmon48243 ай бұрын
Really great video but disappointed in the portrayal of the NASL towards the end. The league ran pretty successfully for 10+ years and was a huge help in securing the United States’ bid to host the 1996 World Cup. From 1975 to 1980 a majority of games were broadcast on network TV. Also averaged over 10k in attendance from 1975 until it folded. 107 matches had over 40k fans in attendance.
@RouteNone3 ай бұрын
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! I think that's a very fair point; my final comments in hindsight are probably a bit too damning of the NASL, it had many positive moments. I'll hopefully get the chance to cover them in more detail down the line
@Somerandomblokefromreading4 ай бұрын
Love the channel, keep up the work you're doing. You'll be blowing up soon enough with content like this.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Really appreciate that! Thanks for watching
@jmal2 ай бұрын
Fascinating moment in American soccer history. Well done!
@streamJesuss2 ай бұрын
“Buy me a coffee” the equivalent of a homeless man asking for cash
@packan26404 ай бұрын
This was a fantastic video, good job.
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Cheers! Thanks for watching
@TBustah3 ай бұрын
You're right, not having local guys play is a bit of a turnoff. It looks like the USA at least tried to match some of the nationalities of the loaner teams to fairly appropriate cities (the Irish team in Boston, the Italian team in Chicago, an English team in British Columbia, etc.), but we're talking about the late 20th century (by which point the diaspora had been American/Canadian for generations), not when their ancestors were fresh off the boat at Ellis Island. The MLS tried something similar, adding a Chivas chapter to Los Angeles for a while. 🤣
@jmarch84 ай бұрын
One of the best football animation channels out there, keep it up bro! 💪
@the1HLT4 ай бұрын
Football animation? What do you mean? It’s a mini documentary, my guy
@Tillyard86Ай бұрын
It's so weird to think that at around the same time, a similar argument between leagues was going on in the country's blue-ribbon sport of American Football. The American Football League had been around since 1960 to compete with the National Football League; however, no one thought it was up to the same standard. But when the champions of the AFL beat the NFL champions in a small game you might have heard of called the Super Bowl, they decided to merge the two leagues.
@luke_cohen118 күн бұрын
I have one nitpick with this video: St Louis is pronounced "St Lewis". We don’t use the French pronunciation of the name here in America.
@warrenmcgreevy45904 ай бұрын
well it seems like the popularity of the game world wide has grown exponentially (maybe due to more international players being transferred around the globe, the access being very easy due to services, KZbin, podcast, etc) and with so many people emigrating to different countries for personal or professional reasons a lot more nowadays and bringing their hobbies with them would definitely help grow the interest of a sport/hobby. I think this new MLS “hype” will plateau eventually when Messi retires in 2/3 years but there will inevitably be a lot of retention
@SubmachineOP4 ай бұрын
Yeah, We MLS fans can use it as an opportunity to attempt to hook as many of those Miami plastic messj fans as possible to try MLS with another club and perhaps support them and/or watch them frequently.
@vengefulamoeba66818 күн бұрын
i feel like Messi hasn't had much effect on the league other than annoying/alienating the already established fan base
@musaabahmed34314 ай бұрын
certified banger! keep up the great work
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Thank you once again! Appreciate your continued support
@VillaFanDan924 ай бұрын
This was really interesting, good job once again!
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Cheers! Thanks for taking the time to watch. Glad you enjoyed it!
@igrnge28834 ай бұрын
Absolutely in love this channel, reminds me of early UmaxIt
@wolfie-18124 ай бұрын
already becoming one of my fav youtube channel.. keep up the great work, love your videos!
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Very flattered by that! Glad you're enjoying the content and hopefully more on the way soon
@NATAFOOTBALL1354 ай бұрын
Great video as always, keep up the good work
@GrasshopperFooty4 ай бұрын
I love the little details :)
@ContextFootball_4 ай бұрын
Until last year I disliked MLS because I thought it's a closed league and its difference from European club football . But after knowing the old system, I kinda appreciate MLS, at least it is actually promoting football in US and making their national team better
@philipmcniel49084 ай бұрын
Yeah, and as you can see, the risk of _the entire league_ shutting down (which could drag down even a successful team like the New York Cosmos due to lack of a league to play in) was already enough, so an additional risk of relegation would've made team ownership a non-starter. For owners to be willing to risk owning an MLS club in the 1990s, they had to be guaranteed that their teams wouldn't be relegated to "minor leagues" (a term that in US sporting culture is associated with reserve leagues, since that's what non-top-flight leagues in e.g. baseball are). Even so, few wealthy individuals were willing to risk their fortunes on owning an MLS club, so early on, it was common for multiple MLS teams to be owned by the same owner. Before you cry "conflict of interest," recall that these owners were literally keeping the professional game afloat in the US, and were taking significant risks in order to do it.
@TommyBuskulic-u2k4 ай бұрын
@@philipmcniel4908Philip Anschutz was especially critical in that respect. Lamar Hunt, the founder, was also important. So was Bob Kraft, but to a lesser extent.
@Not_Sal4 ай бұрын
U.S. Soccer has come a long way and still has a long way to go
@TommyBuskulic-u2k4 ай бұрын
@@Not_Sal Exactly. However, some will take every opportunity to dump on MLS & U.S. Soccer, even if MLS & U.S. Soccer do exactly what these particular people have recommend. This is why I say that MLS in particular need to disregard those people. I have some criticisms of MLS, but they are constructive instead of pure bashing.
@NegaRenGenX2gay2lift3 ай бұрын
America has a better chance of implementing Pro/Rel now than in 1996 when MLS was first created. a majority of fans in the country want pro/rel but there needs intense restructuring to make it viable in a big country. i can only think of a Brazilian state league-like structure to make this work
@OneDayinDubai4 ай бұрын
how’s this channel don’t have more subscribers ?!
@timothytumusiime29034 ай бұрын
It's been proposed by many internet dudes that the US is too big for a league system so divide it into regions that play each other and the best, say 4 of each region would have a play offs like thing towards the end of the season What about say, Northeast region which would have New England and the Mid Atlantic down to Virginia. The South, self explanatory. The Midwest And the West I have no bloody clue how that would work in practice especially with the US' obsession with individual states. But the Russians manage it so....
@philipmcniel49084 ай бұрын
What we have is kind of a hybrid system _within MLS_ that's similar to that: Teams play an unbalanced schedule, with more games against teams from their own region (Western vs. Eastern Conference in soccer, but usually a three- or four-part division in other American sports) than against teams from other regions. Then, the playoffs take the best teams from each division.
@mainmansentertainment4 ай бұрын
"But the Russians manage it so...." I was just about to say that. Most Russian Premier League teams play in the west of Russia. Every now and then, Vladivostok plays in the RPL. Every away game for them was 10 hours away! As much as I couldn't give a f** about American soccer, I think you have a good idea there, best I've heard so far.
@justboschma50473 ай бұрын
Effing hell as an Dutchmen I had no clue about the ADO Den Haag playing in America under an different name for an period lol
@mementoyshobby3 ай бұрын
Am i the only one who gets the "Peter, not related to 'Cody' Rhodes" joke?? at 9:58 ??
@ElPerroBigoton3 ай бұрын
😁 I was thinking the same thing. Had to rewind it to make sure I heard that right.
@djdewaal2894 ай бұрын
I am still stunned that ADO of all Dutch and European teams was selected lol
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Should have imported Atalanta to play in Atlanta
@supahsean67104 ай бұрын
Was it "selected" or "agreed to do it"?
@sirpsychosussy2 ай бұрын
10:47 Fun wee factoid: it was actually Dundee United's time as the Dallas Tornado that inspired them to wear orange instead of the white they had worn up to that point.
@RouteNone2 ай бұрын
That is indeed a very fun factoid, thanks for that!
@sorrynotsorry82243 ай бұрын
I was about to make a comment about the NWSL but you beat me to it. That league is far more enjoyable to watch as well (and doesn't require two subscriptions).
@subparnaturedocumentary4 ай бұрын
the mls has definitely done alot of positive work growing the league and the talent level i really think they would benefit from adding a relegation promotion system in the near future but it seems impossible with how things work with sports franchises in the usa
@thehearingaid28 күн бұрын
I doubt they would do it, but they could also looks at splitting into 4 regions then basically having their own 'champions league' that gets played alongside the current season instead of how the current playoffs work.
@subparnaturedocumentary28 күн бұрын
@thehearingaid there is the concacaf champions league which is fielded by teams from the domestic leagues in north and central America and the Caribbean and the usa we also have the US open Cup which is mls, and usl 1 and 2
@thehearingaid28 күн бұрын
@@subparnaturedocumentary Fair that's cool, i mean I'm fairly ignorant on it - I did play the MLS one year on FM :D I guess one of the issues is potentially the distances everyone has to travel, even for the various European cup matches most teams don't need to travel very far.
@subparnaturedocumentary28 күн бұрын
@thehearingaid I'm an American and I have to admit it's not the best quality of competition but the game has evolved in the states and the popularity has increased I think a bigger thing I've noticed is the mls has started to actually produce young talent that ends up playing in European leagues and at a proper level for example our local club where I live is the philadelphia union and they've had a few guys transferred to European teams and there still there, the aaronson brothers, Austin trusty, julian carranza,jack devries and all of them were homegrown talent
@thehearingaid28 күн бұрын
@@subparnaturedocumentary yeah that's really good, I have definitely seen more and more positive stuff coming from the MLS over the years. In a way it's a shame players need to come over to Europe (losing the home grown talent for the clubs) but equally that's good for the national team, and is often what happens with the south American countries too.
@ProbablySteven3 ай бұрын
A funny footnote is that the NASL tried to re-launch in 2011 with the intention of being the top division in the USA and Canada again. They threw money at it, launched a number of teams, but only lasted about 7 years this time before ultimately losing their sanctioning from the USSF.
@warrior_365chess3 ай бұрын
Hey route none, your channel is one of the best channels ive seen so far, if you want i can help voice a french channel!
@shabaanmarijani84473 ай бұрын
the 'Mega Powers' references between 13:58 and 14:18 are just *chef's kiss*... the cream will always rise to the top, brother OH! YyEeAah!
@OliverStabile3 ай бұрын
1:29 this map not having Lake Michigan is a red flag
@Nafiz134 ай бұрын
I love your content. feeling grate to be the first time subscriber
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Delighted to have you along for the ride! Thanks for watching and the support
@Nafiz134 ай бұрын
@@RouteNone Thank you for your reply
@bobbyhillthuglife7 күн бұрын
You get a sub for that IT Crowd reference at 12:20 alone
@horstborscht74013 ай бұрын
The 6-point for a win rule sounds insane. But I remember Franz Beckenbauer speaking very fondly of this in an interview in the 1990s (in the run-up to the 1994 World Cup, when the 3-point rule was introduced). I can see that it‘s encouraging more attack-minded football, but 6 was probably more of an attempt to attract a points-hungry American audience. I remember someone suggesting that you‘d have to abolish the offside law for a successful US league, as it prevents goals and 1-0 results are too boring for the average American TV viewers, who are used to the average amount of points made in basketball, American football and baseball. But you gotta admit that they sort of got it right this time, as the MLS is now running for almost 3 decades. And it‘s definitely more competitive as a „retirement haven“ than the Saudi league.
@flowingafterglow62921 күн бұрын
I like the idea of the 6 point win. However, there is a better way to open up the scoring, and we look to American football as the guide. If you look at the average score of an NFL game, it's something like 28 - 17. That seems like a lot of points, but if you look at it in terms of "goals scored" it's only 4 - 2.5. Baseball scores more than that. But the reason football scores are as high as they are is that football has the field goal, which is basically a half-goal. If you look at it from only a TD perspective, scoring in the NFL is even lower. So this is how to open up soccer, create the equivalent of a "half goal." My proposal is that you add a 1m section that is around the goal. I would have goals worth 5 points and if you can get in the extended area (which I would include hitting the post) worth 2. An additional 1m above might be too much, but lower the goal by 1/2m and now add that 1m and it will be ok (you will need a taller goalie). So instead of an average score of 2 -1, it turns into maybe 14 - 7. American football also has the advantage of the potential to score from anywhere on the field, which increases the anticipation. Although you get the rare soccer goals from outside the box, TDs from outside the red zone are a lot more common. I don't think there's anything to do in soccer to make that work.
@SimuLord9 күн бұрын
@@flowingafterglow629 Just replace the traditional soccer net with the posts they use in Aussie Rules and award six points for a goal and one for a behind.
@ThePalerider122 ай бұрын
The MLS is here to stay, and it has done so simply because it took its time with the league's development. Though it went through hard times early on, it managed to stabilize its finances and not overextend til it was safe to move forward. It began to slowly integrate itself into American sports culture and build interest, and once able was able to expand, build new teams, and construct new proper soccer stadiums that helped create a better environment for fans.
@pannekeboem3 ай бұрын
I love your videos mate, they're really class, might be a cool idea to do a similar video about the failures and successes of women's football in the US? Obviously the USWNT has been great for a while but they've had similar issues with domestic leagues starting and folding just like the men. Or another video about women's football in general, such an untapped market on youtube I feel
@andrewkunkel4682 ай бұрын
Would love a soccer wars video - Its an event and period of time that has not been nearly covered enough
@islandman76944 ай бұрын
These videos make my week
@widowmakerx722 күн бұрын
I think a big problem is the lack of American representation in the sport. And it's due to the lack of insintive to be in the sport. Most natural freak athletes are going to be playing American football, basketball or baseball. Why wouldnt they? Not only is it probably what they grew up watching, there's way more university scholarships opportunities and professional money to be made. Look at their women, they don't have American football and baseball, and if their not 6ft+ then they're probably going to be playing soccer.
@Hubbabubba4654 ай бұрын
great stuff bro
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@klebersousa.4 ай бұрын
What a effing amazing video!! Had no idea Bangu played in an american league lol
@jngobngo3 ай бұрын
MLS has isolated its supporters with nonsense prices and disrespecting the open cup. If they could sell fewer tickets for more I'm sure they would
@MusicManiaCoversАй бұрын
Funny thing is that the Chicago Mustangs still exist, they’re an indoor team in the MISL
@OsmarMty3 ай бұрын
The main problem is: it never got the chance to develop organically until recently with international live broadcast and the internet age
@ericbarlow67725 күн бұрын
The way I see it, soccer in the US isn’t competing against football. It’s actually competing against baseball. Baseball had a lot of gross roots support as the game was developing and if you want to spend some time with the kids, there are a lot of local minor league teams to go and see.
@ryansmith10443 ай бұрын
The women's game hasn't "got it together for decades" either. Sure the national team has been great but the tale of rising and failing leagues is similar. In the timeframe that MLS has existed in the men's game, two different women's leagues have been created and subsequently folded: WUSA and WPS. Luckily, the third attempt, the NWSL, seems to be succeeding, but we'll see how long that will continue, especially as another top-tier league (USL Super League) is attempting to establish a foothold, plus there are also reports that MLS may be attempting to start a women's league as well.
@ayushmankar41002 ай бұрын
I hope we will get to see legendary American soccer club New York Cosmos in MLS in future
@mussy93874 ай бұрын
Nice vid! Saint Louis is pronounced "Lewis" though :)
@RouteNone4 ай бұрын
Cheers! And my apologies to the fine people of St. Louis Missouri.
@Samson-h6l28 күн бұрын
Mispronounced
@skojuzija4 ай бұрын
Simulating injuries just to show some ads sounds so lame and it pulls the spirit of the game out.
@samuelskillern7365Күн бұрын
I'm a St. Louisan (sort of) here. While you technically pronounce it right, locals pronounce it like "St. Lewis."
@cmucodemonkey2 ай бұрын
I feel like the big problem right now with the MLS is the lack of money in the system compared to other domestic sports leagues or their peers in Europe. As a result MLS roster construction is overly complex and sometimes results in the majority of a big star's salary not counting against a salary cap in the name of fair play.
@sharkiboi81674 ай бұрын
Can’t believe you only got 30k subs, like this is an absolute crime
@user-sw5wn8go3k4 ай бұрын
The amount of typos on that USSFA supposed certification requirements document 😭